Benadryl safe?

[Susanna72]

My cat Timothy started having sneezing fits last night. Kept waking me up since he sleeps on the pillow next to me. He sneezed all day today, too. (I work from home.) No nasal or eye discharge. I called the vet to ask if I could try Benadryl and he said it’s okay to give him 25mg since he’s 20 lbs. Does anyone have experience with this? Does that sound right? He said he could take that 2-3 times a day.

it just got warm and was raining a lot so I thought maybe it’s pollen? I adopted him a year ago and I’ve tried to feed him less so he will lose some weight, but he hasn’t lost any. So we just this week put him on metabolic food from hills science diet. Maybe he’s allergic to that? He was at the vet Monday and I started it Tuesday morning. The sneezing started Thursday night.

 

[sivyaleah]

Benadryl is safe as prescribed.
It's also used to avoid vaccine reactions for sensitive cats (mine). Just make sure you use the dose your vet recommended.

 

[Susanna72]

Benadryl is safe as prescribed.
It's also used to avoid vaccine reactions for sensitive cats (mine). Just make sure you use the dose your vet recommended.

I never thought of vaccine allergies! He had his rabies and distemper on Monday.

 

[LTS3]

Getting both rabies and distemper at the same time results in many cats being a bit lethargic for a day or so afterwards. This is a normal reaction.

 

[sivyaleah]

I never thought of vaccine allergies! He had his rabies and distemper on Monday.

It's given before injecting the vaccine to help ward off any reactions.
If the vet suspects that is the reason, I'd assume it gets noted in the file and they would try Benadryl beforehand next time. As LTS3 said, some cats can get lethargic from vaccinations. My girl, was not herself for a full week. Lesson learned!

 

[Susanna72]

Does anyone have any tips on giving a pill to a cat that is smart enough to know that there’s a pill in that Pill Pocket? He will eat them when they are empty. He’s the hardest one of my three to pill. He’s so smart and agile!!

 

[IndyJones]

Does he let you touch his mouth area? My old cat was too smart for pill pockets or pill crushing.

I found that tilting the head back so the mouth opens and flicking the pill into the back of the throat and massaging the chin to make the cat swallow works best.

 

[LTS3]

Does anyone have any tips on giving a pill to a cat that is smart enough to know that there’s a pill in that Pill Pocket? He will eat them when they are empty. He’s the hardest one of my three to pill. He’s so smart and agile!!

Roll the Pill Pocket in crushed up treats or FortiFlora? Or try one of these other tips:

Pilling Cats: Must-know Tips For Hiding Pills – TheCatSite Articles
The Best Pill-taking Secret I Know...
Pilling Cats and Dogs Safely
How We Give Our Pill Hating Cat A Pill
Getting Cat To Take Pills... Post Tips Here.

I use a bacon flavored pill dough for my cat.

It's probably not worth the cost of having the Benadryl compounded into another form such as a flavored chew treat. But ask the vet about that option.

 

[Susanna72]

Thanks to everyone for all the videos and articles. I learned a lot!

I am calling the vet in the morning. He’s not just sneezing a lot, he has head tremors. I gave him flea medication on Wednesday and this all started on Thursday. Could that be the cause? I’ve had him a year and this is the first time I’ve given him flea meds. It’s Revolution. I also gave to my other two and they seem fine.

 

[daftcat75]

Ask the vet for a can of Hills A/D. This pate is supposedly kitty crack. Also ask for a food syringe.

You can try a few different things:
1. Pull out the plunger and put your pill in the syringe. Replace the plunger and draw up a small amount of warm water. Cover the end with your finger and shake until the pill dissolves. You now have a Benadryl suspension. It probably tastes foul. Draw up some of the A/D and shake to get something better tasting into your suspension. Then slowly as your cat will allow, squirt your A/D Benadryl suspension into his mouth. Dip the tip in A/D and let him lick the tip before you slowly start plunging. He has to take the whole thing to get the whole dose. So the less water and more A/D you can use, the more appealing and the smaller the volume, the better the odds he’ll get the full dose.
2. Second option: coat the Benadryl pill directly with the A/D and place on a textured surface like a towel. If you put it on a plate, he’ll figure out how to lick around the pill. But on the towel, either he eats it or the towel does.
3. If the pill is small enough, repack it in a gelatin capsule and then do option 2 above. It makes it less likely he’ll bite into the pill itself.

 

[daftcat75]

I just used #3 with my Betty. She was looking a little nauseated and she needs to make it to morning with no food. She has to be fasted before her ultrasound. She’s a nibbler and would normally nibble all night long. So I packed a Cerenia dose inside a gelatin capsule (size 0 or 00), coated that in A/D, and deposited it on the carpet. She picked the bite up, capsule and all, and ate/swallowed it without issue. I gave her a few more grams of A/D to chase it. Hopefully that will keep her from turning herself out overnight when I have to pick the plates up. At least the dose went into her easy peasy.

 

[daftcat75]

I just used #3 with my Betty. She was looking a little nauseated and she needs to make it to morning with no food. She has to be fasted before her ultrasound. She’s a nibbler and would normally nibble all night long. So I packed a Cerenia dose inside a gelatin capsule (size 0 or 00), coated that in A/D, and deposited it on the carpet. She picked the bite up, capsule and all, and ate/swallowed it without issue. I gave her a few more grams of A/D to chase it. Hopefully that will keep her from turning herself out overnight when I have to pick the plates up. At least the dose went into her easy peasy.

Correction. I thought the capsules get smaller with the smaller number. I just checked the package and the gelatin capsule I use are actually size 5. That seems to be the smallest size. This works well for the quarter pills I'm giving. I may need to get the next size up for some supplements I've been looking to add to her food that she's not crazy about.

Capsule Size Calculator

 

[fionasmom]

Yes, 00 is a larger capsule which is suitable for dogs (and all cats who will eat if) and the sizes decrease as the number increases. I successfully pilled a feral with size 4 disguised in his food.