resistance to antibiotics? (eating, throwing, dog, medicine)

[spyran]

Hi,
my one year old cat had infection due to an abscess. He was prescribed 6 different antibiotics one after the other, every time he would get a little better but would relapse as soon as the course was finished. The vet then prescribed a third generation antibiotic and it worked miracles. It was a 7 day course, which I completed even though the cat had fully recovered on the 4th day of the course. But 3 days after the course my cat has relapsed again, He has high fever (106 F).

Is the relapse happening because the bacteria has developed a resistance to antibiotics? or is it because the course finished before the bacteria was 100% destroyed?
Any ideas?

[kansas sky]

Do you know why he developed the abscess? Is anything else being done besides the antibiotics? Has the abscess been opened and drained? Your vet may be doing the absolute right thing, I don't know. But I wonder if at this point fresh eyes might be helpful. Do you have access to a specialist in internal medicine?

[leanansidhex]

The abscess needs to drained, and I would, at this point, have the abscess cultured to see Exactly what bacteria is causing the infection, instead of throwing more random, broad spectrum antibiotics at it.

I t Would probably be a good idea to find another vet, and have the medical records sent over, you don't need to speak to your old/first vet, the new vets office will request the records.

But I would be Sure that new vet is open to culturing the abscess or the process starts all over again.
It's a fine line, and a delicate balance, between telling your vet what to do and asking to be a part of the decisions made on your cats behalf.

Also, your cat NEEDS probiotics right away because of all antibiotics.

Antibiotic Resistance and

Why You Should Be Concerned About Antibiotics and Your Pet

Antibiotic resistance is not only a serious concern for humans, it is also a rapidly growing problem for our companion animals.

Veterinarians are seeing dramatic increases in bacteria strains that are resistant to multiple classes of drugs.

As the problem of antibiotic resistance in pets continues to grow, vets will have fewer and fewer options for treating infections in your dog or cat.

How to Help Your Pet Stay Safe

If you suspect your pet has an infection -- or if a veterinarian makes a diagnosis of infection -- before you agree to a course of treatment, if the doctor doesn't suggest it, I recommend you ask him to do a culture and sensitivity test.

When a doctor prescribes an antibiotic without a culture and sensitivity test, he or she is making a guess at what type of infection is present and the best drug to treat it.

And while many physicians and veterinarians are very good guessers, given the growing danger of antibiotic resistant strains of disease-causing bacteria, in my opinion, there's no longer any room for error. Each time an inappropriate or unnecessary antibiotic is prescribed, the potential for resistance increases.

A culture and sensitivity test gives your pet's veterinarian two very important pieces of information:

The precise organism causing the infection
The best drug to use to kill it

This information is about half way down the entire article ... there are many more articles on the subject of antibiotics and pets + probiotics at this, and other websites.

[Kittymom4]

I would look into having the bacteria cultured. Many bacteria are affected by certain types of antibiotics - as noted in previous comments this is probably a good route to go at this point.

Also looking into so dental care to treat the abscess is good. It may be a fistula or a drainage point for a pocket of bacteria and nastiness from elsewhere. If you are not getting at the real root of the problem - such as rotting tooth, or gum disease etc, then your live infection is probably going to continue to pop up.

You may also be looking at something completely different as an underlying cause to all this such as a type of stomatitis etc which caused your abscess in the first place. I would look into some sort of dental vet at this point for some fresh perspective.