If your cat has allergies read this

[hillyy13]

I just wanted to share a positive experience I’ve had with my cat who has severe allergies.

We’ve spent years trying to get to the bottom of what causes his allergies, doing all sorts of testing and food elimination trials. Unfortunately nothing worked, even hydrolysed foods, air purifiers, removing all scented candles from the home, hoovering daily, atopica treatment - our poor little guy seems to be allergic to everything.

Until a few months ago he was on daily oral steroids as it was the only thing that stopped him ripping his fur out. I should add that the vet recommended trying an antihistamine about a year ago which we did. We had him on half a cetirizine a day but it didn’t make any difference.

Anyway, one day I was doing our weekly food shop in a supermarket and I saw loratadine on the shelf. I thought for 75p it’s worth trying. I gave him half a tablet once a day (half the human dosage) and low and behold… his itching dramatically increased.

It has now been a few months of him taking loratadine and his allergies are much better. It hasn’t been a complete miracle cure, he still occasionally itches but it’s manageable. He’s only had to have steroids twice in the last few months on a particularly bad few days (I think it was the cheese he ate off the kitchen floor...

I just wanted to share my story in hope that it could help someone else. Allergies in pets are so hard to diagnose and even harder to treat without steroids - and it’s horrible having to see your little one suffer. It also shows that different antihistamines work for different animals, so don’t give up if you’ve tried one and it hasn’t worked!

If anyone else has any positive allergy stories I’d love to hear them

 

[Caspers Human]

Absolutely fabulous!
It's great to hear that you found a way to help your cat feel better!

Just be sure that you touch base with your vet.
First, you want to get your vet's advice on how much to give and how often. This is what vets go to school for, doncha' know.

Second, and I think most important, if you ever have to rush your cat to the vet for some emergency, the vet will need to know what meds your cat has been taking. You don't want the vet giving your cat something that might cause an adverse reaction with the loratadine.

In an emergency situation where your cat is hurt or gravely ill, it's very easy to forget to tell the vet what you've been giving your cat.
You won't be thinking about the allergy pill that you give him every day. You'll be worried about whether he will be okay.

If you tell your vet what pills you're giving your cat, they can put it on his chart.

If the worst ever does happen, the vet can just look at the chart and they'll know how to treat your cat.

 

[hillyy13]

Absolutely fabulous!
It's great to hear that you found a way to help your cat feel better!

Just be sure that you touch base with your vet.
First, you want to get your vet's advice on how much to give and how often. This is what vets go to school for, doncha' know.

Second, and I think most important, if you ever have to rush your cat to the vet for some emergency, the vet will need to know what meds your cat has been taking. You don't want the vet giving your cat something that might cause an adverse reaction with the loratadine.

In an emergency situation where your cat is hurt or gravely ill, it's very easy to forget to tell the vet what you've been giving your cat.
You won't be thinking about the allergy pill that you give him every day. You'll be worried about whether he will be okay.

If you tell your vet what pills you're giving your cat, they can put it on his chart.

If the worst ever does happen, the vet can just look at the chart and they'll know how to treat your cat.

I actually emailed him not long ago to tell him that we’d finally had some success - so hopefully he has put it on his chart we do take our cat in for 6 monthly bloods because of where he was on long term steroids, so we can discuss it next time we are in there as well.

 

[Caspers Human]

Excellent!

Did the vet verify the dosage for you?

From what I understand cats should take 0.5 mg of loratadine per kg. body weight.
A 10 lb. cat (4.5 kg.) should get 0.5 x 4.5 = 2.26 mg. (Let's round up to 2.5 mg.)
If loratadine comes in 10 mg. pills, that means a 10 lb. cat should get a quarter of a pill.

10 lb. is the average weight of an adult house cat but few cats will actually weight exactly 10 lb. You should weigh your cat and calculate your dosage accordingly. Then you should contact your vet and get them to verify that you're giving the right amount.

Our cat, Casper, weighs 14 lb. --> 14 lb. ÷ 2.205 kg./lb. = 6.35 kg.
Then --> 6.35 kg. x 0.5 mg. = 3.18 mg. of loratadine.

If loratadine comes in 10 mg. pills, that means Casper should take approximately 1/3 of a pill.

There's an old saying: Always use the minimum amount that gives you the desired result.
The more medicine you give, the greater chances of side effects or adverse reactions. This goes for cats as well as people.

If I had to give loratadine to my cat, I'd give 1/4 of a pill and see how well that works. Then, if I thought he needed more I'd give him another little bit until I saw results.

Like I said, this is the kind of thing that vets go to school for. Our vet would know this right off the top of her head.
In fact, we have talked to our vet about how much of an OTC med (Benadryl) to give Casper if he needs it. She looked at his chart and said, "What's he weigh?" Then she did some figuring in her head and said to give him [so much] before scribbling a note at the bottom of the page.

All I'm saying is to keep your vet in the loop... which you seem to have done.

I'm just trying to make sure that other people don't go shoving pills down their cat's throats without talking to a vet, first.

 

[daftcat75]

I'm just trying to make sure that other people don't go shoving pills down their cat's throats without talking to a vet, first.

I’m relieved that it worked out for you and your cat. I would feel so much better if you called up the vet and confirmed the dosage. You’ll also want this medication in his chart so that your vet doesn’t prescribe or give him something in an emergency that could have a harmful interaction.

I don’t recommend anyone giving medication to their cat without consulting a vet first.

 

[Caspers Human]

We have a good relationship with our vet.

She is aware of what I understand about giving medicine to our cat.
I'm a chemistry lab technician and I'm used to doing this sort of thing. The only difference is that I work with industrial chemicals instead of medicines but the principles are the same.

I can call up the vet and say something like, "I think Caper needs [ABC-medicine]" and she'll say, "Okay. X-mg. per kg."
Then I answer, "X-mg. of meds per Y-kg. of cat = Z-mg. dose," and she'll verify.

I'm used to doing things like this. It's almost the same as my job and our vet knows this.
When I talk about the way I give medications to Casper, it's on these terms.

I can't guarantee that the things I say about Casper's medical conditions are the same as anybody else's cat and I don't know what other people understand about measuring and dosage calculation.

I am only trying to encourage other people to develop a good relationship with their vet regarding the care of their cats.
Hopefully, if people have a little bit of knowledge and understanding, they'll know what to say to their vet and they'll understand, better, what their vet is telling them.

If that's true, people will be able to take better care of their cats and won't worry so much when something happens.

But, no! Don't go giving your cat medicines before you call your vet and ask!

 

[daftcat75]

We have a good relationship with our vet.

She is aware of what I understand about giving medicine to our cat.
I'm a chemistry lab technician and I'm used to doing this sort of thing. The only difference is that I work with industrial chemicals instead of medicines but the principles are the same.

I can call up the vet and say something like, "I think Caper needs [ABC-medicine]" and she'll say, "Okay. X-mg. per kg."
Then I answer, "X-mg. of meds per Y-kg. of cat = Z-mg. dose," and she'll verify.

I'm used to doing things like this. It's almost the same as my job and our vet knows this.
When I talk about the way I give medications to Casper, it's on these terms.

I can't guarantee that the things I say about Casper's medical conditions are the same as anybody else's cat and I don't know what other people understand about measuring and dosage calculation.

I am only trying to encourage other people to develop a good relationship with their vet regarding the care of their cats.
Hopefully, if people have a little bit of knowledge and understanding, they'll know what to say to their vet and they'll understand, better, what their vet is telling them.

If that's true, people will be able to take better care of their cats and won't worry so much when something happens.

But, no! Don't go giving your cat medicines before you call your vet and ask!

I know I quoted your post. But I meant my reply more for the original poster.

Even if you are a doctor, pharmacist, or a vet yourself, you should always discuss meds with your vet and keep them and your cat’s chart up to date with anything you are giving—even supplements. CBD, for example is extremely safe on its own. But it has the potential for dangerous interactions with prescription drugs.

Even if loratidine seems safe and effective today, run it past your vet to make sure you aren’t trading relief today for problems further down the road. You don’t want to risk his liver or kidneys on too high a dose.

 

[Caspers Human]

Even if loratidine seems safe and effective today...

Do keep in mind that, even though loratadine is approved for use on cats, it hasn't been well studied.

That means that it isn't harmful to cats in the prescribed dosages but doctors don't have a lot of information on its long-term effects

 

[LTS3]

Do keep in mind that, even though loratadine is approved for use on cats, it hasn't been well studied.

Loratadine is not FDA approved for veterinary use. Vets use it off label.

 

[Caspers Human]

Good to know! Thanks for the heads-up!

 

[hillyy13]

Hi both, sorry for the late response on this! I think as you said, my vet has said it’s fine but because it isn’t prescribed it is “off label.” He has suggested the dosage isn’t a problem, but I do wonder about long term side effects because of it not being well studied. The vet was originally the person who suggested we try different antihistamines as they all work slightly differently.

Our cat has no quality of life without his medication(s) and it would be a real shame to have to take him back to that. Perhaps I will try a second opinion from another vet and see what they say.