CHLORPHENIRAMINE (Chlortrimeton) for Cats?

My cat Noodles has asthma an allergies to various things.
She gets steroid shots at long intervals, and I take the
usual precautions by keeping the windows closed, air filters
on, duct vacuumed, etc. We have identified foods that cause
her the least trouble, and she is on them.

However, she recently began scratching a lot, to the point that
there are bare spots on her ears. I took her to the vet and he
saw no parasites (she is indoor) or other causes. He told me
to give her CHLORPHENIRAMINE (Chlortrimeton) 2 mgs every 12
hours when she is itchy or when she has congestion. He once
had me do that when she had sniffles, too. It makes her really
sleepy, but then she is a cat and sleeps a lot anyway.

Anybody else here have experience with using this drug
on cats? Is there anything I need to know? TIA

Yes, I've used it for a couple of cats, but I do think my dosage level was
higher. I'll look it up. It made my cat very drowsy, and I don't like
that, but I suppose it worked.

"Mowzer" wrote in message
news:aHlwYXRpYQ==.4fe4c349a3d4fde7d3b28397e779a577 @1125791093.nulluser.com...

My cat Noodles has asthma an allergies to various things.
She gets steroid shots at long intervals, and I take the
usual precautions by keeping the windows closed, air filters
on, duct vacuumed, etc. We have identified foods that cause
her the least trouble, and she is on them.

However, she recently began scratching a lot, to the point that
there are bare spots on her ears. I took her to the vet and he
saw no parasites (she is indoor) or other causes. He told me
to give her CHLORPHENIRAMINE (Chlortrimeton) 2 mgs every 12
hours when she is itchy or when she has congestion. He once
had me do that when she had sniffles, too. It makes her really
sleepy, but then she is a cat and sleeps a lot anyway.

Anybody else here have experience with using this drug
on cats? Is there anything I need to know? TIA

Betsy wrote:

Yes, I've used it for a couple of cats, but I do think my dosage level was
higher. I'll look it up. It made my cat very drowsy, and I don't like
that, but I suppose it worked.

Thanks, Betsy. What did you use it for? Does your cat have chronic
allergy/congestion problems, of did he/she just have a cold? I definitely
don't like making Noodles more sleepy than she already is, either. I did not
think to ask my vet if there is something that does not cause sleepiness. Do
you know of anything?

On Sun 04 Sep 2005 06:44:08p, Mowzer wrote in
rec.pets.cats.health+behav
(news:aHlwYXRpYQ==.b9af060f93351a16300f7454deefb4d
user.com):
^^^^^^^^^ nulluser.com resolves to COTSE, Mary/Nancy's favorite
anonymous remailer

Betsy wrote:

Yes, I've used it for a couple of cats, but I do think my
dosage level was higher. I'll look it up. It made my cat very
drowsy, and I don't like that, but I suppose it worked.

Thanks, Betsy. What did you use it for? Does your cat have
chronic allergy/congestion problems, of did he/she just have a
cold? I definitely don't like making Noodles more sleepy than
she already is, either. I did not think to ask my vet if there
is something that does not cause sleepiness. Do you know of
anything?


Mary/Nancy/Marilyn/Drew -
Cheeky/Noodles will have her runny nose dried out with
Chlortrimeton. It's used often for kittens with runny noses to just
dry them out, it was prescribed for my Bonnie (about 3 years old)
recently for her nosy/snorty noise that she keeps making.


--
Cheryl

"The clever cat eats cheese and breathes down rat holes with baited
breath."
- W.C. Fields

I have a cat with herpes and it helped her a little, but it made her so
drowsy. I also have used it for a cat with skin allergies.

"Cheryl" wrote in message
...
On Sun 04 Sep 2005 06:44:08p, Mowzer wrote in
rec.pets.cats.health+behav
(news:aHlwYXRpYQ==.b9af060f93351a16300f7454deefb4d
user.com):
^^^^^^^^^ nulluser.com resolves to COTSE, Mary/Nancy's favorite
anonymous remailer

Betsy wrote:

Yes, I've used it for a couple of cats, but I do think my
dosage level was higher. I'll look it up. It made my cat very
drowsy, and I don't like that, but I suppose it worked.

Thanks, Betsy. What did you use it for? Does your cat have
chronic allergy/congestion problems, of did he/she just have a
cold? I definitely don't like making Noodles more sleepy than
she already is, either. I did not think to ask my vet if there
is something that does not cause sleepiness. Do you know of
anything?


Mary/Nancy/Marilyn/Drew -
Cheeky/Noodles will have her runny nose dried out with
Chlortrimeton. It's used often for kittens with runny noses to just
dry them out, it was prescribed for my Bonnie (about 3 years old)
recently for her nosy/snorty noise that she keeps making.


--
Cheryl

"The clever cat eats cheese and breathes down rat holes with baited
breath."
- W.C. Fields

Mowzer wrote:
However, she recently began scratching a lot, to the point that
there are bare spots on her ears. I took her to the vet and he
saw no parasites (she is indoor) or other causes. He told me
to give her CHLORPHENIRAMINE (Chlortrimeton) 2 mgs every 12
hours when she is itchy or when she has congestion. He once
had me do that when she had sniffles, too. It makes her really
sleepy, but then she is a cat and sleeps a lot anyway.

Have you tried reducing the dosage? 2 mgs seemed high for a cat. If I'm
not mistaken, 4 mgs is the average adult dose and that's referenced to
a 150 pound human [forget if it's gender tied]. A cat at 10 pounds
would be 1/15th of the "average" human's weight.

I am not surprised that she is sleeping.

2 mgs is what I would give a 75 pound cat. Like a baby tiger. But hold
on while I research this on the internet...

I tried just now on the internet, but everything is so dumbed down. But
I have it in my medicine cabinet, and 4 mgs is the adult's dosage and 4
mg makes me sleepy!

In any case, if it were my cat and my cat weighed 10 pounds, I would
give her 4 mg x 1/15 or in your case 2 mg x 1/7.5 = 0.27mg or about 1/4
of 1 milligram. But that's before I found some vet stuff on the
internet...

In other words, break the pill down into little bits. You can even
grind it up and use about 1/7.5 or 1/8th of 1 pill. That's a half of 1
quarter. Cut a pill into 4 quarters and then take the quarters and cut
them again. That's 1/8th.

My rule of reckoning is for a 10 pound cat, it's 1/15th the normal
adult dosage, predicated on 150 pound human being. Last I looked in a
vet reference, that was what I read. Makes sense to me unless there's
something unique about this antihistamine.

I would be concerned about over-dosing the cat with 2 mg b.i.d.
Fortunately, this particular antihistamine is fairly safe. I would
reduce the dosage for your cat's safety and for sleepiness. I would not
be surprised if this worked out well. Work up to a dosage that works
instead of down.

Okay, I went on the internet and looked this drug up, Googled
"chlorpheniramine" and the word "feline":

http://www.1800petmeds.com/pdetail.a...=cat&MG=4&PT=4

"The Usual Dose In Cats Is 1-2mg By Mouth Every 8 To 12 Hours."

So apparently the vet is following the usual dosage. And some thing
that sleepiness may be why the drug works, kind of sedating the cat
instead.

This still boggles my poor brain why felines are given almost the human
dosage. I can only guess that this drug is special and the feline gut
is short and on and on.

Anybody know something? In any case, cut the dosage at least in half.
And if that works, cut it again. My rule is to give the minimum
necessary. I am still perplexed by the large amount but this is
probably a special case. When I gave my cat Clindamycin, in the vet
reference, it was about 1/15th the human dosage for a 10 pound cat. I
can't remember if I read that exactly. Anyway that is what I did and it
worked perfectly to clear up her diarrhea which was bacteria caused, I
suspected, from eating a wild mouse.

wrote:
Mowzer wrote:
However, she recently began scratching a lot, to the point that
there are bare spots on her ears. I took her to the vet and he
saw no parasites (she is indoor) or other causes. He told me
to give her CHLORPHENIRAMINE (Chlortrimeton) 2 mgs every 12
hours when she is itchy or when she has congestion. He once
had me do that when she had sniffles, too. It makes her really
sleepy, but then she is a cat and sleeps a lot anyway.

Oh, another thing, if the vet "saw" no parasites, did he check for
giardia or cryptosporidium? There are parasites that might not be
visible, but the cat would be scratching her tummy area? HOWEVER an
indoor cat can get parasites. How? It's not unusual for even municipal
water supplies to be harboring the parasites I just mentioned. Good
carbon filters with small openings, like .5 micron will get rid of
these parasites. This, by the way, is a big problem with humans who
have compromised immune systems, such as AIDS, IIRC. It's unpleasant
but our water supply is not all it should be in many places. I need to
replace my carbon filters. I used fairly big under-sink ones that two
good ones run from $33 to $50 depending on what I'm trying to keep out.

wrote:

Mowzer wrote:
However, she recently began scratching a lot, to the point that
there are bare spots on her ears. I took her to the vet and he
saw no parasites (she is indoor) or other causes. He told me
to give her CHLORPHENIRAMINE (Chlortrimeton) 2 mgs every 12
hours when she is itchy or when she has congestion. He once
had me do that when she had sniffles, too. It makes her really
sleepy, but then she is a cat and sleeps a lot anyway.

Have you tried reducing the dosage? 2 mgs seemed high for a cat.

Despite my vet's recommendation that was my instinct too. I did give her
the 2 mgs, but that was all I gave her. She showed no signs of congestion
or itchiness for a couple of days afterward. So it seems I might be able
to give her less.

(snips!)

Okay, I went on the internet and looked this drug up, Googled
"chlorpheniramine" and the word "feline":

http://www.1800petmeds.com/pdetail.a...=cat&MG=4&PT=4

"The Usual Dose In Cats Is 1-2mg By Mouth Every 8 To 12 Hours."

So apparently the vet is following the usual dosage. And some thing
that sleepiness may be why the drug works, kind of sedating the cat
instead.

Thank you for looking it up for me I really appreciate it. I think I will
try her on 1 mg every 12 hours the next time.


This still boggles my poor brain why felines are given almost the human
dosage. I can only guess that this drug is special and the feline gut
is short and on and on.

Anybody know something? In any case, cut the dosage at least in half.
And if that works, cut it again. My rule is to give the minimum
necessary.

A good rule for many medicines, I would guess. Thank you for your help.

wrote:


Oh, another thing, if the vet "saw" no parasites, did he check for
giardia or cryptosporidium? There are parasites that might not be
visible, but the cat would be scratching her tummy area? HOWEVER an
indoor cat can get parasites. How? It's not unusual for even municipal
water supplies to be harboring the parasites I just mentioned.

I don't know if he did. I will call and ask, thank you. She doesn't
scratch her tummy, though, that i have seen. Just her ears lately.

Good
carbon filters with small openings, like .5 micron will get rid of
these parasites. This, by the way, is a big problem with humans who
have compromised immune systems, such as AIDS, IIRC. It's unpleasant
but our water supply is not all it should be in many places. I need to
replace my carbon filters. I used fairly big under-sink ones that two
good ones run from $33 to $50 depending on what I'm trying to keep out.

I had no idea, how creepy!! Better get some of those filters. Do yuo mean
like the ones you put on faucets, like "PUR?" Or what do you use?

Mowzer wrote:
wrote:


Oh, another thing, if the vet "saw" no parasites, did he check for
giardia or cryptosporidium? There are parasites that might not be
visible, but the cat would be scratching her tummy area? HOWEVER an
indoor cat can get parasites. How? It's not unusual for even municipal
water supplies to be harboring the parasites I just mentioned.

I don't know if he did. I will call and ask, thank you. She doesn't
scratch her tummy, though, that i have seen. Just her ears lately.

Good
carbon filters with small openings, like .5 micron will get rid of
these parasites. This, by the way, is a big problem with humans who
have compromised immune systems, such as AIDS, IIRC. It's unpleasant
but our water supply is not all it should be in many places. I need to
replace my carbon filters. I used fairly big under-sink ones that two
good ones run from $33 to $50 depending on what I'm trying to keep out.

I had no idea, how creepy!! Better get some of those filters. Do yuo mean
like the ones you put on faucets, like "PUR?" Or what do you use?

The ones on the faucets are usually way too small and ineffective. The
filters I use are the standard and fairly large, like a quart bottle.
Sears still sells them although I don't know if they still sell the
housings. GE now sells a lot but they are a little smallers. Home Depot
has GE. I found that almost all the big names used the same size
filters, Ametek / US Filter / Plymouth / Pentek / Culligan / Kleen Plus
/ American Plumber / Bruner / Many Others. The filters might be
different. I have a double filter housing but I needed to plumb it into
my pipes under the sink. It's not difficult but it's something you
could do if you're careful. It's probably trivial for any plumber to
do. I tap into a pipe and voila, just about.

I'm finding it harder to find the simple biggish housings that were
universal size for almost any filter made. You can even get bigger
housings that can do a whole house, whose filter is like a half-gallon
almost.

I prefer an undersink one with its own little faucet so it lasts a long
time and I am not wasting water on washing dishes. Just for drinking
and cooking. THe really good filters, at least one with 0.5 micron
openings, will slow the water down so another reason to have it
separate where I don't care if it takes a minute or two to fill a
gallon jug.

These big filters are usually good for even gasoline sutff, MTBE, for
about 6 months or 750 gallons. If that's not a concern, they can last
for a year or over 1000 gallons of water. Those little things on the
faucet never seems to go much beyond 20 gallons. They are just too
tiny.

But before you do anything, ask for a copy of the annual water report
from your municipal authority. They usually test for parasites. You can
discuss this with them, your water manager. This report is usually a
freebie and in the smaller towns, it's often sent for free. In the big
cities, you have to ask for it since it might have some info you don't
want to know about

This stuff improves the quality of the water. It's a good compromise
before the next step which are three filter units with reverse osmosis.
That requires more hassles but is pretty good. Now distillation is yet
another thing.

But first get your water report so you know what baddies, if any, to
get rid of. You might be lucky and your water authority does a superb
job like using ultraviolet which is wonderful, no bad side products
like what happens when using chlorine or chloramine, which is the more
common way for water public purification systems.

I could go on about this forever. I bought my Sears / Ametek unit
decades ago based on Consumers Report. It has a meter so I know how
much water is being filtered. And it's the old-fashioned universal
size, biggish, so the new and old and residential and industrial
filters all can fit inside. It's not that big really. About the size of
a briefcase.