Bactine?

[faythe]

Hey I'm not sure if this is the proper place for this thread so if not I apologize in advance.

I am just curious about the safety of bactine on cats. I have been searching the Internet and keep getting conflicting results.

I plan to ask my vet but was just curious if anyone here had any experience with this as well.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Margret]

I don't know about safety, but I remember from my long distant childhood that it stings terribly. I think I'd look for a better option. Your vet should recommend the right thing.

Margret

 

[faythe]

They must have made it differently back then because the one I have does not sting at all and it also helps to numb the wound. No alcohol in it either.

 

[Margret]

Maybe they did. Back then they advertised it as pain-free, all the mothers believed the ads, and all the kids cried when their mothers sprayed it on their scraped knees, and the mothers thought the kids were just being sissies. I lucked out with a mother who actually believed me rather than an ad agency. Maybe as those kids grew up and refused to buy the stuff for their kids the company finally decided it had to make good on the "pain free" claim.

Aha! Just did a Google search on "ingredients of bactine." Active ingredients are benzalkonium chloride and lidocaine, i.e. they've added a mild local anesthetic to it, which is what my mother's solution had (Derma Medicone cream -- still made, but may have to be ordered online; I wouldn't recommend it for cats, though, because it's a cream and cats would ingest it).

Still can't say whether Bactine is safe for cats, though.

Margret