Over The Counter (OTC) Medicine and Medications For Cats
As a general rule, cats have weak livers and can only process a limited number of drugs. There are a wide variety of over the counter substances that are safe to give to dogs, but can be life-threatening to their feline counterparts. When I was doing a little research for this article, the very first thing I saw was a frantic forum post asking if a cat could recover from blindness after ingesting a Tylenol. Scary stuff. Hopefully reason enough to keep yourself educated on the subject. Personally, I’ve always thought to treat my cat’s livers like that of a recovering alcoholic; fragile and temperamental. To give you an idea on how sensitive your cat is, here is a list of drugs that are considered toxic to our feline friends:
NEVER GIVE YOUR CAT THE FOLLOWING:
· Adult Aspirin-cats can only tolerate very small quantities
· Tylenol (acetaminophen)
· Advil (Ibuprofen)
· Claritin
When you give an alternative, be sure that it doesn’t also contain one of these drugs. By law, it would be listed under “Active Ingredients”.
Here is a list of OTC drugs that are sometimes given to our feline friends.
Drug
| Instructions
| Frequency
|
|---|---|---|
Baby Aspirin (81 mg)
| 1 for every 15 pounds
| 1 every 48 hours
|
Glucosamine
| 10 mg/lb body weight.
| 2x/day. Double for first 2-4 weeks.
|
Chlor-Trimeton
| 4 mg ½ tablet
| Twice daily
|
Pepto-Bismol
| 1-3 ml
| every 6-8 hours
|
Immodium AD
| ½ tab per 11 lbs
| Every 12-24 hours
|
Dramamine
| ¼ tab per 12 lbs
| Every 8-24 hours
|
Zantac (Ranitidine) 75mg
| ¼ tab per 10 lbs
| Twice daily
|
Here is a list of OTC drugs that are sometimes given to our feline friends.
When it comes to wound healing, my all time favorite antiseptic is a product called Vetracyn. It is indicated for dogs, cats and horses. You can watch their video and check out their website here.
I think some people discount it because it looks like water. I have used it for MRSA staph infections, and any time one of my animals has red eyes. If you buy the formula indicated for eyes, it is pH balanced and can be sprayed directly into the eye without burning.
Remember, when it comes to cats, drugs, frequencies and dosages always err on the side of caution. Keep your vet in the loop. Keep dosages to a minimum unless expressly prescribed, and persistent illness definatly merits a trip to the vet.
