Anyone bought Antibiotics for cats online?

[Laiste]

So elderly car has a UTI.

Shes had it before a couple of years ago and i know the signs.(dont we all!?)

I guessed what it was correctly last time and whatever the vet gave last time worked a treat.

Rang this morning and the vet won't prescribe the same again without taking the cat in. That's another 40 quid on top of the medicine then.

They know her weight as they saw her a month ago for annual jabs.
I've made an appointment for today but
Im a bit peeved and thinking of cancelling and ordering a next or same day delivery on Amazon for some meds but never done this before.

Any advice? TIA

Wouldn't you need a vetprescription? I used to get meds online and needed a vet prescription

You still need a prescription to buy medication online although it's usually cheaper than through your vet.

Amazon won't be able to sell the antibiotics you need - are you sure what you are looking at on Amazon is the same thing? There are lots of 'supplements' sold as replacements for prescription drugs that do not contain any medication & have little/no benefit.

Best to go through your vet - they may be able to prescribe an extra course at this appointment to avoid you needing to see them next time.

Antibiotics do have to be prescribed carefully due to the threat of resistance.

OK thank you both 😊

I don't know which med she was prescribed before - and i've just done a v quick look at amazon while doing 3 other things so i don't know yet exactly what they're selling. I just typed anti b's for cats and there were choices ...

I guess i'll go to the vets then.

🙄

Just a bit short on funds at the mo and thought they'd re prescribe what she had before. Apart from all that she hates the vets and will be xtra stressed.

The vet told me last time that stress was the no.1 reason for UTI in elderly cats and to keep her as unstressed as poss. !!

As others have said, you won't be able to get antibiotics without a prescription. You can pay for the prescription from your vet then buy the drugs online. It might be slightly cheaper. You'll need to find out how much the vet charges for the prescription (mine is £26 I think) then add on the cost of ordering/delivery/faff of going online to buy them to see if it's worth it.

I understand your frustration, my vets would do the same. Their argument is that it may not be a urine infection or there could be an underlying cause if she's had it a few times so they need to check her over. I think they're probably right but it does frustrate me that you cannot overrule them, (ie by trying antibiotics first and then going to see them if she doesn't recover.

Hope all is OK with your cat. 🤞

Thank you 😊

So the fee was £88 for the consultation plus some anti inflammatory stuff. No ABs.

It is a UTI but Vet said no to ABs.

So fingers crossed. If no better go back in 3 days. Another consultation fee ? 😫

It's the law for vets,they arent doing it for fun,they are legally required to do this.

Even if it's for a repeat prescription?

Yes for antibiotics. They can only be prescribed with the animal in front of them

They saw the cat for it a couple of years ago OP said!!!of course they need to see the cat!

In the UK, there was a regulation change over 18 months ago. If order for a vet to prescribe an antimicrobial (antibiotics, antifungal, antiviral and prescription anti-parasitic) a physical examination must take place.

The vets will probably issue a year long prescription at vaccine time for flea and worm treatment.

Cystease is good, you can get it on Amazon. It’s not an antibiotic replacement but I feed it daily as a preventative measure

Rant!

So cat is no better. Day 4/5 now. She's obvs in pain and peeing every 10 mins. (eating well though)

Rang vet reception and i said ''i came in with cat on mon, bla bla, and vet said then that if no better by thu will try the anti b's. So - please can you ask a vet to prescribe some ab's and i'll come pick them up later and get them started''.

Receptionist reads out the notes on the computer : ''if anti inflams don't work cat needs to come back in and have tests'' ...

Tests?!?! I can't afford tests! She's got a UTI. Why the frickin' heck can't she just have a course of ab's like 2 years ago which sorted her out in about 48 hours?

So i said this - politely - and receptionist said they don't like prescribing ab's cos of ''possible long term health implications''.

The cat is 15 !! She hasnt got much long term left! Sorry to be blunt. She needs to be out of pain. She's been in pain for 4 days now, i've paid 88 quid for something i didn't want and hasn't worked and now they are expecting me fork out £££££ for tests?! AND poor cat still in pain.

A vet is going to ring me back. I'm waiting. I'm afraid i'm going to say if they won't prescribe ab's (because they genuinely think it's something untreatable with them) and will only do tests i'll have to say PTS 😞 Because i can't afford loads of exploratory vets fees.

Thank you by the way, for replies x

I paid £60 for emergency app and £54 for antibiotic eye drops yesterday for a hamster, its a shame theres no insurance for hamsters, do you have insurance for your cat you could claim it on?

I don't have pet insurance for her, no. Half the time they don't pay out anyway. I spent £££££ over the years for pet insurance with my dogs and when i needed help they wriggled out of it.

I hope you get the meds she needs OP. Insurance probably wouldn't cover a pre existing condition, and be extortionate for a 15 year old cat.
The vet may need to see her to rule out kidney disease/thyroid etc, it's unfortunately not cheap owning pets any more.
I found that the royal canin food for urinary crystals helped alongside cystease and plenty of wet food and water sources, also keeping stress to a minimum.
Be honest with your vet about finances, they should try working with you for the best most economical outcome.

Sorry, I'd read it as a couple of months ago. You're absolutely right.

@Laiste I feel your pain (and frustration).

Fingers crossed it gets resolved for your poor cat.

Thank again everyone. No call yet.

How come they were happy to prescribe simple ab's when she had this last time rather than launch into tests? It was put down to stress last time because of house renovations and vet asked this time about recent stress and agreed that a cattery stay last week was the likely cause of stress this time. (Cattery stay very rare)

I just dont get it.

Surely every illness presenting as a classic UTI in an animal isn't greeted with a battery of tests as routine now are they?

Im beginning to think they just want to squeeze as much cash out of me as they can at this point. Rather than get the animal treated. Sounds harsh but here we are. Cat still poorly, nearly £100 paid out and rather than try the obvious it's 'oooh let's do lots of tests' ??