Cat foaming at the mouth after being given liquid trimethroprim antibiotic

susan denning

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This is an update on my cat Trixie. As those of you who read my other post know, Trixie is being treated for a UTI, and there was some concern that my other cat Felix might be stressing her or that she might have developed a stress related UTI for other reasons. I haven't made up my mind about if Felix is part of the problem - Especially since he has seemed to be treating her well lately, and my parents seem to think the cats have an ok relationship. I do wonder though.

Trixie is on her third round of antibiotics (the first two were amoxicillin, changed to trimethroprim yesterday. The vet's office said her urinalysis looked better than last time, but that she was not completely over the UTI. When I asked about doing a culture and sensitivity, she said that they could if I wanted, but that she thought that we were on the right track. I deferred the culture due to cost. The vet's office gave her her first dose of antibiotic yesterday, which went fine. When my Dad and I gave it her her this morning, she started foaming/drooling really badly. Her chin was wet, and she had some roapy saliva hanging down. When I called the vet's office, they said that they thought it was due to her not liking the taste, and to try to get the antibiotic further down. I am going to try it on my own tonight, and see if that goes any better. My parents will not be available to help this week (as they are helping my sister while she has a chemotherapy session), so I will be on my own when it comes to medicating her. I'm looking for advice on giving liquid antibiotics in general and on avoiding triggering another reaction in particular. Also, any thoughts on what might be helpful on getting Trixie back to normal? Thanks.
 

daones

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I cant give much information about UTI's but I can about the antibiotics... A lot of my cats have a reaction to the medicine it seems lf the pill isnt going down their throat almost as if keeping it in their mouth it mixes with the saliva and leads to foaming, had this happen to a cat of mine years ago and just recently a few months ago... The worst part is when they experience this you will find it much harder to administer the medicine again because they will remember the smell.

Im hoping some other people have some tips for giving medicine because it can be tricky to do, I wouldnt advise mixing it in food some of them can smell the medicine and then wont eat it also if you try a syringe and break down the medicine and mix with water you also get the same issue with the foaming...For me the best way is just the dropping it in their throat and holding their head back and opening their mouth and massaging their throat gently to work the medicine down before it mixes with saliva... easier said then done though.
 

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Has she had a UA done? Does she have crystals or is it just a plain UTI? I would probably stop the new antibiotic as the cat still has antibiotics in her system and it can wait until you call the vet. Call the vet in the morning and get a culture done. They need to find out what kind of infection it is rather than guessing at this point in the game and then find the correct medication to treat it rather than throwing antibiotics at it and it not getting cleared up. You can try corn silk and D-Mannose to help with infection. Also, to help with stress, you can get Feliway or Comfort Zone diffusers and run them 24/7. What are you feeding her? If she is prone to UTIs, she needs to be on a mainly wet food diet with limited dry food consumption.
 
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susan denning

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Thanks for your replies. She's had two UAs done at this point, and from what I can see online neither of them showed crystals. The vet hasn't mentioned crystals to me either. I did wonder about asking for a culture to be done, and am wondering if I let myself be talked out of it too easily yesterday.

I have been feeding her both canned and dry KD food.

This is the third UTI she's had in her life that I know of. The second one was over a year ago.
 
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susan denning

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I did try giving her evening dose. I was able to get it in better using the technique the office showed me (having her face away from me and bring the syringe towards her mouth. The bad news though, is that I think she spit some of it out onto her face. She also started producing copious saliva again. So, I think I may have to try further down next time. She's not wanting anything to do with me right now, but I will check on her once she settles down.
 

neely

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It's easier for me to medicate our cat when necessary with a liquid syringe as opposed to a pill. I always come from behind him, i.e. the element of surprise. I make sure he's on the floor, then I bend down so that he's between my legs and can't escape. It works best for me to do it quickly and not hesitate or he will squirm and run. You may want to give your cat a swallow break to help eliminate her spitting it out. Then follow up with a treat or two.

I understand that Trixie may avoid you for now but I promise she will forgive you. :hugs: Whether you decide to use a pill or a syringe I thought these two Articles might have some helpful information for you:
Pilling Cats: Must-know Tips For Hiding Pills – Cat Articles
How Can I Give A Pill To My Cat – Cat Articles
 

FeebysOwner

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Hi. First off, the only way to know for sure what kind of bacteria is causing the UTI is to have a urine culture done. The sensitivity testing then tells the vet what are the most effective antibiotics to use for that specific bacteria. If this is not done, the vet can only make an educated guess as to the antibiotic to use. Three rounds on antibiotics to clear a UTI seems extreme. Feeby has had a few bouts of e-coli related UTIs, and it wasn't cleared up initially because only a urinalysis was done. After a urine culture, my vet chose another antibiotic based on the e-coli and the sensitivity testing and the UTI was cleared on a 14 day dosage of Orbax. Just using Feeby's case as an example for you.

Secondly, the antibiotic Feeby was put on is in liquid form and at first I tried the oral syringe approach which caused her to foam at the mouth, spit, cough, hack. So, the next (and all subsequent ones) dose, I measured the antibiotic into a small dish and then added either canned tuna or chicken water to it - just enough to mask the taste. Feeby lapped it up with no issues. I then would give her a piece of the canned tuna or chicken as a treat afterward.

Hope this information helps!
 

verna davies

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First the UTI, was an infection identified, if not then I cant see why he needs antibiotics. If its crystals then they need to be desolved. D-Mannose will do this and Cornsilk will help any inflammation that the crystals cause. Both have been mentioned by stephanietx stephanietx .
The foaming is quite possibly caused because the meds have a bitter taste. Try syringing the meds in and follow with a small amount of water syringed into the mouth to wash the taste away.
 

kittenmittens84

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You might want to try giving a liquidy squeeze up treat like churu or delectables right after giving her the medicine. Eating the treat will hopefully distract her (because it seems like 99% of cats go nuts for these) and also move everything down out of her mouth/throat and into the stomach so it can’t foam back up.
 

Burts

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When Oliver had what the first vet says urinary tract InfectioN with no testing done, he was given antibiodics which did nothing, I went back after 10 days on antibiodics which did absolutly nothing probably made him more sick he gave me more of it and I didnt trust him at that point cause I did a ton of research on my own... When i asked him if he was sure its an infection he got cocky with me, never went back to him again...He didnt even give my cat painkillers!!!

I went to another vet at the same clinic and told her about the antibiodic bullcrap and that I didnt believe he had a infection and she totally agreed with me. He was treated as Urinary Tract Inflammation, taken off antibiodics, I started him on holistic uromaxx, pain killers, and SO royal canin diet and he was cured

Wasnt it said that like 10% or so was an actual infection and that 90% was not.....
Just something to think about, the overuse of antibiodics is bad

Also you do the culture before antibiodics cause that kills the point of a culture, backwards vets
 
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susan denning

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Thanks all for your replies. To answer some of the questions that were raised. Two urinalyses were done, both showed bacteria and WBCs, neither were sent for culture. So, they did confirm UTI by tesing, but did not do cultures. No crystals were found, but that wouldn't surprise me, because Trixie has beginning CKD and drinks a lot.

The fact that the vet talked about stress reduction with me, said that she saw more WBCs than would be expected for the amount of bacteria (first urinalysis), and talked about switching Trixie's food to a CKD compatible one that is also designed for cats with stress related problems (hasn't been done yet) does make me think that she suspects stress may be playing a role. So, I'm a little confused about what the primary problem is (stress vs infection). If it is stress, then I don't want to ignore that, as I'm afraid that problem won't ever be solved if I do. So, I may very well have to take a closer look at the relationship between Felix and Trixie. I was definitely hoping for a straighforward UTI.

My plan right now is to call the vet's office again to ask if they want me to continue the medication despite the foaming. I will also try the swishing some water in her mouth and/or giving her a treat trick and see if that helps. If her next UA doesn't come back normal, I will definitely ask for a culture.
 
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