Pet Forum / Miscellaneous / Animal Health / September 2004

Oh my.  I clicked the wrong button on the spell checker and got
"repulsively" for "propulsively", "BID" for "IBD" and "ZED" for "ZD".
Goodness, I need sleep!

In the fine newsgroup "alt.med.veterinary", "Betsy"
<n0spam@spam.c-0> artfully composed this message within
<news:ch44d.16$xN.2782@news.abs.net> on 21 Sep 2004:

Did he get the whole pill at once? Shadow was prescribed it, but 1/2
pill 2x per day. The pill is very bitter tasting and assuming he took
it all down without foaming it all out of his mouth, maybe just the
taste of it made him sick to his stomach?  I used to give it to
Shadow in a gelcap.

I would say that's an overdose, at least from what I can find on the
web. I have printed 2 things below -- with the URL's if you want to read
the rest of the articles.         -Rhonda

Just as Hamlet agonized over his raison d'être, veterinary clini-
cians agonize over whether or not to use benzoic acid derivatives
in cats. Phenolic benzene rings are found in many therapeutic en-
tities, from preservatives to anesthetics to antibiotics. One of the
most confounding uses of benzoic acid derivatives is represented
by the use of metronidazole benzoate. Metronidazole is a mainstay
of veterinary drug therapy. It is bactericidal, amebicidal, and tri-
chomonacidal and also exhibits antiprotozoal activity. M e t r o n -
idazole has uniform therapeutic value across all animal species. It
is widely used to treat anaerobic infections and infections from Gi-
ardia and trichomonads. The dosage range for cats is usually 10 to
30 mg/kg orally once to twice daily. Metronidazole is approved in
the United States only as the hydrochloride salt.

http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cache:LznZlpGjmxMJ:www.ijpc.com/_pdf/benz.pdf+Met
ronidazole+dose+mg+cat&hl=en

-----------------------------------------
Overdose

. Dogs and cats: Symptoms of overdose of metronidazole include the
gastrointestinal signs (anorexia, vomiting) and neurologic signs
including depression, ataxia, disorientation, head-tilt, tremors,
bradycardia, rigidity, stiffness, and seizures. Neurologic signs may
occur due to acute overdose although they are more commonly seen in
animals that are on long-term moderate or high doses (oral doses greater
than 66 mg/kg/day). Signs of chronic toxicity often begin 7-12 days
following the start of treatment. After the drug is discontinued, it may
be several days to two weeks before these neurologic signs begin to
diminish.

http://www.wedgewoodpharmacy.com/monographs/metronidazole.asp
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