The administration of antibiotics on an empiric basis to animals that are
not doing well (especially those with normal temps) may prevent a proper
diagnosis from ever being made.  They may mask low- grade bacterial
infections, prevent bacterial cultures from ever being positive, may result
in mild improvement in clinical signs only to relapse over several days,
or in some cases, result in clinical signs, themselves.  (Amoxicillin is
fairly safe overall, although about 10% of animals receiving it will go
off their food.)
 
In general, antibiotics are only good against bacteria, and should only
be employed when a bacterial infection is diagnosed.
 
While it is difficult to be in a rescue without immediate access to a
veterinarian, I generally advocate caution in the utilization of
antibiotics as part of a first line therapy.  SQ fluids, and a bland diet
are often sufficient to maintain an animal until appropriate diagnosis can
be made.
 
With kindest regards,
Bruce H. Williams, DVM, DACVP
 
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[Posted in FML issue 3408]