Levofloxacin: veterinary dose and monograph

At a glance

Drug class

Antibiotic

Also known as

L-Floxcin, Levaquin, Quixin

Species with doses

Dogs and Cats

Routes

PO

Last reviewed

1 October 2026

Indications

• No veterinary indication is established in the uploaded references

Levofloxacin dose by species

Doses are per administration unless stated. mg/kg doses scale with body weight; per-animal, per-quarter and infusion-rate doses are shown as the reference writes them.

Dogs

• Susceptible infection (resistant Gram-negative): Papich 5e: 25 mg/kg q24h PO, or 25 mg/kg q24h IV as a slow infusion. Plumb’s 10e has no systemic levofloxacin dose (ophthalmic monograph only, p.1378). Avoid in growing dogs (cartilage).

Cats

• Susceptible infection: Papich 5e: 20 mg/kg q24h PO; 10 mg/kg q24h IV. Fluoroquinolone retinal toxicity is dose-related in cats — do not exceed these doses.

Cattle

• No reference dose for this species: Papich 5e states no large-animal dosing data are available, and Plumb’s 10e covers levofloxacin only as an ophthalmic product (p.1378). Fluoroquinolone use in food animals is prohibited or tightly restricted in many countries — use a licensed alternative.

Buffalo

No buffalo-specific doses are on file, so buffalo are dosed as cattle.

• No reference dose for this species: Papich 5e states no large-animal dosing data are available, and Plumb’s 10e covers levofloxacin only as an ophthalmic product (p.1378). Fluoroquinolone use in food animals is prohibited or tightly restricted in many countries — use a licensed alternative.

Contraindications

Fluoroquinolone class contraindications apply: known FQ hypersensitivity; growing animals (arthropathy — cartilage lesions in weight-bearing joints of young dogs and, controversially, foals); seizure disorders (FQs lower seizure threshold). CATS: the class carries a dose-dependent risk of acute retinal degeneration and irreversible blindness, best documented with enrofloxacin — do not extrapolate a levofloxacin dose to cats. FOOD ANIMALS: Plumb's p.466 records that EXTRA-LABEL use of fluoroquinolones in food animals is prohibited; since levofloxacin has no food-animal label at all, any use in cattle or buffalo destined for meat or milk falls in that prohibited category in jurisdictions applying that rule.

Species-specific warnings

Cattle: NO established dose and NO withdrawal period. Extra-label fluoroquinolone use in food animals is prohibited in major residue regimes (Plumb's p.466). Use enrofloxacin, which is labelled for cattle, instead.

Buffalo: NO established dose and NO withdrawal period. Same prohibition and the same recommendation to use enrofloxacin.

Adverse effects

• Fluoroquinolone class effects: GI upset (vomiting, diarrhoea, anorexia)
• Arthropathy / cartilage erosion in growing animals
• CNS stimulation, tremor, seizures (lowered seizure threshold)
• Crystalluria at high doses in alkaline urine
• Retinal degeneration and blindness in cats (class effect, dose-dependent)

Drug interactions

• Di- and trivalent cations (aluminium, magnesium, calcium, iron, zinc antacids and supplements; sucralfate): chelate fluoroquinolones and markedly reduce oral absorption — separate by at least 2 hours
• Theophylline: fluoroquinolones reduce hepatic clearance — toxicity risk
• NSAIDs: may potentiate CNS stimulation and seizure risk
• Nitrofurantoin: antagonises fluoroquinolone activity
• Cyclosporine: raised cyclosporine levels reported with some fluoroquinolones

Pregnancy and lactation

Fluoroquinolones are generally avoided in pregnancy and in growing animals because of cartilage toxicity. No levofloxacin-specific veterinary reproductive data exists in the uploaded references.

Monitoring

• This drug has no established veterinary dose — the primary "monitoring" step is to reconsider whether a labelled alternative (enrofloxacin) should be used instead
• If used regardless: joint comfort in growing animals, neurological signs, and vision in cats
• Food animals: residue risk is entirely uncharacterised — do not allow meat or milk into the chain without regulatory advice

Toxicity and overdose

No levofloxacin-specific veterinary overdose data is available in the uploaded references. Manage as for the fluoroquinolone class: the dose-limiting concerns are CNS stimulation with seizures, arthropathy in growing animals, and — in cats — acute retinal degeneration causing irreversible blindness.

Clinical pearls

• This entry exists to tell you what is NOT known: levofloxacin is sold for Indian cattle with no dose and no withdrawal on the label, and neither Plumb's nor Merck supplies either
• Enrofloxacin is the fluoroquinolone with an actual bovine label — 2.5–5 mg/kg SC q24h × 3–5 days, 28 d slaughter withdrawal, not for dairy or veal (Plumb's p.466)
• Plumb's p.466 records that extra-label fluoroquinolone use in food animals is prohibited — relevant to every levofloxacin cattle product on the Indian market
• Third-generation FQs offer better gram-positive cover than enrofloxacin but remain weak against Pseudomonas

Mechanism of action

Fluoroquinolone — bactericidal through inhibition of bacterial DNA gyrase (topoisomerase II) and topoisomerase IV, disrupting DNA replication (Plumb's p.1204). Levofloxacin is the active L-isomer of ofloxacin and is classed as third-generation: broader gram-positive cover than the second-generation agents (enrofloxacin, ciprofloxacin, norfloxacin, ofloxacin) but still relatively weak against Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Concentration-dependent killing with a post-antibiotic effect, which is why fluoroquinolones are dosed once daily where a dose is established.

Formulations and products

• L-Floxcin 100 mg/mL injection (Assure Biotech, 100 mL)
• L-Floxcin (Assure Biotech, Jagadhri (HR)) — Levofloxacin hemihydrate eq. to levofloxacin 100 mg/mL, Injection
• Levaquin / Levoflox — 250 / 500 / 750 mg tablet; 5 mg/mL infusion, Tablet / IV infusion (human-label)

Before you use this dose

Reference doses for veterinary professionals. Confirm the dose against the product label, the patient’s condition, current guidance and local regulations before use; the attending veterinarian remains responsible for every clinical decision.

Other antibiotics

• Florfenicol
• Fusidic Acid
• Gamithromycin
• Gentamicin
• Lincomycin
• Linezolid
• Marbofloxacin
• Meropenem

Frequently asked questions