Desperately Seeking Zeniquin
 

I also posted this on alt.med.veterinary.

I feel like a drug addict. I want to obtain Zenequin for my 17 year old cat.
He has mild CRF (most recently BUN 45 and creatinine 2.6, usually lower than
that but he was somewhat dehydrated at the time of his last vet visit on 9/18).
He repeatedly gets urinary tract infections. I know him far better than the
vet does, I can tell when he is getting ill. He becomes withdrawn, lethargic,
loses his appetite. This has happened countless times in the last 2 years. He
consistently always has either blood in his urine or the urine culture will
show bacteria. So, it is constantly costing me $200 to get bloodwork done when
I know for a fact that if he could be on abx all the time, he would not get
ill. He feels wonderful on abx. He is now on zeniquin 12.5mg, prescribed by
the vet, but when it runs out, he will get ill a few days later. Currently, he
is back to his old, active, chatty, hungry self. My vet is not willing to give
me abx prn. I am an adult, I have some medical knowledge, I'm a college
graduate, I can read on the internet. I know some vets will prescribe abx prn
for cats with CRF and chronic UTIs. I like my vet otherwise, I've spent a ton
of $$ with him, and I don't feel like starting all over with someone new. The
other day he finally said he *might* consider pulse dosing but, actually, I
don't think pulse dosing would be enough. I want the cat on a low dose of abx
permanently for maintenance. I understand resistance, etc., but he's 17 and he
only feels good if he's on them so why should he have to feel bad and die
because I can't get some abx? I see now that Augmentin (same as Clavamox) can
now be obtained at some online RXs without a prescription but I want Zeniquin
and I can't find that anywhere. I suppose I can go back to Augmentin if I must
as he tolerates that fairly well, too, but I am desperately seeking Zenequin.
What's the big deal and can someone tell me where I can get it? He also has
hyperthyroidism and is being treated successfully with tapazole for the last
year and a half. He does just fine on abx.


Candace
(take the litter out before replying by e-mail)

See my cats:
http://photos.yahoo.com/maccandace

That´s one expensive antibiotic! Recurring infections is a sign of
immune weakness, alkaline urine pH, and not enough urination. If he
were my cat, I would try to solve the problem with a high quality
canned diet (e.g. Wellness, Felidae, Wysong etc.), give him a raw
snack daily (beef or chicken), give him raw liver once a week and
supplement his diet with B vitamins. I would only resort to abx if
this didn´t work. Have you tried the online drugstores?

That´s one expensive antibiotic! Recurring infections is a sign of
immune weakness, alkaline urine pH, and not enough urination. If he
were my cat, I would try to solve the problem with a high quality
canned diet (e.g. Wellness, Felidae, Wysong etc.), give him a raw
snack daily (beef or chicken), give him raw liver once a week and
supplement his diet with B vitamins. I would only resort to abx if
this didn´t work. Have you tried the online drugstores?

That´s one expensive antibiotic! Recurring infections is a sign of
immune weakness, alkaline urine pH, and not enough urination. If he
were my cat, I would try to solve the problem with a high quality
canned diet (e.g. Wellness, Felidae, Wysong etc.), give him a raw
snack daily (beef or chicken), give him raw liver once a week and
supplement his diet with B vitamins. I would only resort to abx if
this didn´t work. Have you tried the online drugstores?

That´s one expensive antibiotic! Recurring infections is a sign of
immune weakness, alkaline urine pH, and not enough urination. If he
were my cat, I would try to solve the problem with a high quality
canned diet (e.g. Wellness, Felidae, Wysong etc.), give him a raw
snack daily (beef or chicken), give him raw liver once a week and
supplement his diet with B vitamins. I would only resort to abx if
this didn´t work. Have you tried the online drugstores?


I thought the recurring infections was because his urine is dilute. Yes, I
have tried the online drugstores. They sell augmentin (same as clavamox) but
not zeniquin. Aside from the above diet probably not being good for a CRF cat,
he wouldn't eat it. He's one cat who has never liked human food including any
sort of raw meat. He eats Hill's g/d which was recommended by both Steve Crane
(my cats already ate Hill's prescription foods so it wasn't Steve who convinced
me to go Hill's) and Phil Pass. He won't eat k/d. He eats Pro Plan, Nutro,
and also Fancy Feast because he likes it and it's important that he eats. I am
trying to supplement his diet with vitamins but he fights it whether I give it
to him in a tube, right into his mouth, or mixed into his food.

Candace
(take the litter out before replying by e-mail)

See my cats:
http://photos.yahoo.com/maccandace

That´s one expensive antibiotic! Recurring infections is a sign of
immune weakness, alkaline urine pH, and not enough urination. If he
were my cat, I would try to solve the problem with a high quality
canned diet (e.g. Wellness, Felidae, Wysong etc.), give him a raw
snack daily (beef or chicken), give him raw liver once a week and
supplement his diet with B vitamins. I would only resort to abx if
this didn´t work. Have you tried the online drugstores?


I thought the recurring infections was because his urine is dilute. Yes, I
have tried the online drugstores. They sell augmentin (same as clavamox) but
not zeniquin. Aside from the above diet probably not being good for a CRF cat,
he wouldn't eat it. He's one cat who has never liked human food including any
sort of raw meat. He eats Hill's g/d which was recommended by both Steve Crane
(my cats already ate Hill's prescription foods so it wasn't Steve who convinced
me to go Hill's) and Phil Pass. He won't eat k/d. He eats Pro Plan, Nutro,
and also Fancy Feast because he likes it and it's important that he eats. I am
trying to supplement his diet with vitamins but he fights it whether I give it
to him in a tube, right into his mouth, or mixed into his food.

Candace
(take the litter out before replying by e-mail)

See my cats:
http://photos.yahoo.com/maccandace

That´s one expensive antibiotic! Recurring infections is a sign of
immune weakness, alkaline urine pH, and not enough urination. If he
were my cat, I would try to solve the problem with a high quality
canned diet (e.g. Wellness, Felidae, Wysong etc.), give him a raw
snack daily (beef or chicken), give him raw liver once a week and
supplement his diet with B vitamins. I would only resort to abx if
this didn´t work. Have you tried the online drugstores?


I thought the recurring infections was because his urine is dilute. Yes, I
have tried the online drugstores. They sell augmentin (same as clavamox) but
not zeniquin. Aside from the above diet probably not being good for a CRF cat,
he wouldn't eat it. He's one cat who has never liked human food including any
sort of raw meat. He eats Hill's g/d which was recommended by both Steve Crane
(my cats already ate Hill's prescription foods so it wasn't Steve who convinced
me to go Hill's) and Phil Pass. He won't eat k/d. He eats Pro Plan, Nutro,
and also Fancy Feast because he likes it and it's important that he eats. I am
trying to supplement his diet with vitamins but he fights it whether I give it
to him in a tube, right into his mouth, or mixed into his food.

Candace
(take the litter out before replying by e-mail)

See my cats:
http://photos.yahoo.com/maccandace