Adverse Reactions From Injection of Metacam & Cefovecin Sodium

Hi All - I took my cat in Saturday to have his toe checked out for a break, and the vet put him on

1. Cefovecin Sodium injection for any possible unseen cat bite that was causing him to limp
2. Metacam injection for pain relief

My cat seemed peppy the rest of Saturday from the painkiller, but Sunday morning everything seemed way worse. He has been very lethargic for close to 30 hrs now, I haven't seen him drink or eat, and he appears to be nauseous due to non appetite and licking of his lips/ gulping. He is an extremely healthy 4 year old cat, and everything has gone down hill now. Has anyone seen any reactions like this? Maybe the two drugs are interfering with one another?   Thanks for any help!!!

Update: Ran an xray and blood test. The only abnormality was an elevate white blood count and fever, and we believe that there may be an infection going not related to the drugs administered previously. We're treating him with antibiotics and fluid to see if the temperature goes down.

Hello!  Cats have all sorts of microscopic bugs and beasties living on their teeth.  It is quite possible that if one cat bites another, these bacteria are injected deep into the tissues leaving only a tiny tooth-hole. The crushing motion of the jaw and the bacteria then cause inflammation in the surrounding tissues and can cause a fever and swelling and infection  (and often, later, an abscess and pus deep inside).  The victim presents lame, hot and lethargic.  An anti-inflammatory would reduce the swelling, making them more comfortable, and also reduce the temperature, but if course it would wear off after 24 hours (give or take).  Antibiotics help, but can take at least 24  hours to kick in.  This may not be  the only explanation but does make a lot of sense.  All the best and do let us know how it goes.

Hi Liz, 24 hrs after the fluid injection, my cat still had not eaten or drank (3 days). At this point I begged the vet to prescribe some appetite stimulant, and they did. About 3 hrs after application of the appetite stimulant my cat ate some juicy/soupy cat food. His appetite has gradually increased and hopefully continues to. He's getting more active throughout the day, but still is having some really weird gulping and a raspy meow. I'm not sure what to think about that, but it is looking promising.

What an interesting case!  Glad things are looking better;. Interested in what your vet says about the gulping / meow.  Best of luck!

What an interesting case!  Glad things are looking better;. Interested in what your vet says about the gulping / meow.  Best of luck!