Re: Tubs is injured

In article <w47Ue.13841$ct5.4047@fed1read04>, Rrb <rrb.081205@xxxxxxx>
wrote:

> Howard C. Berkowitz wrote:
> > In article <vcudne1x-btO5YPeRVn-sQ@xxxxxxxxxx>, "Pat"
> > <spam.me.not.pdavis@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> >
> >
> >>Tubs came home with a torn up ear today. His slave (Gloria, my
> >>neighbor)
> >>is
> >>gone on a trip, so I am having to doctor him.
> >>
> >>He was clearly in considerable pain, with pus coming out of the wound
> >>and
> >>it
> >>was quite hot to the touch. He was a perfect angel about letting me
> >>hold
> >>his
> >>ear under a running faucet. He cried a few times but did not struggle
> >>or
> >>claw me or try to get away.
> >>
> >>I've started him on amoxycillin - 250 mg initially but will lower the
> >>doxe
> >>tomorrow. And I have locked him inside her house until I see a lot of
> >>improvement.
> >>
> >>He could use a few purrs.
> >>
> >>
> >
> >
> > Purrs definitely. Mr. Clark was captured as an adult tom on a country
> > road and has a few battle scars, although he's now more of an Alan Alda
> > type watching kittens and babies. Mind you, he can be provoked by an
> > unruly junior cat.
> >
> > If you have a situation where you can keep antibiotics on hand,
> > amoxicillin may not be the best choice for an infected wound. Discuss
> > it
> > with your vet. For the first choice in humans, I would think variously
> > of a cephalosporin, a fluoroquinolone, or an amoxicillin-like
> > penicillin
> > coupled with an anti-penicillinase drug (e.g., Augmentin).
>
>
> Here's a question: Is 250 milligrams of any antibiotic a large dose for
> a cat? I remember being sick in the past and starting out with 500 mg of
> antibiotic initially and then dropping it to 250 mg for each subsequent
> dose every six hours. I weigh 160 lbs and a cat usually weighs less
> than 20 lbs.

I've wondered about that myself, but, unfortunately, I don't have any
specific veterinary pharmacology texts. Let me share an educated guess.

Many antibiotics, especially those of the penicillin and cephalosporin
family that includes amoxicillin, are quite nontoxic unless there's a
specific allergy. Given that reactions aren't particularly tied to
dosage, it's probably simpler to use the human-sized pills. Injected
doses are easier to customize.

There are some classes of antibiotics where you do want to use the
minimum effective dose. The class of aminoglycosides, which includes
gentamicin, kanamycin, and streptomycin, selectively damages the
auditory nerve, and the dose should be kept as low as possible to avoid
hearing damage.

Cat biochemistry is significantly different from humans. When we were
planning cancer chemotherapy for Clifford (RB), I was hesitant since one
of the drugs was cisplatin, which is among the most toxic for humans. In
people, it's quite difficult to manage the nausea.

The veterinary medical oncologist (this was the regional referral center
in Springfield, VA, where they have medical, surgical, and radiation
oncologists) assured me that cats don't have many side effects from
cisplatin, far less than humans. Perhaps it's the practicing with
hairballs, but she said that cats rarely have much discomfort from
nausea while on chemotherapy quite toxic in humans.

There are many other different reactions. While morphine and related
compounds are key pain relievers and sedatives in humans, they don't
help cats, and, in fact, cause wild excitation.

Human doses of prednisone, at least other than a short course, are tied
to body weight. Again, in cats, they don't seem to have as many side
effects from what, by dosage per body weight, would be heroic in humans.
.

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