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Pet Forum / Miscellaneous / Animal Health / February 2006Improper use of medicine may have killed my cat
Hello all, and sorry for the cross-post. The folks over at rec.pets.cats.health+behav informed me that this would be a more appropriate place for my question. I have a situation I'd like to know a bit more about. Recently my cat, who has lived with my parents for the past 13 years (because I lived first in a small apartment and then abroad) recently stopped eating. My dad brought her to the vets and she was diagnosed with toxoplasmosis. She seemed to be deteriorating even with the drugs they gave him, namely interferon and clindamycin hyrochloride. Then she started to get better, started eating again and we thought all was ok. One day my dad was unable to administer the medicine in the morning so he decided to wait until that evening. He had already mixed the two medicines in the eyedropper and simply left it out on the counter top. The vet had told him that mixing the two was no problem, which made my dad's life easier -- getting drops down a cat's throat once is hard, twice is just asking for scratches. The problem is one of the drugs -- interferon -- had to be refridgerated, and always was, except that particular day, when he left it out on the counter all day in the eyedropper. That evening when he gave her the medicine she went nuts, started jumping up in the air and running in circles, panting wildly and finally collapsed in the corner breathing heavily and with both front paws twitching. She died during the night. Now my dad feels really guilty and thinks he killed her. I don't know what happened. She seemed to be getting better, and from everything I read toxoplasmosis doesn't usually kill the cat. But she was almost 14 years old. My question is, is it possible that leaving the interferon out all day caused it to become toxic and killed my poor kitty? Even if it turns out that people tell me "yes" I won't say anything to my dad, it would just kill him and he already feels bad enough. But I would like to know. Thanks in advance for any information. Bob > That evening when he gave her the medicine she went nuts, started > jumping up in the air and running in circles, panting wildly and > finally collapsed in the corner breathing heavily and with both front > paws twitching. I believe I would have called the vet at that point! > She died during the night. > [snip] > [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] > Thanks in advance for any information. > Bob Sorry for your tragic loss, Bob. I can assure you and your Dad, though, that leaving the interferon out of the fridge did nothing to the cat. It's refrigerated because it's heat-labile, meaning the chemical won't be as effective if it's kept in a warm place. I doubt leaving it out for a day did anything, but the only problem leaving it out would do is that it may not be as effective. Honestly, it's unlikely the interferon was doing anything in the short term, anyway. It's considered an immune stimulant and typically used for more chronic situations. Is there a chance the kitty was diagnosed with FeLV or FIV, too? How about other complicating problems older cats can have, like hyperthyroidism, heart disease or kidney failure. Toxoplasmosis causes neurologic disease, so it's very possible that it's coincidental that the cat had a severe neurological attack/seizure when your Dad was medicating her. There's a chance it was going to happen regardless of being medicated. Sandy Christmus, DVM Thanks very much for your reply. As for the previous reply, it was a sunday evening in a small town in upstate NY. I am sure an emergency vet could have been found but from the looks of things, it probably would not have helped. I, too, would have tried to find a vet. I also would have tried not to leave the medicine out all day. But that's water under the bridge. The vet my dad goes to was a bit insensitive -- when she was diagnosed with toxoplasmosis my dad asked if she could be saved. The vet's reply was, "That depends on how much she's worth to you ..." Not very compassionate. Perhaps he wouldn't have been so cruel had he known that my dad was very close to her, she was like his best friend. Or that my dad had recently lost his wife of 30 years the previous summer, and since that time the cat had become even more important. Anyway, without loading too much responsibility on the vet's callous words, we should all be cautious when we speak, you never know the harm you can do. I don't know if he was diagnosed with FeLV or FIV (this is feline AIDS, correct?), I don't think so, my dad would have mentioned it. I guess it was just "her time". It was a shame she had to go then, and in that way. But she lived a long life, was a very happy (if not lazy) cat, and hopefully, she didn't suffer much. Anyway, thanks again for your response. Take care. Bob > > [snip] > > [quoted text clipped - 33 lines] > > Sandy Christmus, DVM |
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