Convenia: A Dangerous Veterinary Drug: Please don't ever use this drug for your cats and dogs!

Hello Everyone,
Last september my baby girl Angelina passed from this earth suddenly and tragically. She had what seemed to be a cold and within days of receiving an injection of Convenia, she was gone. She became lethargic, stopped eating, developed a high fever and was totally dopey and drugged. She started hiding. 6 days later lab work showed she was severely anemic, her dvm told me in tears she thought she was dying and didn't know why. 10 days after the Convenia injection she was gone. I did a necropsy and it turned out that Angie also had cholangiocarcinoma of the liver and bile duct as well as an acute myeloid leukemia reaction. I have no doubt in my mind whatsoever that Angie's anemia was a severe reaction to Convenia. There was no sign of anemia or of anything other than a mildly elevated liver ast before she received this drug. I later found that the severe side effects below were listed at Pfizer's website in their foreign market studies, the animal division has now been sold to Zoetica, I was never informed about any dangerous side effects with this drug. I have since heard many other accounts of cats who had severe reactions, including anemic reactions to Convenia. Some were perfectly health and didn't even require an antibiotic. In most of these cases Convenia was used off label and information about the reactions and side effects was not given.
Convenia is a dangerous drug, it stays in the body actively for 12 days and then remains for 64 more days. If a severe reaction occurs it is impossible to stop it by discontinuing the drug. It should never be used on that basis alone. The severe side effects such as sudden deaths within a few hours or a day, anemia, ataxia, seizures, pulmonary edema, kidney failure, severe skin reactions and more have maimed and caused the death of many cats and dogs.. although many of these events have been reported Pfizer, now Zoetica, continues to deny any relation to Convenia although they have been paying for necropsy and treatments for cats and dogs affected by Convenia. If your cat or dog has received this drug and was ok, don't ever allow it again, cats and dogs have been ok the first or second time and then had reactions after that.
Please don't ever allow your dvm to inject this dangerous drug and have them write(, or write it yourself), NO CONVENIA UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES in red in the charts. There have been cases where Convenia was injected without informed consent and against people's wishes so always inform your dvm about this. Recently a dvm at the facebook Convenia adverse reactions page posted about her experience with the drug:
"Hi all. I would like to share something with You. I'm a vet and I don't use convenia. I tried to talk to my friend vets on forums about the risks of convenia, but got attacked by university proffesors and regular vets, called young and stupid/uneducated and else. The prof was in US on convenia conference so I assume they were brainwashed.
I saw a dog dying a day after the shot (treated by a friend vet)and I would never give it to an animal.
Some days ago a guy came to my office, dressed well, all smiles etc. He was from this company and advising vets on convenia. I told him it was dangerous and I don't want to talk about it. He made wide eyes and said there were no reports over years. I said there was surely one, because I saw that. After some talking he admitted he recived that report and been there to collect the papers. What a liar!"
I can't describe to you the pain to know that I gave Angie this dangerous drug and that it contributed to her death and suffering. I will always regret that. Please tell everyone you know not to use Convenia so that we can prevent more deaths and events.
If your cat or dog has been given Convenia, you can start aggressive probiotic therapy to help counteract a reaction. Forti Flora and Beneba c are recommended. Some people have also used apple cider vinegar with success. Please report any reactions to Zoetica and to the FDA and please do a necropsy first if your cat or dog has passed so that we can get this drug off the market. If you suspect your cat or dog has had a Convenia reaction and has passed refrigerate their body until a necropsy can be performed.

* btw the generic name for Convenia is Cefovecin Sodium
Please see info below:
Just say NO to Convenia- lets take this drug off the market by boycotting it!!
Pfizer has been offering to pay for costs for some cats who have been damaged by Convenia, they know that it causes severe reactions. What they need to do is take Convenia off the market completely. There are PLENTY of safe alternatives to Convenia. Veterinarians need to be required to inform clients/patients about the severe reactions that have occurred in Pfizer's own foreign market study of Convenia.
Pfizer Animal Health at 1-800-366-5288.
FOREIGN MARKET EXPERIENCE: The following adverse events were reported voluntarily during post-approval use of the product in dogs and cats in foreign markets:
death, tremors/ataxia, seizures, anaphylaxis, acute pulmonary edema, facial edema, injection site reactions (alopecia, scabs, necrosis, and erythema), hemolytic anemia, salivation, pruritus, lethargy, vomiting, diarrhea, and inappetance.
For a copy of the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) or to report a suspected adverse reaction call Pfizer Animal Health at 1-800-366-5288.
"High doses of Cefovecin sodium (Convenia) can cause nephrotoxicity, neurotoxicity, hepatitis, changes in the blood leukogram and thrombocytopenia." *This is from Pfizer or another drug promoter's own literature- unfortunately for some cats and dogs this happens with one NORMAL dose.
Occasionally, cephalosporins and NSAIDs have been associated with myelotoxicity, thereby creating a toxic neutropenia4. Other hematological reactions seen with cephalosporins include neutropenia, anemia, hypoprothrombinemia, thrombocytopenia, prolonged prothrombin time (PT) and partial thromboplastin time (PTT), platelet dysfunction and transient increases in serum aminotransferases.
http://www.noconvenia.com/
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Convenia-adverse-reactions-in-catsfe...
http://www.catinfo.org/?link=convenia
http://www.fda.gov/downloads/AnimalVeterinary/Products/ApprovedAnim...
Here is Chickie Haute's treatment for severe Convenia reactions:
I have reason to believe why Convenia is killing pets. The antibiotic overwhelms the body and kills too much good and bad bacteria too quickly and for too long. Two of my cats experienced serious problems with Convenia, but we got them on a very aggressive oral probiotic therapy within hours of the injection and gave them probiotics every three hours and brought them back! They were fine by the third day. It was very touch and go without the assistance of vets but we stayed on top of it. Aggressive probiotic therapy needs to be continued for at least 6 months while the drug remains in the body. Please share this information with your vets and get them to first, not use Convenia for off-label purposes and second, petition the FDA for stricter labeling and warnings and third, to prescribe probiotics for use starting same day as the injection to prevent risk of body imbalance! Thank you for your attention. Cheers, Chickie Haute

1 Like

Hi Judith,

I'm sorry if this was a bit confusing... I wanted to include as much info as possible.

Convenia(Cefovecin Sodium) is a long acting antibiotic injection designed by Pfizer(they have sold their animal health division to Zoetica now) which was designed to be used only for abscess and
"skin infections". It has only been on the market for about 4 years and it has already caused many deaths in perfectly healthy and comprimised cats and dogs as well as long term serious health affects.

It is currently frequently being used for off label purposes, sometimes without permission, and almost always without informing of the severe side effects listed at Pfizer's site in their own foreign market studies. The worst of which are: death, ataxia, seizures, severe anemia, severe pulmonary edema, kidney and liver failure, severe diarrhea and anorexia. Many of the cats and dogs who receive Convenia don't even really need an antibiotic, such as in the case of a dental or for an unproven infection. If they do need one you can give them one of the many safe alternatives, pills or liquids which do not cause death and maiming side effects.

One of the main reasons Convenia is dangerous is that it stays in the body actively for 12 days and then for 64 days after that so if there is a reaction it is impossible to remove it. Some people have had success in stopping a reaction or controlling it with aggressive probiotic therapy: forti flora or benebac or with apple cider vinegar.

Just don't use Convenia if you love your cats and dogs, that is all you really need to know! And tell everyone you know not to use it. I don't want any other cats and dogs to die due to Convenia. If you want more information, go to the Facebook page for Convenia adverse reactions where you will read some heart breaking stories and go to my video: Just Say NO to Convenia.

Another thing I advise people to do is to have your dvm or write in capital letters in red in the charts: NO CONVENIA. Many dvm will give this med without even discussing it and in a few cases they have given it after a pet owner said not to allow it. Always discuss with your dvm that your cats and dogs are not to receive meds without your approval first, unless it is some extreme emergency and research them online to see what the side effects are first before they receive them.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Convenia-adverse-reactions-in-catsfe...

I'm sorry for your loss. For many of us, our pets are a dearly loved part of our family.

Unfortunately, what you describe is something that really scares me. Not just for our pets, but for us as patients. Many drugs are approved based on distorted and even fraudulent information. Dr. Ben Goldacre is fighting for honesty with the "All Trials" effort. He recently wrote a book on the subject called "Bad Pharma" and he has a very good Ted talk on the subject.

It really pains me that people and pets that we love are harmed because of corruption and incompetence in the supervision of drugs.

1 Like

Thank you Brian. Angelina was the light of my life and such a support in everything I have been through the last few years, I will never stop missing her and in her name and for all the cats and dogs and guinea pigs/ferrets who have lost their life to and who have been maimed by Convenia, I will continue to speak out against and fight this terrible drug. We have to be the voice for them because they're unable to speak for themselves. At this point the only thing we can do is to boycott it and to warn everyone we know not to use it.

It scares me too. I agree this happens in people medicine/pharma also obviously- at least there there is the possibility of a law suit and that the drug will be removed at some point hopefully but not before it has caused great harm. That did happen with rimadyl after someone sued Pfizer I believe. I have enquired about a class action law suit against/ Zoetica/ convenia with an animal activist group, but I haven't heard back from them yet.

There is a lot of corruption in big pharma and there are a lot of people lying about a lot of things to do with Convenia and many other drugs. The thing that upsets me the most with Convenia is that DVM agree to use this drug in the first place, when it obviously isn't safe due to not being able to be stopped if a reaction occurs and that they continue to use it when they see deaths and severe reactions. Many of them aren't even aware of the side effects and if they are they don't even inform us- that should be a requirement. My former dvm, I left the practice over Angie's death, said to me, what will I use if I don't use Convenia? I said you can use all the other antibiotics which are safe. This drug has only been on the market for about 4 years.. and cats and dogs were doing fine with the other safe antibiotics... baytril should not be used either as it can cause blindness in cats. I felt Convenia was being pushed on me since last July- I had never heard of it before. The first time I refused it and I must have been crazy to have allowed it at all, if I had been warned about the serious side effects I never would have. Just pill your cats or give them a liquid or if necessary, give them daily injections of another antibiotic. However difficult your cat may be to medicate, it is not worth risking their life!

Thanks for these links, I'm going to review all of them! I'm glad that there are doctors like Dr. Goldacre who are willing to speak out against all this corruption.

wow, Judith, 40 stray cats, you are amazing!! All of our pets have been rescues of one sort or another except for our beagle mitzi, my childhood dog and best friend. :)

I lost my healthy cat to this Convenia drug after his health declined over 10 months when he died. He had lethargy right away and never was the same. Then after severe anemia and jaundice. The vet never even told us he was given Convenia. He never even had a bacterial infection like it says has to be tested and present in the Convenia leaflet. Convenia has a low shelf life and vets try to push it on their unsuspecting clients and innocent pets. Just to save them money, therefore killing your pet and causing you grief because they wanted to save a few dollars!!!
They know its bad which is why they would WANT to give you Convenia. The sicker your pet is or gets, the more money they make. I bet they drive nice cars and have lots of money from killing your pets!!! They dont mind taking $800 from you knowing your pet is going to die anyway in a couple of days (from their drugs). All drugs are bad to the liver so why give more drugs to a sick cat with a very bad liver? They literally wanted him to die and killed him!!! He was fine until he went back to the vet and got on more drugs!! We brought him to 4 vets too!! If drugs kill, then what is the opposite that you live? Well nutrition and nutrients nourish cells. Thats why naturopathic vets would of healed him. And the 3rd vet we brought him to advertised homeopathy but failed to even want to provide any of that. Refused to do what they advertised and my pet had seizures and died 3 days after from the drugs he gave.

Hi Eric, I’m so sorry your furbaby kitty received convenia and had a bad reaction to it. Im so sorry for your loss of him. It should never be used imo and one day I hope it will be off the market. It especially shouldn’t be given to a cat who has a compromised immune system which Angie had with cancer. Your dvm was very wrong to give him a drug, any drug without discussing it with you first.

Unfortunately a lot of dvm are in denial about convenia. All we can do is to warn each other about it and report adverse events to the FDA and Zoetis. I have flyers out about it and I discuss it with all dvm that my cats are never to receive convenia. I have no convenia written in their charts. This drug will never be safe because it causes severe reactions and death which cannot be stopped since it stays in the system too long.

It is very hard to find a good ethical caregiver for you furbabies but there are some good ones out there who will not overcharge you and who do really care. I have yet to find one who isn’t in denial about convenia, but they accept my feelings about it and respect my wishes.

I know how you feel because I have been through some horrific experiences with my furbabies when they were ill, and Angie’s dvm even went so far as to malign me in a report to Cornell hospital when I insisted on doing a necropsy. It made no difference because it wouldn’t change the results of the autopsy.

I later found out she also lied to another client whose cat passed away several hours after receiving convenia saying that she had never had any adverse events with it. And she pushed the drug on them, they were going away and were going to have their cat medicated with pill pockets by a pet sitter, but she told them convenia would be easier. Their cat was not gravely ill, she had a minor dental infection which she surely would’ve have survived if she had been given another antibiotic orally. Again she never discussed any of the severe reactions of Convenia. The burden is on us to inform ourselves.

This happened about two years after Angie passed, I went to read online reviews of their hospital, read this woman’s review and contacted her. She told me my dvm had told her that she has never had any adverse convenia reactions and thought they were all “stories”. After Angie passed I had discussed with our dvm that she shouldn’t use convenia- she said what am I going to use? I said use all the safe antibiotics which rarely cause any reaction and which can be stopped.

I have to say I thought prior to all of this that she was very knowledgeable and caring but obviously I was wrong.

Hey there. Today I came across this post. I lost my dear Persian Cat Coco to Convenia shot. I was fooled by my pet who said she will heal by this. I don’t have to get antibiotics every day. My dear cat she was bitten by few stray dogs. She was recovering as well. But this stupid doctor suggested me to give her Convenia shot. My cat had severe liver and kidney failure. She died in such a bad state. It’s my fault that I didn’t research about Convenia. I just can’t accept that my little baby has died due to some doctor’s negligence. I am so heartbroken. I don’t know how to get my cat back. She was so sick. After Convenia shot, she developed severe jaundice. She became so fragile and later on, her hind legs stopped working. She was trying so so so so hard to be on her foot. I got her hospitalised and she died that day. I can’t believe my angel is dead. I can never forgive that doctor. He wanted to sell me this expensive drug. He told me that it’s for my convenience. My cat was recovering from the dog bite slowly everyday. I got her to this vet and he did everything wrong. It’s my fault that I couldn’t save her. She was the light and angel in my life. I loved her with all my heart. After losing her, I am so broken. I don’t have anyone in my life. Please everyone I hope this information reaches you. Don’t Use CONVEnia. Let your pets get healed slowly. Don’t get fooled by doctors. I wish Pharma companies were responsible. I can’t get my pet back, I wish I could just help others

1 Like

I am so sorry to hear you have lost your cat. I know just how the loss of a beloved pet affects us.
(((Hugs)))

I’m so sorry for your tragic loss of Coco to convenia. Hugs to you. :crying_cat_face::broken_heart:As you know my beloved Angelina passed in part due to convenia which caused a severe anemic reaction which could not be stopped. She passed 9 days after the injection. I will never forgive the doctors who did this to my baby. I later learned her doc gave convenia to another cat who died the next day and then lied to her owner saying that she had never had a convenia reaction and that she thought it was all just stories.

You need to report this to the FDA and to Zoetis, the more people who report adverse reactions, the more chance that it will be taken off the market for good so that unsuspecting people don’t allow their beloved furbabes to be maimed or to die due to this awful drug.

Until then all we can do is warn each other never to use Convenia, and to have this written in their charts and on their carriers: No Convenia. I made a video about what happened to Angie and sadly numerous people have commented about the loss of their cats and dogs from convenia. I have flyers that I hand out to warn people. I did a necropsy at Cornell hospital. But 6 years after she passed this drug is still on the market killing cats and dogs.

I know exactly how you feel and it is a terrible pain to live with to see your baby suffering and die from something that you allowed, given by those who should do no harm and who should know better.

Convenia is a money maker plain and simple. Once it is mixed it has to be used in a certain period and some dvm will push to use it due to this. Convenia will never be a safe drug because of how long it stays in the body and it should never be used because of that alone. If there is a reaction it can’t be stopped. If you think your cat or dog is ok because they had it and were fine, think again, many reactions don’t occur until after several injections. You have been warned everyone, please heed the warning.

My DIL took her 13-year old cat to the vet for a lip/gum abrasion two days ago. The vet gave him steroids, Benadryl and Convenia. Just ran across this thread and hoping and praying that he is not affected.

What should we be on the lookout for?

1 Like

@anon31175731 Hopefully he will be ok. If you see any signs of lethargy, anorexia- stops eating, ataxia etc or any of the symptoms listed above get him to the dvm stat and do blood work. I would also put him on a probiotic like benebac or fortiflora which can help to treat a convenia reaction, if he is actually having a reaction he would need pretty high doses but for now a normal dose may help. Hugs to you and your kittyđź’•

Thanks. I will do that. So far everything seems ok, but I’m keeping my fingers crossed.

1 Like

That’s good. Please let me know if he is ok. In the future tell your dvm no convenia and pick one of the safer antibiotics. Even a difficult cat can be given meds, pills, compounding etc. i put pills in small gel caps, (crush with a pill crusher first if needed) cover with coconut oil and put at the back of the mouth, then slowly syringe a small amount of water at a 45 degree angle at the side of their mouth. Be careful with any water syringed, most cats don’t need it and cconut oil is fine. If they really can’t be pilled other antibiotics can be injected daily if necessary.

My 19 yr old cat just went through some sort of illness, not sure what but was sneezing and maybe had an ear infection. They put him on ear cream, and some nasal drops and then pink amoxicillin. Five days in, we realized that twice a day amoxicillin pink liquid was too much for his small weight. He has hyperthyroid, so he is very thin but healthy. he got really sick and thought we might lose him, but we realized we needed to toss the pink stuff and now he is better. Vet wanted us to try the Covenia. I looked it up, and saw bad reviews and stories of animals dying. Now I see this here on a diabetes forum? Wow. Just wow. Scary and I feel for all the losses. I’m so thankful we turned that one down.

1 Like

VI’m glad your kitty is ok Laura. Good for you for figuring out it was an overdose of amoxicillin and refusing convenia. My wizarduni was also overdosed on another antibiotic at the end, he had lymphoma, I always wonder what role that played in his passing. It is scary there are so many incompetent dvm out there. Cats are very sensitive to medications so they must be handled very carefully and researched whatever the med is. It is here because I lost Angelina in part to convenia and I want to warn as many people as possible because your dvm will not tell you about the terrible side effects. I have only found one in my area who refuses to use convenia- he treats only cats and he knew about the reactions.

1 Like

With his weight and at his age, I am going to be very careful from now on. We have to make some wise choices for these critter kids!

1 Like

So far our cat continues to do well, and his gum is healing, so we hope we dodged a bullet with convenia this time. My DIL will be sure to get a note in his file for NO Convenia ever again.

Thanks so much for the warning!

2 Likes

Glad to hear that you cat is doing well!