Convenia side effects?

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Em6999

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I know this is an old thread but I’m wondering if convenia killed my baby. She was just 3 months old, came to me 6/7 weeks ago. She had a rough start with some sneezing Etc which was thought to be cat flu. This went on for about 3 weeks and we then went for a checkup as she was so bunged up and struggling with her breathing. vet decided she should have an antibiotic and a painkiller (turned out to be convenia and metacam). She also had a night of Iv fluids. Next couple of days she improved slightly; respiratory stuff was much better and she was eating and drinking. Her pee was bright yellow and then she developed liquid explosive diarrhoea another couple of days later with a drop in her eating/drinking. Her lethargy never improved. She died in her sleep last night. I am absolutely devastated. She had convenia 7 days ago. Was this convenia or something else..?
 

furrypurry

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Em, I am so sorry. I can only imagine how you must be feeling. I suppose nobody can tell you exactly what caused this, but I know I will never let anybody use Convenia with my two again. There is a lot of information online about the adverse effects. Whatever, just please try and not blame yourself, because you didn't know. Big hugs to you.
 

white shadow

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Hello Em6999 - and, welcome here !

I only wish the circumstances bringing you here were different.

I’m wondering if convenia killed my baby.......Was this convenia or something else..?
An exact and definitive cause? Even with the most expert examination, that truth might never become known.

BUT........you have provided some very compelling evidence pointing to factors that have caused severe adverse reactions in other cats.

Here's what you said that may be the 'smoking gun':

....(The) vet decided she should have an antibiotic and a painkiller (turned out to be convenia and metacam).
Now...........each of these drugs is a "highly protein-bound medication". I'll give you a simple, plain-English description of what that means. (This description was written about a different drug by an eminently-respected Board Certified Specialist in Feline Practice, Dr. Wendy Brooks), but, again it describes what this term "highly protein-bound" means:

Grapiprant is a highly protein-bound medication. What that means is that in the bloodstream, 95 percent of grapiprant is transported bound to an albumin (carrier protein) molecule while the rest is floating free in the bloodstream. The five percent that is floating free is the active portion. As the free portion is removed from the body by the liver, the blood protein gives up what it is carrying to replace it. This continues until all of the drug has been removed by the liver. Problems can result when other highly protein-bound drugs are used concurrently. The drugs will "fight" over places on the albumin carrier molecule (imagine a bus with only a certain number of seats and too many passengers trying to fill them). The drug with the higher protein affinity will be carried and the other drug is left floating free and active, meaning there will be much more active drug than normal. This can lead to toxicity problems. Grapiprant has not been tested with other drugs in this way so how significant an issue this is remains to be seen. [LINK: Grapiprant (Galliprant) - Veterinary Partner - VIN (my emphasis)]​

Because of the potential for toxicity problems/"adverse reactions", drug regulators in jurisdictions where these drugs have been approved have mandated cautionary warnings - and consequently these are included in the manufacturer's package inserts/prescribers' literature, drug handbooks etc. In addition, this info appears on the websites of the EU Medicines agency and NOAH in the UK (that's the drug industry site). So.....it is widely available.

Another advisory to prescribers is that the safety of these two drugs in kittens younger than 4 months is unknown......

The manufacturer of Convenia makes abundantly clear the importance of determining whether/not this drug is the appropriate choice based on identification of the type of bacteria present.

Finally, in this case, neither of these two drugs have been used in accordance with the approved uses laid out by the regulators.

There is another clue provided in what you observed....the bright yellow urine is indicative of some degree of liver failure.

The diarrhea could have been caused by the antibiotic....competent feline Veterinarians will prescribe probiotic use during antibiotic use. Antibiotics will destroy the digestive gut bacteria, thereby causing diarrhea. Probiotics help restore it. Diarrhea in cats is debilitating - dehydration is a cat's arch enemy.

I suspect you're in the UK - this practice of the double-whammy willy-nilly Convenia+Metacam treatment is not uncommon there, unfortunately. IMO, it is a mark of incompetence.

I'll stop here. If you want references for any of the above, post back.
.
 

Judi-1

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A friend of mine had a very recent experience involving Convenia.

His 4-year old female cat apparently had a urinary tract infection [UTI]; she was otherwise a healthy cat. The cat was taken to a vet [not her regular vet], who as a first-line approach gave her an injection of Convenia.

Within a couple of hours the cat had become "a zombie"—extremely lethargic and not eating or drinking. The cat's health rapidly deteriorated and two days later she had to be euthanized. The severe reaction was clearly caused by the Convenia injection.

I understand there are many far less risky options to deal with a UTI in a cat, and Convenia appears in any event to be touted primarily for 'skin infections'. Plus Convenia stays in the body for a long time, as opposed to other non-injectable drugs that the body can get rid of quickly.
 

furrypurry

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My cats will never get this med again. The one who did get it several years ago recently died of cancer. I have to admit I have wondered if that drug had anything to do with that. He had a horrible reaction to Convenia that lasted for weeks. I knew nothing about the drug at the time.
 

Jess_Noble

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I am so sorry to hear all of the stories about negative side effects from convenia in this thread.

We just lost an 8 week old rescued kitten and I believe it was due to a convenia injection. She had a particularly stubborn/resistant upper respiratory infection that did not clear up right away like her litter mates did. Our regular vet (who is AAFP certified) tried 2 different antibiotics on her, and was reluctant to try any others due to her age. She was eating well and doing okay otherwise, so she wanted to give her some time.
Our holistic vet (who was taking these kittens into foster care with her, to be adopted out through her clinic) examined her when she took the 2 male kittens from the litter (they were larger and healthier than the 2 females) and decided to try her on a third antibiotic and some immune boosting supplements. When the third antibiotic didn't work, she gave her a convenia injection. I questioned at the time if that was safe in a kitten her age/size and she said it should be fine. I trusted her - assuming that a holistic vet would be more conservative/use "safer" meds. I now hate myself for it.

After she started having seizures 4 days after the convenia injection, she was hospitalized. Every test under the sun was performed to try to get to the cause of her symptoms, and all came back negative. Her CBD showed slightly reduced kidney function and mild anemia - that was it. I now think that was due to the convenia.
Her seizures continued to worsen and she was put on oral Keppra - which worked for a day or two, then she started having break through seizures - eventually to the point that IV meds could not stop them. Her color was terrible and she was suffering, so they called me to get permission to euthanize her right away - I didn't even have time to get there to be with her.

Nobody will entertain the idea that it was the convenia - nobody ever wants to point blame at a drug. The specialists decided that it was likely the "dry" form of FIP - but it just doesn't make sense to me. She was eating well up until the morning she died. She was never lethargic, always had a good appetite - never even had a day of diarrhea. It just didn't fit. I am becoming increasingly convinced it was the convenia and I am just SICK about it.

We are keeping her sister - I no longer trust the competence of our holistic vet and it just infuriates me that these things can be prescribed and when things go wrong, nobody has to take responsibility for it.
 

Catilicious

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Im only reading about the potential devastating effects one day after my baby was injected with it!
Im terrified after reading all of your experiences! Does anyone have positive experiences to share?
So far my baby looks depressed, and had a his stool partially diarrhoea today, apetite wise is fine.
Will everything be alright?!!!😱
...And this is his second convenia shot omg!!! First one was in September!
He has unresolved skin infection/rashes.. I shared in another post on cat site sometime ago about his infected paw. Now its all over his body.
Pls hope someone can share some positive experiences hopefully
 

Catlover1955

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Hello I just found this website and I'm so glad I did. Here's my story. I had bought some new catnip for my cat never used it before. She was fine other than I think she was having dental issues but she was still eating very well and seemed very healthy to me. After giving her this catnip a few days later, I noticed that she was having a real problem eating and her personality changed. Mind you she's 15, but I didn't put two and two together until like a week later. This catnip had different herbs in it two of which were lavender and chamomile. I was told by the vet assistant that cats are supposed to have any kind of flowers. But this catnip also had stems in it. Which I didn't notice until I got more into the product. I believe one of the stems got lodged in her salivary gland underneath her tongue. That's when she stopped eating because it became inflamed, and this went on for days I finally looked up holistic veterinarians and they're totally against antibiotics as well as commercial cat food. She told me that she felt that my cat Sheba had stomatitis. And to switch her to Raw food, which I did. I was doing everything I could I bought all these different herbal supplements to try to get her to eat and so I finally got her into the Vet a month later and he said she was dehydrated and he noticed the abscess underneath her tongue on the left side. He wanted to do blood work and I said I'm sorry I don't have the funds to do that. Please just give her an antibiotic and some fluids. Well unbeknownst to me, he gave her Covenia. He didn't tell me anything about it he didn't warn me of any side effects he just told me you know to go wait out side because his practice was very small and it couldn't accommodate people so I went outside and then he administered it and the fluids and I got her in her carrier and took a cab home. She became listless and lethargic and could barely walk and she wasn't that way before she got that shot. I hold him responsible. I've never been there it was only place I could get in. I feel it's his responsibility to inform the owner of what exactly they're giving their pet in the possible adverse side effects. I am so pissed off. Cuz now she she won't even come out from under the bed unless she has to use the litter box and then she doesn't make it to the litter box she pees on the mat in front of it. She's been drinking a lot of water but let me digress she was drooling from the mouth and that's because of the abscess. Sorry I'm just so exhausted from worrying about her not being able to sleep thinking she's going to die while I'm sleeping. I didn't know how bad this stuff is all he told me is it lasts for 2 weeks that was it. I hope she recovers I don't know if she will. So thankful I found this website and I'm so sorry for everything that everyone's gone through because of this horrific antibiotic.
 

Catlover1955

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I have a newly adopted cat - she was previously an outside cat and I think she's at least 7-8 years old - but I really don't know. I noticed she was having loose stools for awhile and I attributed this to having been an outside cat. But after awhile (and after switching to a high quality food) I noticed her stools were not getting any better. Other than her stool, she acted fairly normal - she liked to play, sleep, eat, etc.

I took her to the vet thinking they could help me solve the stool issue. I trusted this vet because they were a sister vet hospital to the one I used to take my dog to. Anyway, they seemed busy that day... they quickly took my cat's temp, checked her over and assessed that she could use a "antibiotic shot" as well as some science diet i/d pet food to help her tummy. (Side note: I think Science Diet is more hype than help - and I believe vets are paid to "prescribe" it - but I'll save that post for another time!) Two mistakes happened though: 1) I had previously told the vet that my cat was 5 years old - so that was on her chart. After finding out a little more about her history, I told the vet I thought she was probably at least 8 years old... the vet didn't really seem to digest that info though or regard it as important. 2) I didn't question what the vet was giving her. I just trusted the vet without asking what the shot (Convenia) was. Dumb me.

My cat appeared to get a little better after that, but after a few days I noticed that she was sleeping more and playing less. She gradually kept doing this and I think she may have plateaued at this point. It has been 27 days since she received the shot. She does not play anymore. She sleeps all the time. She eats her i/d food and drinks but then goes right back to sleep. She won't jump up anywhere high and when I hold her on the couch with me she is soooo careful when she gets down. She also slowly walks up and down the steps. She just seems to have lost her love of life. BTW: I really don't believe that has anything to do with no longer being an outdoor cat. She was perfectly content to be inside and in her new digs before she got her Convenia shot.

I don't know what is going on. The vet didn't see anything wrong with her yet said the antibiotic shot would probably help any bacteria that might be upsetting her tummy. Her stool is since just ok - once and awhile it gets soft again. I am so afraid of bringing her to any vet - I have had a number of experiences that have made me not really trust vets. The last vet was one I thought I could trust. Oh, I also took a stool sample in to have it tested for parasites and the vet said she was all clear.

Long story short: I can't seem to find a lot of info supporting that side effects from Convenia last this long, but I cannot think as to what the issue may be. I'd be surprised if it was the food. I highly suspect it has something to do with the Convenia... any thoughts?
Well first and foremost people you really have to stop feeding your cats the kibble and the canned food it's garbage I'm sorry but it is. They cook out the nutritional value then they put in preservatives and additives I eat chemicals cats can't assimilate that shit they're obligate carnivores. They need a raw diet which is 80/10/10. Meaning 80% raw meat 10% bone and 10% organs you'll never have a sick cat again. Veterinarians don't want you to do that cuz then they lost a customer we don't need them anymore I'm telling you it will cure anything that ails your cat or dog. Go Holistic.
 

fionasmom

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What is the time frame in this from the possible infected salivary gland to the Convenia injection? Did the abscess ever get better? I am wondering if your older cat never recovered from the first incident and that has taken a toll on her. Does she have any kidney issues at her age? Most drugs take longer to clear from the system of an older cat if the kidneys are not functioning properly.
 

Catlover1955

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What is the time frame in this from the possible infected salivary gland to the Convenia injection? Did the abscess ever get better? I am wondering if your older cat never recovered from the first incident and that has taken a toll on her. Does she have any kidney issues at her age? Most drugs take longer to clear from the system of an older cat if the kidneys are not functioning properly.
Hi there,
I just posted this yesterday. She was taken to the Vet on Tuesday Aug 9 2022.

The time frame was 3 weeks. From infection to injection. So she's only had the antibiotic in her system for almost 72 hours.

We'll see what attributed to this was the catnip about 2 days after giving her the catnip is when she started going downhill and there's several reasons for that. First because of the different types of flowers in it which I was told by the veterinary assistant at this vet's office that cats are not supposed to give be given any kind of flowers they're toxic to them. Had I looked into this beforehand I would have never given it to her. But besides that fact is that it had stems in it and I believe one of them got lodged in her salivary gland on the left side underneath her tongue. It was too painful for her to eat and she quit eating but that wasn't till like a week later. I did notice her having problems chewing and dropping food so she did have problems with her mouth before all this. Other than that she was a very hearty healthy cat. I let it go too long. It's my fault, nonetheless I'm doing everything I can to help her. So now what I'm doing I bought some tiki cat chicken and pumpkin mousse cat food. I use an eye dropper from one of her supplements and it's not your typical eye dropper it has a round opening so food can be sucked up into it and I give her food every couple hours and water as well. She seems to be doing a little bit better but it's a very slow process. I've read horror stories about this I wish I would have known this is what the veterinarian gave her but he didn't tell me he didn't give me any kind of possible adverse side effects, anything of that nature. I hold him responsible if she doesn't recover from this. And believe me I told him that. This veterinarian is clearly not in business for the benefit of the animals but for his own pocketbook.
 

fionasmom

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You are doing what you can. Given what she has been through, consider getting to an ER if she appears to become worse. That may not happen, hopefully, and you will see a gradual return to her former self.

You might consider getting some syringes to feed her. These are available online and might be easier than an eye dropper.
 

Catlover1955

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Thanks Fiona I really appreciate that. But I don't have the funds to do anything anymore I haven't worked in over a month and I'm waiting on an employment which in Washington State is a joke I've been waiting for some kind of response from them for over a month. I had to set up a GoFundMe account so I could even take her to the vet thank God a few of my good friends donated. So I don't think she's getting better I think she's on her way to recovery but being as sick as she was and dehydrated you know that took a toll on her obviously and being 15 just doesn't help the matter so I just keep praying and doing what I can. The eye dropper's not that bad actually. It only holds a milligram at a time but you have to understand I can't overwhelm her with food because she hasn't had a decent meal in 3 weeks all I've been giving her is this gel supplement that has vitamins in and omega-3s in it. I also give her water that way because she's been trying to drink water and it goes all down the front of her so I don't that's why she was so dehydrated because she's not ingesting much of it when she tries to drink it. I am just so beside myself she's my baby she's such a good cat and she doesn't deserve this. I wish I would have taken her in sooner but I guess I was just in denial. Thanks so much for your response I really appreciate it.
 

Catlover1955

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Thanks Fiona I really appreciate that. But I don't have the funds to do anything anymore I haven't worked in over a month and I'm waiting on an employment which in Washington State is a joke I've been waiting for some kind of response from them for over a month. I had to set up a GoFundMe account so I could even take her to the vet thank God a few of my good friends donated. So I don't think she's getting better I think she's on her way to recovery but being as sick as she was and dehydrated you know that took a toll on her obviously and being 15 just doesn't help the matter so I just keep praying and doing what I can. The eye dropper's not that bad actually. It only holds a milligram at a time but you have to understand I can't overwhelm her with food because she hasn't had a decent meal in 3 weeks all I've been giving her is this gel supplement that has vitamins in and omega-3s in it. I also give her water that way because she's been trying to drink water and it goes all down the front of her so I don't that's why she was so dehydrated because she's not ingesting much of it when she tries to drink it. I am just so beside myself she's my baby she's such a good cat and she doesn't deserve this. I wish I would have taken her in sooner but I guess I was just in denial. Thanks so much for your response I really appreciate it.
Sorry I'm using talk to text and sometimes it doesn't convey what you're saying.
 

Catlover1955

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One last thing I want to do convey. Cats cannot go for very long without eating or they develop fatty liver disease which is fatal. She had that like 5 years ago. I made the mistake of putting her in a harness with a leash and I wanted to walk her outside because she's an indoor only cat. Well the harness wasn't tight enough on her so she Houdinied her way out of it and took off. I kept going back to where she got loose and putting food out and calling for her and I did that for a good week. I even placed her litter box out there I mean I did whatever I could and then I finally gave up hope. Then a couple of months later I get a call from the Lynnwood Police department, stating that they had my cat. She was microchipped that's how they contacted me. They found her at a church of all places. They dropped her off at the last known address on the microchip and I'd forgotten that I didn't update it so thank God I wasn't too far away from there and I hurried over there and there she was standing at the porch of the back door. I picked her up and she was a bag of bones. Anyways she ended up having fatty liver disease the hospital for cats only that she was taken to was amazed that she was still alive. They kept her there for a couple of months and placed a tube in her neck to feed her because when they get fatty liver disease they are very nauseous and they stop eating and become anorexic and then they can die. So that was another concern of mine through this ordeal. I just pray and hope to God that she's going to recover from this. And then it's back to raw food only.
 

Ctriggs5

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Thank you all for the insight and knowledge. My buddy Cosmo went to the Vet for a wellness check two days ago, while there we were told that he had some wheezing/crackling so they provided him with a Covenia and steroid shot. Within 25 minutes my beautiful Cosmo passed away upon returning home. Could this potentially of lead to my cats passing? We are still in shock and grieving. He was a tremendous 11 year old cat
 

Catlover1955

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Yes I believe that doctors don't want to be held liable and so they'll make every excuse under the book to say that that didn't kill any animal. I think there needs to be a class action lawsuit against Zoetis or Pfizer. This shouldn't even be prescribed it should be taken off the market. They're saying that these are rare side effects where they become listless and stop eating and are zombies and have inappropriate urination. I read a vet that stated what my veterinarian that I took my cat to said that Covenia should not be used for any Dental issues because it doesn't kill the type of bacteria that are in the oral cavity. Because I was in contact with the vet that I took her to via text I copied and pasted that and sent that to him. See it's supposed to be used for soft tissue damage like wounds from cat bites or some kind of superficial infection on the body that becomes infected. I am so fed up with westernized medicine whether it be MD's or Veterinarians. All they want to do is give you a Band-Aid and not get to the root of the problem of why there are all these issues in animals that's what holistic veterinarians are for if my cat makes it I'm still going to sue this doctor I'm going to find a way because he just wanted to get her in and out. He told me when he examined her that she could have possible kidney failure well that also causes anemia and this drug this antibiotic this poison does that as well.
 

Catlover1955

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Isn't it more likely her low-grade fever is causing her to sleep a great deal and not be very active? That would be a typical reaction for a cat coping with a fever.

Perhaps the infection is a virus, in which case you would be using antibiotics for supportive care, or use an anti-viral medication. Perhaps she needs a different antibiotic such as Baytril or Clavamox. There are so many different type of bacteria, it might take more than one round of medication to help your cat. All drugs carry a risk for humans and animals. Some people can become gravely ill and even die from a drug that has been given to hundreds of thousands of other people with no ill effect. It's a risk, but a calculated one. I've cared for a few hundred cats over the past 40 years, both fosters and my own, and the only bad reaction any of them have had to the many antibiotics I've given them is diarrhoea - which I've treated with yogurt and pumpkin. Many cats I've cared for have been given the Convenia shot and not one has had a reaction to it, not even my Sam who has to be given Epogen injections for anemia and she was given one about a month ago.
It's well known that you do not use antibiotics for viruses it's the same for people. That's how you create super bugs. Surely you must know this!
 

Catlover1955

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What is the time frame in this from the possible infected salivary gland to the Convenia injection? Did the abscess ever get better? I am wondering if your older cat never recovered from the first incident and that has taken a toll on her. Does she have any kidney issues at her age? Most drugs take longer to clear from the system of an older cat if the kidneys are not functioning properly.
eating
 
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