VETINUITY
Enrofloxacin is dosed at 5-20 mg/kg once daily in dogs, but never more than 5 mg/kg per day in cats, the dose above which retinal degeneration and blindness have been reported.
Cats: 5 mg/kg per day is a ceiling, not a starting point. Volume uses the 22.7 mg/mL small-animal injection.
Vetinuity’s enrofloxacin dose table: dogs 5 to 20 mg/kg once daily, by mouth or extra-label IV, and cats 5 mg/kg once daily at most, because higher doses in cats have caused retinal degeneration and permanent blindness. The calculator above stops the cat row at that ceiling on purpose.
| Indication | Dog | Cat | Route and frequency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pyelonephritis, empirical while culture is pending | 10-20 mg/kg | 5 mg/kg | PO q24h, 10-14 days |
| Complicated or resistant urinary infection (by culture) | 10-20 mg/kg | 5 mg/kg | PO q24h |
| Sepsis needing gram-negative coverage, with a beta-lactam | 10-20 mg/kg | 5 mg/kg | IV diluted, over 15-30 min, q24h |
| Deep pyoderma, culture-guided second tier | 5-20 mg/kg | not applicable | PO q24h |
Gelatt and colleagues described cats that developed mydriasis, retinal degeneration and blindness on enrofloxacin, most at doses above the label. The current cat label caps enrofloxacin at 5 mg/kg per day. Older cats and cats with kidney disease, where the drug accumulates, carry more risk at a given dose. If a cat needs a fluoroquinolone at a higher exposure, marbofloxacin or pradofloxacin are the usual alternatives.
Tablets come in 22.7, 68 and 136 mg, plus flavored chewables. The small-animal injection is 22.7 mg/mL. Enrofloxacin binds to calcium, magnesium, aluminum and iron, so separate it by 2 hours from sucralfate, antacids, phosphate binders and supplements. It is a concentration-dependent drug; one daily dose is better than splitting the same amount.
Avoid it in growing dogs because of cartilage damage: the label contraindicates small and medium breeds 2 to 8 months old, large breeds under 12 months and giant breeds under 18 months. Fluoroquinolones may lower the seizure threshold. ISCAID guidance reserves this class for confirmed indications such as pyelonephritis and culture-confirmed resistance, not for first-line cystitis. Vetinuity, an emergency veterinarian’s clinical assistant from Brian Toncray, DVM, publishes the ceiling alongside the dose.
Related: ampicillin-sulbactam, amoxicillin-clavulanate, sucralfate and parvo outpatient protocol.
Ampicillin-sulbactam is commonly given at 22-30 mg/kg (combined) IV every 8 hours in dogs and cats, the hospital beta-lactam for parvovirus sepsis, aspiration pneumonia and peritonitis.
The label dose of amoxicillin-clavulanate is 13.75 mg/kg PO q12h in dogs and 62.5 mg per cat q12h; ISCAID guidelines use 12.5-25 mg/kg q12h for urinary and skin infections.
Sucralfate is a fixed dose, not a per-kilogram one: 0.5-1 g per dog by mouth every 8-12 hours and 0.25 g per cat every 8-12 hours, given 2 hours apart from other oral drugs.
A randomized trial found 80% survival with an outpatient parvovirus protocol versus 90% hospitalized; field series and CPMA data inform the approach.
Doxycycline is dosed at 5 mg/kg PO every 12 hours or 10 mg/kg once daily in dogs and cats, and every oral dose in a cat must be followed by water or food to prevent esophageal stricture.
Often not. Cats with enrofloxacin-associated retinal degeneration presented with mydriasis and acute blindness, and many did not recover vision. Prevention by dose is the only reliable approach.
The small-animal injection is labeled for IM use in dogs. Many hospitals give it IV extra-label, diluted at least 1:1 and over 15 to 30 minutes, never as a bolus and never mixed with magnesium- or calcium-containing fluids.
Vetinuity explains clinical options with journal citations.
The veterinarian diagnoses and prescribes.