Discountinue Medication?

myrlien

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Hi. My cat is on amoxicillin for a stubborn urinary tract infection. She may be having a reaction, and it came when the vet is closed and on a long weekend, so I can't ask them what to do for another 2 days. My gut reaction is to discontinue, but I'm looking for a sanity check.

I noticed this morning a red sore under one of her eyes (upper cheek, but not touching the eye). I thought it was a wound, but 8 hrs later I noticed another spot developing on the other cheek in the same place, so it seems more like a reaction. I think that this is due to the amoxicillin because other medication and food has not changed. She hasn't had other symptoms like vomiting or gastrointestinal problems.

The facts --
  • Amoxicillin 3x a day for 21 days, 100mg/dose (50mg/ml suspension, 2ml dose)
  • We have finished 18 full days, 3 days to go. I saw symptoms of the UTI 11 days and 13 days into the prescription, so just hoping that it's completely gone now at 18 days
  • This UTI has been hounding us for 2 months and previous medications have not cleared it. She also has CKD and there's concern it may affect her kidneys
  • Other medications she's on include prednisolone, cartrophen, subq fluids. Added to food - aluminum hydroxide powder, restoralax, and other supplements
  • Other medical conditions include CKD, heart murmur, some masses on her intestines (maybe lymphoma? We didn't do a biopsy due to her age, but the prednisolone seems to keep it in check as it has not progressed according to recent ultrasound)
  • She's 21 years old, so age things are happening. Weighs 4.46kg / 9.8lb

Am I doing the right thing stopping the medication before the full prescription is complete, without talking to the vet? Also, should I be treating the sore or just watch it for now? I will be talking to the vet as soon as I can, but would appreciate any advice in the meantime
 

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Furballsmom

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Hi
I'm not a vet and can't give advice, but oh my goodness, honey baby that looks so ouchy 😞💗 .

Does she seem uncomfortable?

Maybe some chamomile tea (store bought is fine, garden grown is not) unflavored/unblended, organic, brewed and cooled and gently dabbed on. It's anti fungal, anti bacterial, will ease discomfort and if she were to ingest any it's safe.

Just in case you aren't familiar, try Hydra Care and see if there's something here, especially the baby food soup;

Tips To Increase Your Cat’s Water Intake – TheCatSite Articles
 

FeebysOwner

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Hi. I guess if it were me, given how close you are to the end of the antibiotic regimen, I would discontinue it, just in case. Has the vet done a urine culture after the urinalyses to determine the actual bacteria involved? That is the only way to help ensure the correct antibiotic is being used to get rid of the infection.

In Feeby's case (18+yo, Hyper-T, CKD, arthritis, recent lymphoma diagnosis), she would repeatedly get UTIs related to e-coli bacteria - identified through urine cultures. I started giving her pure D-Mannose as that helps to remove excess bacteria in the bladder. Since she has been on it, her UTIs stopped. Other members on this site use it with their cats for general overall bladder health.

What kind of symptoms does she have with the UTI? Have they ruled out this being a kidney infection vs. bladder? Antibiotics for the former are usually given for very long periods of time before they are effective. However, if that were your situation, I would certainly want to try another antibiotic just to be on the safe side.
 
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myrlien

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They did a urine culture, I don't recall the name of the bacteria or if they mentioned it. They said it has resistance to the previous medication that we tried and that the amoxicillin should work. Also that we should be concerned that it may start affecting the kidneys, but didn't call it a kidney infection.

The symptoms she had initially is occasionally urinating on bed, and in the litterbox there was sometimes dribbling instead of normal clumps. Also she started choosing a new spot to spend her time that's a bit more hidden. On the amoxicillin, the day 11 and day 13 symptoms were urinating on bed. Day 13 was only a tiny amount though.

I just ordered D-Mannose, it sounds safe and promising. Thank you both for the insight!
 
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myrlien

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How does her face look today? Have you had a chance to try the tea?
It hasn't gotten better, but it hasn't gotten worse either which feels like good news. I hope when the amoxicillin passes out of her system it'll start healing. She's grooming and eating like normal, and doesn't seem to be in pain. She's even grooming her face.

I haven't tried the tea yet, just watching it for now. I think she's starting to realize that the oral medication experience is over, and she's snoozing next to me instead of hiding under the bed... I don't have the heart to start wrestling with her just yet! But I will buy some Q tips for application (it's so close to her eyes) and be ready to go just in case.
 

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myrlien

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Hi! Sorry, I haven't logged in in a while and just saw this.

She's doing great! Her face is healing, she has little hairless spots there now but there's no open wounds. We saw the vet, but she was already on the mend by the time we got there so they didn't really do anything. And I got her on D-Mannose so hopefully that UTI will stay away.
 
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