JAVMA Reports on Efficacy of New Injectable Antibiotic
A few months ago I wrote about a new antibiotic called Convenia. The medicine is available by injection and lasts for a week or longer, eliminating the need to give daily (or, in many cases, twice daily) doses of pills or liquids.
In my original post I mentioned a few reservations I had about prescribing the drug. One of my (not explicitly mentioned) reservations was that there were few independent clinical efficacy and safety studies published in peer-reviewed journals.
That is beginning to change. A study released in the January 1, 2009 Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association (JAVMA) compared Convenia to a commonly used conventional antibiotic in cats. Here are the results.
Effectiveness of [Convenia] in the treatment of cats with abscesses and infected wounds was similar to that of [the conventional antibiotic]. There were no serious adverse events or deaths related to treatment. (J Am Vet Med Assoc 2009;234:81-87)
This study does not address the long term concerns about injection-site tumors in cats that I mentioned in the original post. But it, combined with my personal experience with the medication (which has been highly favorable), makes me feel better about using Convenia in cats who refuse to take oral medications.
You have questions. 
Given the difficulty sometimes involved in dosing cats, I might opt to use this. Then again, I rarely have to medicate my cats!
Warning about Convenia!!! It is killing my cat. I took Phoebe in for an antibiotic shot for a UTI. I thought a shot was best since she is disagreeable about pills or liquids. I believed that my vet was providing the safest and most convenient treatment. I live 2 blocks from vet. Within 30 minutes of her injection she went into resperitory distress and became paralyzed! Much to my horror, of course! I raced her BACK to the vet. They gave her fluids, sterioid and diphenhydramine and watched her for 1/2 hour (all they could do since they were closing…how caring…thanks). Her heart was racing, she was panting, and couldn’t stand or walk. 8 hours later she is NO BETTER and I fear that she is dying. I feel guilty and horribly helpless. She is in pain and fear. I cannot do anything because (1) I can’t afford any emergency treatment, (2) the drug will stay in her system for 2 weeks. Believe me, had I known this may happen I wouldn’t have even considered letting them inject her! *** Also – very important note – this drug is only labeled for treatement of skin irritations, skin wounds, and skin infections. It is NOT for the treatment of UTIs!!! They shouldn’t have even used it for her case. When I asked if I would be responsible for the payment of her emergency return to the vet he told me “yes” because the drug is FDA approved. The they didn’t charge for the emergency visit. I did get charged for the anti-inflamatory injection, fluid injections and diphenhydramine. Besides being distraught about my cat suffering so horribly, I am paying for the favor. I took her for care and came away with a dying cat. Furious, sad, and frustrated. Vet’s answer was to take her to the emergency vet since he was closing in 1/2 hour!!! Does anyone have any advice about how to SAVE my beloved Phoebe? Has anyone experienced this? Is it possible for her to regain use of her legs and tail? HOw long? Can she still urinate and have a normal bowel movement if she can’t even stand up???