Baby aspirin for cats? - PLEASE HELP
Judith D. Schlesinger
Laura LeVine <lle...@wpgate.gmu.edu> wrote:
>My vet has recommended a baby aspirin twice a week for Egg's arthritis.
>I have never heard of giving a cat aspirin before, has anyone else had
>any experience with it?
>
>Any advice/information would be appreciated!
>
>Thank you,
>
>Laura LeVine lle...@wpgate.gmu.edu
>
>Resident Domesticated Human for
>Nutley Samantha Seedling, Egg, Lynnseed Enigma and Secret.
Charlie gets a baby aspirin every 3 days and has been getting this for
more than a year now. If your vet has recommended it for you cat, give
it! You'll hear people say that aspirin is poison to a cat but that's
not true. They simply process it more slowly than we do. That's why
it's no more than every 3 days. (On the other hand, Tylenol *is* deadly.)
The biggest problem is because most people do not use baby aspirin (Reyes
syndrome), there isn't much of it around. I have found Bayer cherry flavor
but, since he didn't like that any better than the orange flavor, I haven't
bothered with it and just get the cheaper orange store brand. Also, since
they're chewable, they're larger than they need to be. I'd be much happier
with an unflavored *small* baby aspirin.
A colleague gives baby aspirin to her cat for arthritis. She notices the
difference in his behavior very shortly after it hits his system. He'll
jump and move in ways he won't when he's not on the aspirin.
Hope this all helps--
Judith and the crew
Laura LeVine
Laura Twombly
>My vet has recommended a baby aspirin twice a week for Egg's arthritis.
>I have never heard of giving a cat aspirin before, has anyone else had
>any experience with it?
>
>Any advice/information would be appreciated!
>
More recently, for the past year my Joey has been getting one baby aspirin every third
day. This is not for arthritis, but to prevent blood clots since he has cardiomyopathy (a
bad heart). Aside from the difficulties in getting him to take this relatively large pill on
top of the ones that he gets every day, he shows no ill affects.
Every morning Joey gets an insulin shot and one pill, and every evening he gets a shot and
two pills, or three on the aspirin days. He doesn't seem to mind the shot nearly as much
as the pills!
Laura T.
kl...@cobra.uni.edu
> My vet has recommended a baby aspirin twice a week for Egg's arthritis.
> I have never heard of giving a cat aspirin before, has anyone else had
> any experience with it?
Yes, it's done, but I don't remember the standard dosage... I thought
it was about 0.5 baby aspirin per 10 lbs body weight every other day.
Aspirin is normally a bad idea for cats, but when used on vet. advice,
it can be useful for clotting disorders, and, I suppose, arthritis.
I'm surprised another anti-inflammatory wasn't considered, though.
Kay Klier kl...@cobra.uni.edu
LeeA114461
It is considered highly toxic to them. With dogs it's okay, but with cats
it's a no-no! If you do go ahead -- give maybe 1/2 baby aspirin and have
the cat vet-checked almost daily. (I almost lost an 18 year old doing
this -- so I'm not just talking from under my hat). I would ask my vet if
there were any other type of medication that could be used instead --
anti-inflamatory, etc.
Also, you might consider subscribing to vetmed list and asking one of
their vets about this if your vet seems uncertain. If you want/need
directions for this list, e-mail me and I'll be glad to supply them.
Adam Felson
S.D. Barnes
: Yes, it's done, but I don't remember the standard dosage... I thought
: it was about 0.5 baby aspirin per 10 lbs body weight every other day.
: Aspirin is normally a bad idea for cats, but when used on vet. advice,
: it can be useful for clotting disorders, and, I suppose, arthritis.
: I'm surprised another anti-inflammatory wasn't considered, though.
Morpheus, who went dryer surfing one morning, had to be prescribed aspirin
for the pain. He weighs over ten pounds and the prescription was for
one half a tab of BABY aspirin (the doc said baby aspirin only because
regular aspirin would kill him) every day. I had asked the vet if
there was any other pain killer (preferably stronger) for my baby. He
told me that cats cannot process most pain killers and that baby aspirin
remained in their system for a long time. He strictly cautioned me to
not exceed the dosage, so double-check with your vet about the dosage.
sept
Odette Brown
Did you not read the FAQ I sent 2 days ago?????
Odette.
HOUSEHOLD MEDICATIONS
(From Norsworthy, 1993:)
Medications that cats should NEVER be given:
* Acetominophen (=tylenol, paracetemol) (1 tablet can be fatal to an
adult cat)
* Benzocaine (the topical anaesthetic) (available in spray and cream
forms--- Lanacaine and several hemhherrhoid preparations have lots
of benzocaine)
* Benzyl alcohol
* Chlorinated hydrocarbons (like lindane, chlordane, etc.)
* Hexachlorophene (found in pHiso-Hex soap, among others)
* Methylene Blue (used to be used for urinary infections, many cats
cannot tolerate it)
* Phenazopyridine (used in combination with sulfa as AzoGantrisin:
fine for humans, deadly for cats)
* Phenytoin (=Dilantin) often used for seizures in other species
* Phosphate enemas (including Fleet (tm) enemas): may be fatal
Medications that can be used in certain cats with restrictions, and
ONLY on the advice of a vet
>>> * Aspirin: but not more than 1 baby aspirin (1/4 regular tablet) in
3 days!
* Chloramphenicol: generally safe at doses of less than 50-100 mg
2x/day
* Griseofulvin (=fulvicin)
* Lidocaine: another topical anaesthetic
* Megestrol acetate (Ovaban, Megace) may cause behavioral changes,
breast cancer, diabetes. Extremely useful for some conditions, so
use needs to be monitored.
* Nonsteroidal Anti-inflammatory Agents (things like ibuprofen)--
tend to cause perforated ulcers. Banamine and aspirin are the best
tolerated of this class of drugs
* Pepto-bismol: too high in salicylates
* Smooth muscle relaxants (like Lomotil): strange behavior
* Tetracycline: may cause fever, diarrhea, depression; better
antibiotics available
* Thiacetarsamide (Caparsolate) used to treat heartworm in dogs
* Thiamylal sodium (Biotal) used for brief surgeries. Animals become
sensitized after repeat exposures. If you change vets, be SURE to
get your records so that the new vet can tell if this drug has
been used previously.
* Urinary acidifiers; be careful of dosage.
_________________________________________________________________
Basic Health Care FAQ
Cindy Tittle Moore, tit...@netcom.com
Erin Rebecca Miller, ermi...@midway.uchicago.edu
-------------------------------
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************************************************
** Odette Brown ** I love Cats ** au273 ** **
******** La Belle Province ** Quebec ** ********
******************* CANADA *******************
Allyn Weaks
> In article <3lhfpl$7...@portal.gmu.edu>, lle...@wpgate.gmu.edu (Laura
LeVine) writes:
> > My vet has recommended a baby aspirin twice a week for Egg's arthritis.
> > I have never heard of giving a cat aspirin before, has anyone else had
> > any experience with it?
>
> Yes, it's done, but I don't remember the standard dosage... I thought
> it was about 0.5 baby aspirin per 10 lbs body weight every other day.
> Aspirin is normally a bad idea for cats, but when used on vet. advice,
> it can be useful for clotting disorders, and, I suppose, arthritis.
> I'm surprised another anti-inflammatory wasn't considered, though.
Yes, that's the dosage I'm using on poor old arthritic Nutmeg, who doesn't
care for orange flavoring. He's also on a huge quantity of pred for other
reasons, but the aspirin is better for the aches. The hard part is
splitting those *(^&*&) soft tablets - I waste about half of them. I'd
make up doses in gel caps, except empty gel caps cost a lot more than the
aspirin.
--
Allyn Weaks
al...@u.washington.edu
S.D. Barnes
: Did you not read the FAQ I sent 2 days ago?????
: Medications that can be used in certain cats with restrictions, and
: ONLY on the advice of a vet
: >>> * Aspirin: but not more than 1 baby aspirin (1/4 regular tablet) in
: 3 days!
Yes, and I believe that I also stated that this was the prescription strength
of baby aspirin given by my VET. I also informed the inquiring party to
double check with her vet about the dosage given. I also believe that the
original poster had been told to give her cat aspirin by her vet. My vet is
a cat specialist, so I think he knows what he's talking about.
sept
James Golczewski
you might have guessed, you have to strictly follow the dosage
recommended by the vet. Two of my cats received it when they were
being treated for cancer. Cats don't metabolize (excrete) asprin very
rapidly, so the dose must be low and not too frequent.
Dr Gary Beilby
aspirin.
If you cannot get to a vet and you really want to tempt fate give, say,
about 1/8th of a tablet every 5 days or so.
Aspirin irreversably blocks pathways and is not broken down by the cats
liver. As such it can reach toxic levels very easily.
All the best.
Gary
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Hilltop Vet Clinic // Dr Gary Beilby // Perth, Western Australia
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