Improper use of medicine may have killed my cat

Hello all. 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

wrote in message
oups.com...
Hello all. 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


Why don't you call the vet and ask? Your dad doesn't need to know you are
calling, but that would be your best source of information. You could also
post your question on alt.med.veterinary.

It is unfortunately too late for your cat, but this could serve as a warning
to others to dispose of medicine if it has not been properly stored. That's
good practice, even if you eventually learn that the medication was not the
culprit in this case.

MaryL

wrote:
Hello all. 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

you can call an ER or a poison center. but this does not sound good at
all.
the timing is just too coincidental. why not take her to a vet before
she died or call up the vet or something?

interesting question. you would think the drug would be deactivated not
become a toxin. i wonder if it became contaminated while it lay around?

cats are tough but it's complicated and lots of reading is really
necessary to get a cat well into the teens in years. 14 should not be
old for a cat. i suspect the vet was not the best in this case. again,
you need to do reading so you can suss out the really bad or just so-so
vets and most vets i meet are so-so, some are terrible and a very few
will be what i would call good.

your father was given bad instructions. he needed to be taught why the
interferon should be refrigerated. maybe if the vet took an extra 30
seconds, your father would not have made that mistake.

wrote in message
oups.com...

14 should not be
old for a cat.

I think you will find that 14 is indeed an old age for a cat.

"Ryan Robbins" wrote in message
news:LCpLf.10446$qa2.9253@trndny07...
wrote in message
oups.com...

14 should not be
old for a cat.

I think you will find that 14 is indeed an old age for a cat.


not really

wrote in message
oups.com...

My question is, is it possible that leaving the interferon out all day
caused it to become toxic and killed my poor kitty?

No, it is not possible that leaving the interferon out of the refrigerator
is responsible for the death of your cat.

J. DVM

"Ryan Robbins" wrote in message
news:LCpLf.10446$qa2.9253@trndny07...
wrote in message
oups.com...

14 should not be
old for a cat.

I think you will find that 14 is indeed an old age for a cat.




No, that is not especially old. My first cat lived to be almost 20. Many
cats live to be well into their 20s. Age 14 could be considered a "senior
citizen" (although my cat did not show any real signs of aging until he was
18), but many senior citizens -- four-legged and two-legged -- still have
good years in front of them.

MaryL

MaryL

Glitter Ninja wrote:

My cat Spam is 14 and the vets all think he's an old coot, but I've
noticed many here on rpch+b don't agree that 14 is old. Cats can
definitely live to be well over 14. My 12 year old still acts like a
kitten, so I'm sure it differs from cat to cat.

it is true, I know people who's mindset it old, even tho they are very
young.
they seem to be waiting to get old or something

I have never bought into the lie about age
I know an 80 yr old woman who has more energy than I do

They had a 67 yr old woman on tv the other day who gave birth

diet, excersize sure...a big part of vitality, but I think more than
this is our minds.
our chemical factory is regulated by our minds. If I think im old and
dying then I probably am...I don't know!
I don't know what Im saying,

but Im not ready to go, i am never going to die I am going to live
forever!
Im going to kick and scream the whole way out of here
i get very angry on this subject, i think i better stop now

i get angry i don't like to be around young old people...

you can't let doctors and society dictate what a 30 or 40 or 50 yr old
person can or cannot do...this is all up to each person.

J. dvm wrote:

No, it is not possible that leaving the interferon out of the
refrigerator is responsible for the death of your cat.

Could have an anaphylactic reaction caused the cats death?

Corey

"MaryL" -OUT-THE-LITTER wrote in message
news:GMsLf.130782$0G.42726@dukeread10...

"Ryan Robbins" wrote in message
news:LCpLf.10446$qa2.9253@trndny07...
wrote in message
oups.com...

14 should not be
old for a cat.

I think you will find that 14 is indeed an old age for a cat.

No, that is not especially old.

I didn't say 14 is "especially old." But it is old, regardless of whether
there are cats that live to be 20.