Baytril And Ckd

Hello! I have a 14yr old CKD kitty, Kaluha, that has had pretty stable levels the last year and a half. He came down with a urinary infection of sorts a few weeks ago and after an emergency trip to the vet late one evening he was put on Clavamox. He improved quickly, finished his last dose 4 days ago. I made his appointment for a urine recheck and the evening before (yesterday) he started showing symptoms again.

His Vet just called and said he still has an infection and that it’s the same one, not a new one, and prescribed him 22.5mg Baytril taste tabs once per day, for 56 days. I promptly jumped down the google rabbit hole and I’m reading a lot of conflicting information on whether or not this is safe for him to be on. Some info says it’s fine, some says not to use in severe cases of renal failure, and other stuff has nothing to do with renal failure and has to do with the length of time they take it.

Has anyone had experience with this? It’s been a stressful month of vet visits so I’ve been having a lot of anxiety, I could just be overly worried. Thanks for reading my ramble!

Recent blood work last week:
SDMA- 17
BUN- 36
Creatinine- 3.8
Phosphorus- 3.9

I don't know anything about that specific medicine I would assume that you're vet wouldn't prescribe him anything dangerous, but it is always good to check and hopefully someone with a bit more knowledge will appear with better advice! I hope all goes well for you and Kaluha, and that he starts feeling better soon, I do understand how scary all of the urinary issues can be though!

Ok so I asked my vet as they have a 24 hour help line and they said that baytril is not usually recommended in cats with any kind of renal failure or renal dysfunction. They said they would recommend having a culture done on the bacteria if possible and then determining which antibiotics it is sensitive to, and go with those options that are less risky, unless baytril is the only choice in which you have to kinda just hope for the best as the infection has to be cleared up.

Rosepud said:

Ok so I asked my vet as they have a 24 hour help line and they said that baytril is not usually recommended in cats with any kind of renal failure or renal dysfunction. They said they would recommend having a culture done on the bacteria if possible and then determining which antibiotics it is sensitive to, and go with those options that are less risky, unless baytril is the only choice in which you have to kinda just hope for the best as the infection has to be cleared up.

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Wow thank you for doing that! I had a culture done while Kaluha was on the Clavamox so he had mentioned another one wasn’t necessary unless this medication didn’t work. I’m going to have to call tomorrow and see what they have to say about it. It just doesn’t sit well with me, and seems like a really long time.

I’m going to have to call tomorrow and see what they have to say about it. It just doesn’t sit well with me, and seems like a really long time.[/QUOTE]
I agree it seems like a very long time, and like baytril should really be a lasst resort so maybe when you call tomorrow ask if they would be willing to re-culture or use the old one and test to see which antibiotics it's sensitive to, other than baytril?

Rosepud said:

I’m going to have to call tomorrow and see what they have to say about it. It just doesn’t sit well with me, and seems like a really long time.

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I agree it seems like a very long time, and like baytril should really be a lasst resort so maybe when you call tomorrow ask if they would be willing to re-culture or use the old one and test to see which antibiotics it's sensitive to, other than baytril?[/QUOTE]

Yeah, absolutely. If there is a safer medication I would much rather find out. I also left a message with the veterinarian that treated him at the emergency clinic for a second opinion and should hear from her in the morning. In the meantime, I’m going to hold off on his first dose tonight and just do pain meds. I’m very ready for him to start feeling better!

One of my cats was on Baytril many years ago for a short time. It wasn't the first antibiotic tried and he didn't have CKD. One thing with Baytril, the dosage has to be right. If the dosage is to high it can cause a cat to go blind.

My Inky was on baytril a few times but it's a very strong antibiotic and it can cause blindness.
Inky was on it for several reasons at the end of his life. He was diabetic and very prone to severe infections. He had chronic ear infections that eventually turned to cancer in his ears. He also had tooth infections and lost or had most of his teeth removed.

He had a couple of abcesses and chronic infections and he was cultured and baytril was good for the infections also after less strong antibiotics didn't work. It also could be guveg subcutaneous which he also needed. Any oral medications caused extreme stress drooling and vomiting. If he stopped eating his diabetes was very hard to regulate and he'd go into a low blood sugar crisis very quickly.
So all his medications were subcutaneous or im. He was fine on baytril but I don't remember it being that long. His kidneys were also fine.
Honestly I would do a new culture and talk to your vet about your concerns.

Thank you for all the response!

I spoke with the emergency vet that treatment him first, and she said there were plenty of other options she would chose first over Baytril due to the side effects and his kidney disease. She was also concerned about the length of time he was to be on it. She offered to prescribe something if his regular vet isn’t able to help us.

His primary vet called back and said he put him on it knowing it was strong enough to knock anything out and was concerned the infection was moving further up the urinary track to his kidneys. He understood why I was uneasy about it and offered to look into some other options.

I would much rather try something more kidney friendly instead of risking potential nasty side effects although I do now understand his thought process for prescribing it. I suppose I will see how it goes! Fingers crossed this new medication will work and get my kitty back up and running soon.

Although my current kitty does not have CKD, I had to put two of them on an antibiotic. I have used Baytil recently on my kitties (not prescribed by MY vet), and thankfully did not have any adverse reactions. They both needed a second round, and I went to my vet, and told them of all the treatment they have had including medications. I specifically told her that I would really not want Baytril prescribed again, to which she responded that she does not use this antibiotic on cats, as she feels their are other effective and safer options. They are currently on Doxyclycline, which to my recollection, is in the same family as Baytril, if you need that type of antibiotic, but safe for cats. My kitties are using it for URIs though, not UTIs.

We have hopefully found a solution! We had a few options on the table and went with good ol trusty Amoxicillin for 1 month. Pretty drastic difference. Fingers crossed this does the trick. We’ve been in and out of the vet for the last 3 months and could use a break.