Nausea Treatment: Cerenia - Anything Else?

[HelenRB]

I have an appointment with Lincoln's vet on Wednesday for a follow-up. He's better than he was a few weeks ago when we first got the CKD diagnosis, but still not all that great.

Eating continues to be the biggest challenge. He started Mirtazapine (compounded into a transdermal ointment) last week but it doesn't seem to do much for him.

I'm pretty certain he's nauseous. He acts hungry, demands food, and then when I put it down, he runs away from it and hides. He licks his lips quite a bit and sometimes retches.

Cerenia seems to be the go-to option, and it's what my vet has suggested. I'm just wondering if there are any other treatments I could try for him. For one thing, I'm not very optimistic about my ability to pill him - I've heard Cerenia is very bitter, and I have rheumatoid arthritis so my hands are not very strong.

Is there anything else I should ask about? I am throwing a lot of food in the garbage.

 

[LTS3]

You can use something like Pill Pockets to make giving pills like Cerenia easier to give. I've given my cat Cerenia with a bacon flavored pill dough. Most cats don't need a whole pill so you'll need a pill cutter to split the pill into half or quarters, whatever your vet says is the proper dose for your cat.

Cerenia should be given about half an hour before a meal.

There might be other similar anti-nausea medicines out there that can be used for cats. I'm not familiar with those.

 

[stephanietx]

Talk to your vet about giving him Pepcid. Many CKD owners have found that helpful.

 

[shadowsrescue]

I have found with my cat that ondansetron (generic zofran) works better for nausea without vomiting. Cerenia works best when they are actively vomiting. Ondansetron can be taken daily while Cerenia just a few days. The ondansetron tablet is very small and easy to give in a pill pocket. You might ask about both or have both on hand to see which works best.

 

[shadowsrescue]

Another thought is to ask about B12 injections. I had a very sick kitty in early spring. He didn't eat for days and I had to syringe feed him. My vet suggested a B12 injection along with the ondansetron. Within 8 hours he was starting to eat on his own.

 

[HelenRB]

Thank you for all the tips!

I have tried 1/4 tablet of Pepcid a few times, but have trouble getting it into him. Once he ate it crushed up in a bit of yogurt, but he seems to have caught on to that trick now and has never done it again.

I'll ask about B12 and ondansetron and will check out pill pockets. Yesterday and today he's been refusing just about everything and hiding behind the couch, and I'm trying not to let him see how stressed out it makes me.

 

[LTS3]

Additional pilling tips if compounding is not an option:

Pilling Cats: Must-know Tips For Hiding Pills
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.

 

[PushPurrCatPaws]

H HelenRB -

Definitely check out using things like pill pockets.

As far as different anti-nausea meds, I cannot remember how big the pills were for the Anzemet (dolasetron) I used with my last cat, but we got them tucked away into pill pockets fairly easily. You can also coat or roll the pill pocket with a cat's fave crumbled treat or crumbled dry food and they might down the pill pocket more readily that way. If I remember, anzemet can be bitter too -- so if you can find a treat they swallow quickly (instead of chewing on), that works better.

I had to use anzemet instead of cerenia with my last cat because she reacted badly to cerenia (search here at TCS with my username and "anzemet" or "cerenia" and read a few similar posts I've posted about it). Anzemet works on decreasing the activity of the vagus nerve. It worked better for my last cat.