Kitten died after vet gave antibiotics for a cold. What happened?

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I am so sorry for the loss of Kitty! The most common side effect of antibiotics is tummy upset: vomiting, diarrhea or not wanting to eat. My concern is that there was something else going on with Kitty. If she had a large parasite load maybe when the dewormer killed them it caused an obstruction or intussusception. I also wonder what symptoms she had when you took her to the vet and what the other injections she received. Antibiotics are not typically prescribed for just worms. I'm assuming more than just worms were affecting Kitty. Again I am sorry for you loss. Feel free to post again with further details or questions. I hope this helped in some way.

Hello, and thanks for your question on Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. I'm so sorry to hear about your loss of Topanga. It's so hard to lose a beloved pet. It's difficult to speculate on all the "what-if's", what would have happened differently if Topanga had been treated a different way. However, if your vet suspected chronic kidney disease, that's a chronic, progressive, incurable disease, and nothing could have cured Topanga if that were the case. Additionally, it is a vet's job to help guide owners through the different options of treatment. If your vet gave you the option of treating Topanga from home with oral antibiotics, then I have to believe they thought that would give you a similar chance of improvement compared to the other options. With that said, the antibiotics were likely a "just in case" attempt to treat, just in case part of the problem with the kidneys was associated with a bacterial infection. But chronic kidney disease is rarely due to an infection - rather, it's an age related progressive disease that is common in cats. All in all, with the information you provided, I suspect you would have had the same outcome regardless of the method of antibiotic administration. I don't believe that your choice to treat her with oral antibiotics was the cause of her ultimately passing. I suspect it was simply the progression of an underlying incurable disease. I know none of that makes it easier to lose a loved one. It's so hard. But I hope this can provide some closure. I don't think you did anything wrong, and I don't think a different route of antibiotics would have changed the outcome. Hugs to you.

I am sorry to hear your kitty did not make it. I am unsure as to what the problem was but it may have been that he was not getting better from the treatments that were given and he just continued to worsen despite treatment. Hard to say since I was unable to examine him and see him in person. He may have eaten something that caused an intestinal obstruction and he may also have had a bad infection somewhere.

I'm very sorry to hear about the loss of your kitten! How awful. To answer your question, the odds that his death was related to the dewormer he received at the vet are essentially zero. All of the commonly-used dewormers in the US are extremely safe, and I have never seen a single serious problem related to a dose of dewormer in my entire career. It's much more likely that your kitten had some type of unrelated illness that caused his death. If you want to try and find out what happened, the only way to know would be to have an autopsy done, called a necropsy in animals. Your veterinarian should be able to advise you on where you can have this done, if it's something you want to pursue. Again, I'm very sorry for loss.

He may have had an injury, been hit by a car or he had a congenital heart defect that caused a blood clot at the bifurcation of the aorta (that paralyses hind legs and hurts terribly). This can also cause a clot in the lungs which would cause breathing problems. Unfortunately most cats with these blood clots die within a short time. I am so sorry for your loss. This is very sad.

Hi there and thank you for using Pet Coach. It sounds as though Nova may have been dealing with some infection or systemic disease. It is difficult to say for sure but if it was progressed too far, there probably was not much you could have done. If caught early on, then maybe something could have been done. Viral infections such as feline leukemia and feline immunodeficiency virus can cause chronic infections and can lead to death in some cats. She could have any one of these infectious diseases and there is no treatment for either disease. I am sorry for your loss but try not to blame yourself. If she had something untreatable, there is not much you could have done. I hope this helps. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns.

Hello. I am very sorry for your loss. I do not think any of the medications by themselves, or in combination contributed to Kassie's death. None of the medications were given long enough to cause any kind of toxicity level, & all were appropriate for trying to help her. Please accept my condolences for your loss.