Medication and care after amputation of cats tail

Question
My 1 yr old cat had to have his tail amputated due to a birth defect. He was sent home with liquid metacam and capsules of antirobe. The meatcam is in a 1.0ml monoject syringe with the dose to be one drop daily for 4 days then  x2 a week for 2 weeks, the capsules of antirobe is 25mg and is given 1 x daily.When I looked these drugs up they state they are for dogs and they can cause liver damage to cats,are these safe to use(the vet gave him 3 doses one at time of surgery and two during his 2 day stay at the pet clinic.) Also should I be bandaging his stump as the vet didn't to keep it clean? Any answers will be helpful. Thank you.

Answer
Malisa,

Most drugs are extralabel use for cats.  Basically, that means that the drug company jumped through some very expensive hoops to get a label from the FDA and the label says "for use in dogs".  The drug companies rarely jump through more expensive hoops just to get the word "cat" put on the label.

Having said that, cats are not dogs and they metabolize drugs very differently than dogs or even people.  Metacam is an excellent Non-Steroidal Antiinflammatory (NSAID) for pain and inflammation control.  Of all the NSAIDs out there, for dogs or humans, I actually like Metacam best for use in cats.  It can cause renal failure if used at the dog dose but it sounds like your vet gave you the cat dose, which is typically one drop per cat per day then less often after the first few days.  It helps even when the animal does not seem painful, so continue to use it as your vet directed.

Antirobe is just an antibiotic.  It can be used safely in cats and while it is not my first choice, it is very effective.  Antibiotic preferences, I've found, differ greatly from vet to vet.

Last, wounds like the air and heal better when left open.  Bandages hold in moisture, and, rarely do I bandage surgical wounds.  Any drainage can be cleaned with a little hydrogen peroxide but it is not necessary (and can be quite painful).

Good luck to your and your cat.  I've found that even cats without tails (either by amputation or by birth) can communicate their moods quite effectively :-)