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
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.