Do Antibiotics Make Cats Sleepy??

[LuckyGirl82]

Hey everyone!

I know I’ve made countless posts about my kitty Lucky who is suffering with a double ear infection (she had cloudy eardrums) & vertigo. The vet put her on Amoxicillin & Orbex (spell?) to treat this & she seems to be responding well she was running around yesterday & then her & her brother were play fighting in the night on our bed. She still can’t jump up on high things yet which I’m trying to be patient about but now I’m just concerned because she seems to be sleeping a bit more than usual.

She’s was given her meds at 7:30 this morning she went outside walked around for a few hours & now just came in to sleep. I’m just wondering if the meds are making her sleepy? Yesterday I noticed she slept on the porch for a few hours with her brother too but then got up to roam around so I just don’t know what to make of it. Or maybe I’m just worrying for no reason!

She is eating & drinking just fine & I was dangling a feather toy in front of her which she was responding to by pawing at it. Anyone can help me that would be great! I’m in such a high state of worry about my poor girl & just want her to get better!

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. I have used Orbax repeatedly on Feeby for UTIs, and I never noticed any additional sleepiness. However, she is 15+ yo, so she sleeps a lot anyway!!

I am guessing it might just be the infection that is getting her down a bit - her body is fighting off an infection, and I think that sometimes makes them tired.

 

[FeralHearts]

I'm not a vet, but this has been what I've found with cats and antibiotics and what I've been told by their vets:

Yes, antibiotics like Amoxicillin can make a kitty a bit sleepy and dopey. (As can the infection kitty is fighting.)

What you are watching out, for the most part, is Eating, drinking, pooping, peeing and keeping food down are the important things to watch out for with anti-biotics. That and any kind of breathing difficulties.

That being said, if kitty is looking very weak, wobbley that sort of thing - call the vet.

It doesn't hurt to call the vet and give updates or ask for things to watch for.

Sending you and kitty healing vibes. Let us know how you all are doing.

 

[LuckyGirl82]

Hi. I have used Orbax repeatedly on Feeby for UTIs, and I never noticed any additional sleepiness. However, she is 15+ yo, so she sleeps a lot anyway!!

I am guessing it might just be the infection that is getting her down a bit - her body is fighting off an infection, and I think that sometimes makes them tired.

So literally right after I posted that she gets up & wants to go outside! I’ve been sitting outside with her while she chases after bugs with her brother & sister. She fooled me lol! I think you are totally right the infection probably is/was making her feel less energetic than her normal self!

 

[LuckyGirl82]

I'm not a vet, but this has been what I've found with cats and antibiotics and what I've been told by their vets:

Yes, antibiotics like Amoxicillin can make a kitty a bit sleepy and dopey. (As can the infection kitty is fighting.)

What you are watching out, for the most part, is Eating, drinking, pooping, peeing and keeping food down are the important things to watch out for with anti-biotics. That and any kind of breathing difficulties.

That being said, if kitty is looking very weak, wobbley that sort of thing - call the vet.

It doesn't hurt to call the vet and give updates or ask for things to watch for.

Sending you and kitty healing vibes. Let us know how you all are doing.

Okay I had a feeling it was probably the meds & just the infection overall this was a pretty nasty ear infection that they didn’t detect until I went back demanding answers when the vertigo wouldn’t go away.

Everything is fine for her in the food & water dept as well as the litter box. She still is wobbly & cant jump high but she did have a severe case of vertigo & we are only in day 2 of treating the ear infection which is what we believe caused that vertigo spell.

She is currently outside playing with her brother & sister (I’m supervising) & seems to have fooled me with this all this energy lol!! I’ll take it over watching her not get out of bed!

Thank you for the positive vibes I hope it’s all uphill from here! I’ll keep you all posted!

 

[Furballsmom]

Thank you for the positive vibes I hope it’s all uphill from here! I’ll keep you all posted!

 

[LuckyGirl82]

Update on Lucky it was a rainy cold day here so she was mostly inside all day she did run out this morning & sprinted back because of the rain lol. She kept wanting to go out but once she felt the cold she was like nope so she slept most of the day which of course worries me.

Poor thing tried to hop up on the toilet when I got out of the shower but feel. I felt so bad. I just want her to be able to jump again. Does anyone have any experience with inner ear infection (cloudiness in the ears) & vertigo?? I’m scared she will never be able to jump again. I’m worrying myself so much I have chest pains & anxiety I just want this to be all over. It’s day 17 & day 3 Of treating this ear infection.

 

[FeralHearts]

*hugs*

As I was reminded the other day by a kind soul here... Antibiotics can take a bit to truly get into the system properly and start their job. I know it sucks to watch her like this though. Very stressful and worrisome. (I have two I'm helicopter momming atm so I totally relate)

You are doing a great job though. Keep an eye on her. Especially for diarrhea , tossing her cookies - and the usual eating, pooping peeing stuff.

You can always touch base with her vet if you are worried and make sure things are normal.

I don't have experience with a cat and vertigo but as a person who has had it before, and deaf in one ear on top of that (my whole life), I can tell you healing takes time with ear infections and they are not at all fun.

XOXOXOXOXOX Sending love and healing vibbes your way.

 

[LuckyGirl82]

*hugs*

As I was reminded the other day by a kind soul here... Antibiotics can take a bit to truly get into the system properly and start their job. I know it sucks to watch her like this though. Very stressful and worrisome. (I have two I'm helicopter momming atm so I totally relate)

You are doing a great job though. Keep an eye on her. Especially for diarrhea , tossing her cookies - and the usual eating, pooping peeing stuff.

You can always touch base with her vet if you are worried and make sure things are normal.

I don't have experience with a cat and vertigo but as a person who has had it before, and deaf in one ear on top of that (my whole life), I can tell you healing takes time with ear infections and they are not at all fun.

XOXOXOXOXOX Sending love and healing vibbes your way.

Thank you sooo sooo much for your kind words they truly do mean so much to me!

I’m trying to have patience (I’m the worst at it lol) so the minute she isn’t up & about I go into a constant state of panic that she isn’t feeling well. I work from home so I’m constantly around her & checking in I haven’t left the house in 17 days (only to go to the vet) because I’m scared to leave her. I know I should go out & do something to take my mind off of it but it’s just hard.

She ate, drank & went to the bathroom today. No vomiting. She didn’t get up for her dinner but she did pop her head up when the Can opened & I brought over the dish to her where she ate it all. She then got down from the couch, cleaned herself & now is sleeping on my hubbys lap.

I’ve read this can be a long recovery with lots of ups & downs which is scary to a person like me with anxiety lol. I’m hoping that tomorrow will be a better day & I can just breath.

Thank you for the positive vibes I need all I can’t get over here!

 

[Furballsmom]

Does anyone have any experience with inner ear infection (cloudiness in the ears) & vertigo??

Daftcat's Krista had an inner ear infection
Alternatives To Denamarin?

Have you tried anything like chamomile tea to help calm you a little?

 

[LuckyGirl82]

Daftcat's Krista had an inner ear infection
Alternatives To Denamarin?

Have you tried anything like chamomile tea to help calm you a little?

Thank you for posting that thread to read. Lucky was still sleeping on the couch she did get up & stretch then switch sides but that’s been it for hours. I’m getting frustrated & losing hope she will ever get better.

I actually tried chamomile tea last night & it didn’t work I still feel highly anxious. I’m just hoping tomorrow I will wake up & she’ll magically be better. I’m putting it out in the universe so hopefully it happens lol. I will keep you all posted on how she is tomorrow.

 

[Furballsmom]

You might try Holy basil, it is an herb that will help keep you calm, centered and will help you deal with the stress it is highly recommended by a couple of members.

 

[daftcat75]

Krista had an inner ear infection with a ruptured eardrum. The cluster of symptoms and effects they call it Horner’s Syndrome. Her third eyelid on the side with the ruptured eardrum was always halfway up. So she needed daily eye drops to keep that eye lubricated. I forget what ear care I did. But fortunately that’s all early in the thread. I do know that because of the ruptured eardrum, there was little my vet wanted to put in there. I think she was on an oral systemic antibiotic instead. (Baytril as an inpatient and Vancomycin when she came home.)

Mostly I just remember it took patience on my part. She didn’t mind much. Sure she had a head tilt, the eyelid halfway up, and she was wobbly. But she also wanted to do all the same activities as before. She wanted to jump all the same jumps and mostly did. With messy landings of course. But she’s tough. I wasn’t talking her out of any of it. Instead, I put up cat stairs to her favorite perches, bought an XL dog crate in case I needed to leave her, and took away her favorite cat tree, the one that’s required the biggest jump to get into. We never used the crate, she never used the stairs, and the cat tree came back out in a week or two. I think I figured the easiest way for her to get through it was to let her figure it out. She had so much else going on at the time (and since!) that I don’t really remember much else of her Horners other than it did slowly but steadily clear up over a couple of months.

(The pictures are a day or two after her eardrum ruptured and earlier today, some nine months later. )

 

[KittyCat Angel]

So happy !

 

[LuckyGirl82]

You might try Holy basil, it is an herb that will help keep you calm, centered and will help you deal with the stress it is highly recommended by a couple of members.

Thank you I’m going to look into that. I got about 3 to 4 hours of sleep last night. She finally got off the couch tan 4:30 & ate. We brought her up to bed where she slept then her brother came up wanting to play fight so she did that for a bit so I was able to get some sleep. This morning she just wanted outside she’s wasn’t interested in the food (I believe it’s the flavor of food she dislikes & only likes Salmon) We gave her the meds foolishly at 7:30 & within 5 min she threw them up. Called the vet & they said give the meds again as it was such a short time span she threw it up. I gave her the Salmon flavor of food which she demolished & then just half of the dosage of meds I just don’t want to overdose her. She’s outside right now walking along with hubby.

Today I plan to take it easy & focus on me. then Monday if all is good with her I plan to get out & do some shopping.

 

[LuckyGirl82]

Krista had an inner ear infection with a ruptured eardrum. The cluster of symptoms and effects they call it Horner’s Syndrome. Her third eyelid on the side with the ruptured eardrum was always halfway up. So she needed daily eye drops to keep that eye lubricated. I forget what ear care I did. But fortunately that’s all early in the thread. I do know that because of the ruptured eardrum, there was little my vet wanted to put in there. I think she was on an oral systemic antibiotic instead. (Baytril as an inpatient and Vancomycin when she came home.)

Mostly I just remember it took patience on my part. She didn’t mind much. Sure she had a head tilt, the eyelid halfway up, and she was wobbly. But she also wanted to do all the same activities as before. She wanted to jump all the same jumps and mostly did. With messy landings of course. But she’s tough. I wasn’t talking her out of any of it. Instead, I put up cat stairs to her favorite perches, bought an XL dog crate in case I needed to leave her, and took away her favorite cat tree, the one that’s required the biggest jump to get into. We never used the crate, she never used the stairs, and the cat tree came back out in a week or two. I think I figured the easiest way for her to get through it was to let her figure it out. She had so much else going on at the time (and since!) that I don’t really remember much else of her Horners other than it did slowly but steadily clear up over a couple of months.

(The pictures are a day or two after her eardrum ruptured and earlier today, some nine months later. )

I’m so glad Krista made a full recovery it really gives me hope. I’m the worst at being patient & ive read so many things about having patience with this because it can be a long road to recovery.

My hubby is the same as you with letting her figure out things on her own I’m more of a let me baby you kind of person lol. She can finally jump on the coffee table to get to the couch but she has taking some falls trying to jump up on other things. She still hasn’t attempted the kitchen island but she can jump down from it. We have drawers at the foot of our bed & I leave them open for her so she can get in & out of the bed but she prefers to try to jump up the bed (our bed is high so she fell) & jump down the bed. I just can’t wait for the day she can jump up on things like she use to.

Our vet didn’t say anything about a ruptured ear drum only that the ears were both cloudy especially the one she was leaning more into. When the meds are done in 10 days I’m defiantly taking her back for a follow up. I’m hoping the antibiotics resolve this & we don’t have to do surgery.

Thank you for the pictures too it’s encouraging & comforting to me to see the improvement Krista made. About what timeframe did she start landing her jumps? I know it’s different for every cat & How Long was she on medication?

 

[daftcat75]

Thank you I’m going to look into that. I got about 3 to 4 hours of sleep last night. She finally got off the couch tan 4:30 & ate. We brought her up to bed where she slept then her brother came up wanting to play fight so she did that for a bit so I was able to get some sleep. This morning she just wanted outside she’s wasn’t interested in the food (I believe it’s the flavor of food she dislikes & only likes Salmon) We gave her the meds foolishly at 7:30 & within 5 min she threw them up. Called the vet & they said give the meds again as it was such a short time span she threw it up. I gave her the Salmon flavor of food which she demolished & then just half of the dosage of meds I just don’t want to overdose her. She’s outside right now walking along with hubby.

Today I plan to take it easy & focus on me. then Monday if all is good with her I plan to get out & do some shopping.

Holy Basil is also called tulsi, and usually found as a tea. It can be found as loose leaf or a powder at herb shops.

tulsi tea - Google Search

 

[daftcat75]

I’m so glad Krista made a full recovery it really gives me hope. I’m the worst at being patient & ive read so many things about having patience with this because it can be a long road to recovery.

My hubby is the same as you with letting her figure out things on her own I’m more of a let me baby you kind of person lol. She can finally jump on the coffee table to get to the couch but she has taking some falls trying to jump up on other things. She still hasn’t attempted the kitchen island but she can jump down from it. We have drawers at the foot of our bed & I leave them open for her so she can get in & out of the bed but she prefers to try to jump up the bed (our bed is high so she fell) & jump down the bed. I just can’t wait for the day she can jump up on things like she use to.

Our vet didn’t say anything about a ruptured ear drum only that the ears were both cloudy especially the one she was leaning more into. When the meds are done in 10 days I’m defiantly taking her back for a follow up. I’m hoping the antibiotics resolve this & we don’t have to do surgery.

Thank you for the pictures too it’s encouraging & comforting to me to see the improvement Krista made. About what timeframe did she start landing her jumps? I know it’s different for every cat & How Long was she on medication?

So as I said, Krista was going through a lot of other things at the time. The drool in the picture was from dental extractions. If you look to the lower right corner, you might be able to make out the IV sticking out of her arm. She was hospitalized for ten days in January with liver enzymes off the charts, a pancreatitis flare-up, and dental pain. She's had recurring ear infections. While cleaning out her ears since she was sedated, I guess the gunk got pushed too far or something else happened. I'm not pointing fingers at the Dr because I know she would never mean to do something like this.

Now months later, I discovered she has food sensitivities that present themselves like ear infections. When the problem food is removed, the ears clear up. I can only comment on behavior. She won't let me look in her ears so I can't say for sure. But she used to shake her head and scratch at her ear. Now she doesn't. If I give her egg or fish flakes, the head shake and scratching returns.

Here's a home remedy that gave Krista's ear relief. Ask your vet about this before you try it. It may not be appropriate in your case. Whenever Krista got the head shakes, it sounded like her ear was filled up with fluid. Again, I can't tell you what it looked like because she never let me look in there. Even touching the base of that ear would set off a head shake. When her ear got like this, I would brew up a cup of chamomile tea and let it cool again. To that, I would add a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar. I used a cotton ball or make-up removal square to soak up some of this tea and gently press out a few drops into the top of her ear and let it drip or have her shake it on in. As much as she didn't like this, it brought her quick relief. The head shaking and scratching would settle down. The fluid sound in her ear would disappear with a couple of treatments. Chamomile has anti-microbial properties and it is also soothing to the ear tissues. The apple cider vinegar also has anti-microbial properties. If you were prescribed drops, use those. But if you think she could use something extra between drops, ask your vet if you can make and administer this ear tea for her.

I don't really remember the timeframe of her recovery. I'm sure I documented that over the course of the thread.

I haven't read your thread through yet. Is her vertigo a result of an injury? If it's expected to heal on its own, I'm sure it will. It will just take time. In the meantime, I can't talk you out of worrying about her or wanting to coddle her. But I will say she will heal faster being allowed to make the jumps she wants to make. She'll learn and adjust. Just like a baby learning how to walk, she's going to fall sometimes. She'll get there.

 

[sweet jane flash]

LuckyGirl82 you might try ginkgo biloba extract (leaf) (vitamin shop) for your anxiety, it is always tough when cat gets ill, and it did help with my anxiety. Only twice a day with breakfast and lunch (120 mg.) did the trick. It is sold primarily for memory and circulation but there have been scientific studies that it helps with anxiety. From my personal experience there were no bad side effects and it sure calmed me down. Don't worry cat will eventually get well again, sometimes just seems to take too long. Good idea you treat yourself very well now too, maybe even buy yourself some cheerful flowers and take warm bath. I love how you love your cat so!!! Cat will get better, we're keeping our paws crossed!

 

[KittyCat Angel]

Botanical remedies do seem effective for some. I know people that take Valarien root .
From Healthline & Nutrition News - -
"Valerian root is often referred to as "nature's Valium." In fact, this herb has been used since ancient times to promote tranquility and improve sleep. "