What is Cerenia for Cats and is it Safe?

catSource: © Shutterstock

Cats are good for people who do not have allergies to their saliva or fur. They are known to provide companionship and entertainment that improves mood and emotional health. Cats also have a positive impact on blood pressure and other aspects of human health. People love their cats and worry about them as they would any other member of the family. When the family cat shows signs of illness, most pet owners schedule an appointment with the local veterinarian to investigate the problem early. Your vet may prescribe a medication called Cerenia for your cat. If you’re not familiar with this drug and its effects, you likely have many questions this guide will inform you about the purposes, effectiveness, and safety of Cerenia with other interesting facts that every cat owner should know.

What is Cerenia for cats?

VCA Hospital explains that Cerenia is the brand name of the generic drug Maropitant citrate. The drug is in the antiemetic class used to treat motion sickness and vomiting in cats and dogs. It is a neurokinin-1 NK1 receptor antagonist.

How does Cerenia work?

Concerned pet parents who want to know everything possible about protecting the health of their cats may wonder how this medication works. All about Cats explains that Cerenia interferes with processes in the brain that deliver a vomiting response. there is a trigger zone in the brain that sends a message for the cat’s body to react by vomiting. When the message is interrupted, vomiting ceases. The chemical reactions that lead to vomiting and nausea are prevented by the suppression of the impulses. Three different pathways between the digestive tract and the brain are involved and affected by Cerenia.

What is Cerenia used for?

Cerenia is used to stop vomiting and nausea in cats. It is used as a treatment for motion sickness. The second benefit of this drug is that it functions as a mild pain reliever. This drug is delivered in two methods. It comes in tablet form and as an injection.

Is a prescription required for Cerenia?

You cannot purchase Cerenia without a prescription. If this is a medication that you want to try for your cat, there is only one way to gain access. You must schedule an appointment with your pet’s licensed health care provider, and ask for it by name. You can use the prescription to purchase this drug from a variety of authorized sellers online and at pharmacies. Cerenia is most commonly sold in tablet form to the general public bearing a prescription. Injections are typically administered by licensed veterinarians.

What is the dosage of Cerenia tablets?

Cerenia tablets come in a range of strengths and include 16 mg, 24 mg, 60 mg, and 160 mg tablets with 10 mg/ml injectables. Dosage amounts depend on the size, weight, and health condition of each cat. Injectable vials are good for three months after opening if kept in a refrigerator. Cerenia injections are given once daily at a dosage of 1 ml for every 1 ml of body, administered subcutaneously. It may also be administered as an intravenous injection. This drug may be given for up to five days consecutively, once daily, in both forms.

Is Cerenia FDA approved for cats?

Cerenia injectable is FDA approved for use in cats. The tablets are approved only for use in dogs, but some research advises that the tablets may also be given safely to cats, at the discretion of the prescribing veterinarian. These situations are referred to as off-label prescriptions. The term describes prescribing a medication for a purpose other than its original recommendation and approval. Pet owners need to understand that the physical bodies and internal systems of dogs and cats are different. Drugs may not work the same way for both animal species. A drug may be beneficial for one species, yet toxic for another. Testing for Cerenia in dogs is more intensive than for cats.

Is Cerenia safe for cats?

Cerenia is approved in its injectable form for cats, however, the tablet form has only been officially approved by the FDA for use in dogs. The available clinical research data suggests that it is also safe to use tablets for treating cats. Some veterinarians prescribe it as an off-label treatment for cats experiencing motion sickness, vomiting, or nausea, while others do not because of its lack of FDA approval for that purpose. It’s a discretionary decision that is made by the health care professional. If this medication is recommended to treat your cat, you have the option of declining and requesting another form of treatment or accepting its off-label use. You can also opt for the injectable form which is approved for cats.

Does Cerenia have any side effects?

Any medication or supplement has the potential for side effects. The most common side effect reported with Cerenia injections is pain at the time of the shot. The refrigerated medication causes more pain during the injection process. Allowing the medicine to warm to room temperature before administering it to cats can lessen the associated pain. Some other side effects have been reported with injectable Cerenia, although they’re rare. Some cats suffer swelling at the injection site, fever, dehydration, drooling, hematuria, anorexia, and or lethargy. Instances of these side-effects have been reported in between one to two percent of cats receiving injections of Cerenia. One out of fifty cats in clinical trials became lethargic or sleepy after receiving this drug. As with any medication, there is always a chance of an allergic reaction. It’s wise to monitor your cat for signs of a skin reaction, skin sensitization, difficulty breathing, itching, or any other unusual behaviors. Humans may also experience allergic skin reactions if exposed to the tablets or liquid. Avoid getting Cerenia on your hands, and wash after administering this medication to your cats.

Are there potential drug interactions with Cerenia?

Cerenia is in a class of drugs known as protein-bound. There are no known research reports to consult for information on its use with other medications, as is the case for most protein-bound drugs. Because of a lack of information on the subject, pet health care professionals recommend close monitoring of cats being given Cerenia with any other medications including anticonvulsant, cardiac, and NSAID medications.

What are the risk factors for Cerenia?

Cerenia has not been studied for use in young kittens or pregnant or lactating cats. It is approved for all stages of life, but animal health care specialists recommend against treating kittens less than sixteen weeks old, or pregnant or lactating cats with Cerenia. They do not know what, if any negative impacts it might have on them. Veterinarians are cautious about prescribing this medication when the cause of the cats’ illness is not verified as motion sickness. Suppressing clinical signs could hide a serious medical condition that requires treatment. Examples of these potential health problems include the ingestion of toxins or gastrointestinal obstruction. which could become serious or fatal if undetected. Clinical studies conducted administering five times the recommended dosage of Cerenia showed no adverse reaction in cats. Test results in blood and urine samples taken from these cats showed no body chemistry reactions to illicit concern. What is known, which is limited, is that no adverse reactions from this drug are known, but more testing is needed.

Should Cerenia be used to treat cat nausea and vomiting?

Cerenia is a drug that is used cautiously. Not all veterinarians are willing to prescribe this medication. Those who do, use extreme caution only recommend its use in appropriate and specific situations where the treatment benefits outweigh the risks to the animal. The concern for masking is hard to move beyond. Your vet may recommend thorough testing to rule out these conditions before moving ahead with a prescription of Cerenia for your cat. It is still unknown if Cerenia is safe for use under these conditions, but it does not prevent all animal health care professionals from using it to achieve control over severe vomiting and nausea, in tablet form. Most have no problem prescribing the injectable form. Cats diagnosed with liver disease, also known as hepatic dysfunction, may be given Cerenia, but only under intense monitoring, and at lower doses that are reduced from 25 to 50 percent. The rationale for this degree of caution is because Cerenia is metabolized through the liver.

How effective is Cerenia for cats and what are the benefits?

Cerenia is not the first choice for treating vomiting in cats. It is not suitable for some animals. It works to prevent vomiting in cats, but some overt benefits must be weighed when other options have failed. Cats who vomit repeatedly suffer the risk of becoming severely dehydrated, or malnourished. It may be prescribed for cats that are losing weight from repeated vomiting, as a stop-gap measure. Cerenia may be useful to prevent further weight loss and dehydration. In cases where the benefits outweigh the risks, Cerenia is effective in controlling vomiting and nausea in cats. The average reaction time from the moment of administration of this drug is between thirty minutes and two hours for achieving the full effect. Cerenia for cats appears to offer more benefits than risks.

Should you allow your cat to receive Cerenia?

Cerenia is like any other medication. Veterinarians and other animal health care experts can only go on the information they have about the drug. They rely on clinical studies to obtain data that either supports or rejects the potential benefits of any treatment. They weigh the benefits over the risks. Cerenia is used most often as an injectable treatment. Vets don’t prescribe it as often in tablets. Animal health care professionals know more about how the injectable version of the medication works in cats than the tablet form. Although it may seem to be all the same for a layperson, experts realize that the delivery can impact certain parts of the body differently. Preliminary studies are sparse. e, indicate that the likelihood of severe adverse reactions from Cerenia is remote, but more information is needed to support this theory. Some pet owners don’t want to use injectables because of their fear of needles or lack of knowledge about administering them to their pets. They may prefer administering tablets. If you fall into this category and your vet is willing to prescribe Cerenia in tablet form, be advised that the research is still scant. This choice is a personal decision that every cat owner must make. Although there isn’t much data to support its danger, you must be willing to take that chance if you proceed with the tablets. Unfortunately, we cannot say whether this medication is one-hundred percent safe for cats in tablet form, nor can we suggest that it is not.

Final thoughts

Cerenia is an effective drug for treating vomiting, nausea, and motion sickness in cats and dogs. It is considered safe for use in its injectable form, but not enough information is available. We don’t know much about its impact on cat health in tablet form. This knowledge deficit is due to the lack of clinical studies. Cerenia is available by prescription only, and you cannot purchase this product without one. Your cat must get a checkup from a licensed veterinarian with full prescribing authority to obtain the drug. Cat owners with pets who are losing weight or unable to eat because of frequent vomiting may benefit from Cerenia. Although more information about this potentially exceptional drug is needed to draw positive conclusions, the available information suggests that there are few known complications associated with the use of Cerania for nausea and vomiting in cats. Any life-threatening conditions arising from cats treated with this powerful medication are rare or not reported. We’ve seen little evidence to omit this treatment possibility in dire circumstances, as it is effective when prescribed to control vomiting and nausea in felines.

You can also read:

image sources

  • Portrait,Shot,Of,A,Stray,Grey,Cat,,With,Squinting,Eyes.: © Shutterstock

Similar Posts

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.