When you’re cat is showing signs of allergies or the common cold you might be tempted to give them Sudafed. Sudafed has long been shown to be a reliable remedy for the signs and symptoms of allergies in humans, but does it translate to the feline species?
It can be hard to watch your cat sneeze repeatedly, or have itchy watery eyes, but there are other ways to treat them than with medication designed for people. The problem is that many people think over the counter drugs are harmless because they’re available without a prescription. However, many of these medications are actually quite strong, produce their own set of side effects, and need to be taken as directed. They are not meant to be given to animals, and were not designed or dosed for them.
When your cat is having a cold, you’ll need to monitor them constantly to see what sort of symptoms they have. Many times you can simply let it run its course, and intervention is not required on your part. If they really seem to be having a miserable time with it, you can take them into the vet and get a professional opinion on what the next best step is.
Can I Give My Cat Sudafed? Answer: No.
The main reason that you don’t want to give your cat something like Sudafed is that it contains pseudoephedrine, which is not recommended to give to cats. Antihistamines can be used if your cat is having an allergy attack, but this should be directed by your vet, who will give you the right dose for your cats size and breed and medical history.
Cats and Allergies
It’s usually people that are allergic to cats, but cats can be allergic to some of the same stuff we are like dust, mold, or even grass and outdoor allergens. Most times they will be fine after a few sneezes, but if it persists you might want to consider taking them to a vet to find out what they’re allergic to and get the proper medication designed for cats in order to treat them properly.
Other Concerns
The other thing you don’t want to do is get into the habit of treating your pet with human medication at the first sign of any problems. Since our pets can’t talk to us to tell us what is bothering them, we need to watch for behavioral changes. When you start giving them meds, you are masking the symptoms that could be related to something more serious. Also, you could be creating more problems then you’re solving if your cat has a reaction to the drugs you are giving them. This could lead to a misdiagnosis later because they are having artificial side effects induced by the drugs.
When to See Your Vet
You don’t want to go bothering your vet for every little problem your pet has, because their time is valuable and even though they’ll get the veterinary assistant to answer the phones and screen most routine calls, you should reserve asking your vet unless you’re stumped. Most problems a cat experiences will pass with time, so it’s the ones that linger on, or escalate that should be the ones you bring to their attention.
The vet’s professional opinion about your cat is far more valuable than the information you’ll get from other cat owners, because they will have studied veterinary medicine for several years, and seen and treated countless animals before. If you’ve taken them in for a health check up when they are healthy – recommended – your vet has a pretty good idea of your cat and how they act when nothing is bothering them. This will all be in their file, and so your vet will have their breed, weight, and will have recorded any important information you gave them concerning their overall health.
Taking advice from other owners that is given in forums is really not a good idea. They are only giving you their unprofessional advice about their own cat, which is likely not the same kind of cat that you have, and could be a much different size, and has their own unique medical history.