Has anyone had a successful use of Convenia?

mrsgreenjeens

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Thank you for your posts and articles relating to Convenia! My vet has been administering Convenia to 2 of my cats periodically for a couple years. One has been diagnosed with eosinophilic granuloma (inoperable, on the tongue) which was confirmed by biopsy. The second is semi-feral and has relapsing sudden onset episodes of anorexia/possibly difficulty in swallowing, low temp, lethargy etc.and most recently was diagnosed with severely inflamed gums, painful timeline decay caries (1 where root was starting to be seen), ear infection, etc. all typical of an abandoned or semi-feral cat. Makes me very sad!! But I am trying my best to help! Anyway, in both cases,my vet uses the Convenia which vet told me "lasts 10 days." Your article states that Convenia lasts 2 months! So my question is whether there is a10-day Convenia or am I misinformed.
Also is Convenia effective in treating eosinophilic granuloma? In addition to the depamedral? every 7-8 weeks? Her flare ups seem to subside after injections of Convenia and most recently depomedral.
And is it effective and safe for the other cat? given symptoms. Or...could it be exacerbating symptoms?
Please help. Thanks.
First off, Convenia and Depo Medrol ARE a known treatment for eosinophilic granuloma.  That, along with diet.   Here is a very good informational website (IMHO)  regarding the matter:  http://www.2ndchance.info/egc.htm.

The ANTIBIOTIC effects of Convenia lasts for 10 days with the 1 shot, rather than having to give 2 pills a day for 10 days.  The actual drug can be found in their system for up to 45 days (I've heard), so if they have bad side effects, those can last for close to 2 months.  I think that's where that is coming from.  Hope that makes sense.  That's why many people chose not to use it, because IF there is a really bad side effect, you cannot immediately stop using it.  It's in their system and that's that. 

What has your semi-feral been diagnosed with? Has he been tested for all the usual things...FIV/FeLV, etc? 
 

czari

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Hi mykittos!

My cat, Kali, (who has now been estimated to be closer to 14 years old) continues to receive Convenia injections approximately every two months with no side effects whatsoever.  After reading this thread I relayed the info to my vet (I mentioned above she has a great reputation in the community, was the vet for three of my parents' dogs over the years; they were recommended to the vet by a neighbor with several dogs, etc.) and she said that various drugs go through user scares.  I forget which drugs she referenced but mentioned at least three that were supposedly absolutely horrible-to-lethal for cats - they ran their "scare course" - then another scare cropped up.  She provided some medical references for the safety and use of Convenia so I, personally, am fine with the antibiotic.  Having said that, not every cat/dog/human may react to the same med in the same way.  I know that from personal experience.  I used to be on a particular medication that I had no trouble with at all but, on forums that dealt with this type of med, the majority of posters reported experiencing horrible nausea/vomiting and could not take the med.  It is always wise to check out any medication and I'm glad that this thread prompted me to have a talk with my vet.

As far as the length of time Convenia is in the system, I honestly don't know the scientific answer.  Kali gets an injection approximately every 2ish months give or take.  We're going to the vet today and I will ask my vet that question.
I did ask my vet at the last visit how long Convenia stays in the system.  Her answer was 15 days. 
 

jtomcanin

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Hi,

I'm in a bit of a panic right now. The vet ACCIDENTALLY gave our kitty a Convenia shot. She was supposed to get Serenia, an anti-nausea medication and was given Convenia instead. I was already nervous about giving her a shot and specifically asked the vet if it was long-acting because my kitty's sister (who has since passed) had a very bad reaction to Convenia. The vet assured me that they weren't giving her anything long-acting. Just a shot of pred and anti-nausea medicine.

Upon checkout the assistant read through what kitty received and she said Convenia. I said she wasn't supposed to get any antibiotics and especially not Convenia because her sister almost died from it. NOTE: this isn't kitty's regular vet, who is closed on Saturdays. But we brought her in because she was having a problem with her ears and was shaking her head a lot. Being a holiday weekend, I wanted to make sure she had what she needed.

I don't know what to do. Aside from the fact that Kitty is unneccessarily on a round of antiobiotics which will throw her system out of whack, I'm incredibly worried about her reaction to Convenia. It's the last drug in the world I would have allowed her to get and here they give it to her by accident.

My biggest question is if anyone has given Convenia to their kitties without any adverse reactions? All I can find are negative reactions to this drug.

Thanks for any advice. Trying to stay positive here...
Hi, my cat gets Convenia shots every couple months because it is the only thing that stops his sneezing and snotting everywhere. He is 15 and the constant sneezing and hacking and snot give him a terrible quality of life. He has not had a bad reaction yet.
 

Monk'sMom

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I'd echo cat princess, above. It was a life saver for us, twice. Mr. Monk (the one in my avatar) had a severe puncture wound from an aggressive neighborhood cat that became infected. To be cautious, we started with oral Amoxicillin, and despite following directions to a T (not on an empty stomach etc.) and his taking the full doses in, he promptly vomited every dose about ten minutes later. It's bright pink, so it was very obvious. We relented and switched to convenia injection and all was good. He healed well and no issues. Another of ours cats, Sokolov, had an infected ear from scratching too hard, and would not allow us to medicate any other way. Convenia worked well for him, too. it is particularly suited for wounds, and less so for respiratory infections.
The risk is when a reaction occurs and no way to "stop" the medication once administered. But it is a solid alternative when other methods fail, and it is, well, convenient though costly.
 

Blakeney Green

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Toad and Lacey have both had Convenia for infections that didn't respond to other antibiotics. They both recovered on Convenia with no side effects.

My foster kitten received a couple of Convenia shots because he can't take oral medication, and it was literally a lifesaver for him.

I've also seen dozens of shelter cats receive it with no ill effects. Any drug has potential negative reactions, but I've seen personally only seen good things from Convenia.
 

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.
 

jersharocks

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Thank you for all who posted in this thread with both positive and negative reactions. My cat Flakes just got this injection for an upper respiratory infection and I was really concerned after some of the horror stories I read about Convenia. I'm still concerned and will be watching him like a hawk for the next week but I'm hopeful that everything will be OK. I am going to make sure the vet knows that I want to approve every medication from now on.

My husband had to take Flakes to the vet by himself this time and the vet just said: "I'm going to give him a shot that will help with the infection" and didn't say what it was or anything like that. He didn't even ask if Flakes is a good pill taker (he is as long as we use pill pockets), he just went for the injection first. :(
 
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