Benadryl dosage?

georgial

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I have been advised by a vet to use benedryl on my cat before...so it's not quite so true that cat's 'should not have this'
 

maryann118

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OK, I am REALLY late to this discussion, but when you use a pill pocket, you can cut it in half and use it like dough. Take s tiny piece of the pill, wrap it, but wrap it with the band that has not touched the pill so that none of the pill flavor if on the outside. Then coat the little ball with FortiFlora or grind up a favorite cat treat and "bread" it. As it's so small and tasty at this point, hopefully your cat won't even chew it and will just swallow. This works about half the time for me, but it's better than nothing! The real trick is not getting any of the pill smell on the outside.
 

tomson

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I just gave my cat Benadryl. He's salivating a lot. Does this happen with your cat?
 

jennyr

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As mentioned previously, cats will salivate and drool when they taste something bitter. As long as you kept to the proper dosage, then side effects like that should not last long. ASk your vet if you have any doubts.
 

tkjtkj

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Im a 'person doc', not a Vet .. but ive read that cats lack any ability to sense 'sweetness' .. they just dont have the receptors ..

so: diphenhydromine (Benedryl) is VERY VERY UN-SWEET !!  it seems to me that any cat would/should strongly reject accepting such a med ..

So, Vet's: what's the answer??
 

pet lover

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Recently my grandson accidently dropped his 5mg Claritin while taking it and before he could lean over to grab it, his 7 month old, 8lb pup had scooped it up and it was G-O-N-E!!!  Immediately we called our Vet.  She said that was fine! That for her weight for allergies she would give 3.5mg doses and that in an emergency situation she would give 12 - 15mg... of course under her supervision.   She was not the least bit concerned about 5mg.  She said the most it would do was make her sleepy and it DID NOT!   *** I know we are talking about cats here.... but, my point is Claritin is used for animals, so maybe look it up for cats?
 

dutchesscooper

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I gave my cat Diphenhydramine because she was watery eyes from allergies. The vet gave her prednisolone, which didn't do much to help her. I wonder why the antihistamine made her mouth fill with foamy salvia that ran out in long strings. Please somebody who has a cat with allergies tell me about giving cats Diphenhydramine.
 

snugglecat

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My cat takes that for allergies. It has a very bad taste and they foam from the taste. I try to get it the syringe far back in her mouth and give it to her fast. She still runs around foaming all over the place but like I said it has a bad taste.

Are you giving the liquid form in a syringe?
 

dutchesscooper

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I gave it in a syringe and it foamed greatly. I think maybe it would help her.
 

DreamerRose

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Benedryl also comes also come in solid pill form of 25 mg. You can cut those in half and half again for a dose. It might be easier to give a pill.
 

peter the cat

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My cat Peterhas been to the vet 3 times in a month and a half with hard breathing and his nose plugged.the vet gave him benadryl shots and his vaccinations.he gave me a aantiboitic(basically penicillan) and one other that helps well but a day or so after the drugs are gone the problem keeps coming back(hard breathing)he eats OK,and Igive him 1/2 ml of child benadryl and he drools alot.iwas just wondering iff there is a stronger antibiotic out there for cats with this chronic conditionthat just wants to stay around the Han the above antiboitic that iI mentioned above.my cat Peter is 5 Yrs old.rthanks for any info you can provide.
 

di and bob

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I have given the Benadryl (make sure it is 25mg. and not 50mg.!) in pill form after halving it and then halving it again with a pill splitter you can get free at most pharmacies. I then put it in a tiny piece of bacon cemented there with a tiny piece of pill pocket. Cats will drool if they can taste the medication it is normal but unpleasant and may make them harder to give their medication. Vets give Benadryl all the time to animals who are known to have reactions to vaccinations. My Casper gets it before his shots every time. I have given Claritin too to cats with allergies, just make sure you call your vet first to get the proper dosage and so he knows what you are doing. I don't know much about antibiotics, I mainly give the OTC one I call and get from my vet for my ferals who get abscesses. 
 

dutchesscooper

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I gave my cat Diphenhydramine because she was watery eyes from allergies. The vet gave her prednisolone, which didn't do much to help her. I wonder why the antihistamine made her mouth fill with foamy salvia that ran out in long strings. Please somebody who has a cat with allergies tell me about giving cats Diphenhydramine.
 

dutchesscooper

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Duchess has watery discharge from her eyes. Nothing I do or have done seems to help. I have tried eye drops for allergies, Benadryl, changed her food several times - feeding her no grain, changed the kind of litter I use.

The vet's treatment didn't help much. She did stop pulling her hair out so she stopped itching.

The vet says it's probably allergies but his treatment was a temporary fix. I am scratching my head on this one.
 

kelly19

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My cat has bad allergies, but the vet suggested Atopica, which has many dangerous side effects. So trying to use benadryl tabs along with skin coat vitamins for cats. Works slowly, will see how it lasts. When using benadryl tabs of 25mg, I cut it in quarters on a napkin with a small knife (vet safely recommends .5 mg per lb of weight for cats) and he is big maine coone mix weighing 16 lbs....so 16 x .5= 8 which is quarter tab of 25 mg. To avoid foaming at the mouth, I use a pill popper syringe from the vet that can hold pills at the tip and you gently and quickly pull back their head and eject right down the throat. Immediately then I follow with a small dollop of whip cream in the mouth to take the bitter taste away and quickly wipe their mouth with a damp cloth. Also try to feed a favorite treat to help take the taste away. This method reduces the foaming to a minimum and reduces the stress time.
 

sue goryan

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I was also told to give my coughing, 11 LB cat, Benadryl....

I bought the generic version but am still hesitant to give it to him......I think 1/4 of a 25 mg pill would be a good start......

He is on Temaril presently but it really shouldn't be given for more than 2 weeks....1/2 tab 1-2 times a day.....as it has a mild dose of steroid in it....

Vets DO prescribe Benadryl so i'm willing to try anything that helps the allergies, my cat has. Just still looking for the meds that really helps the coughing and only the Temaril does the best job 
 

sue goryan

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It's bitter as is any antihistamine. I thoroughly crush the dose into a fine powder and mix it into a strong tasting canned pet food. Twice a day I do this, not too much food that the cat walks away leaving any, and not so little that the taste keeps him from eating all of it......

THEN, I've also stopped free feeding my 3 cats 24/7 their dry food AND I pick up any uneaten canned food, to be SURE my affected cat is hungry for each meal (breakfast especially, when he's most hungry)

If any dosed food is left, I will put some juice from Purina One 'Braised in Beef' all over or mixed in......within an hour my cat has eaten all his meds....90% of the time. I also don't feed him any leftovers in the same plate...I put it into a vlean plate so there's no smell of meds left in the plate.

Not easy as I have 3 cats, but I feed anywhere from 5 AM-11AM and then pick up plates until about 5 PM-9 PM .....and am vigilant about my allergy cat NOT eating anything else until he's eaten all of his dosed food.

NOT free feeding dry food and picking up canned food from the floor after 4-6 hours helps a lot when you have other cats plus a cat on meds that has the meds put in his food.

P.D. I can't get my cat to come near me to get his meds on time from ME, which is why I started putting it in his food.....

He gets meds in strong tasting food like rabbit, tuna (although he's not much of a fish eating cat) and 1 or 2 other grain-free foods. My cat only gets Purina One (see above) when he leaves medicine dosed food, and it's too much to combine with other food or he's rejected eating it on a  2nd offering.....
 

sue goryan

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My cat takes  1/4 of an antihistamine in his food (he has to be hungry, mind you) without drooling....He HAS vomited if I put more than 1/4 pill, but NOT often....it works 90% of the time without hesitation.....grind very fine in a pill crusher
 

windycat

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I don't think my Vet would give me instructions on how to kill my own cat. My vet also suggested Benadryl for Buddy after her rabies shot when she scratched the area where the shot had been administered. I didnt have to give her Benadryl because she was back to her normal self the next day. I'll take a certfied Vet who's been in business for 15 years over random commenters on the net, anyday.
 
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