Content
- What is acetaminophen?
- Use of acetaminophen in cats
- What if your cat accidentally takes acetaminophen?
- Help us end self-medication in pets
THE self-medication is a dangerous habit that puts human health at risk and that unfortunately many owners do with their pets, making this practice even more dangerous for those animals that live with us, especially if it is carried out with human medicines.
We know that cats, despite their free and independent character, are also susceptible to suffer from numerous conditions that the owner can clearly perceive through various symptoms and also changes in behavior.
It is at this point that we can wrongly self-medicate our cat, so to avoid any type of accident, in this article by PeritoAnimal we will clarify if you can you give your cat acetaminophen.
What is acetaminophen?
We humans are so used to the practice of self-medication that many times we don't know the nature of usual drugs, as well as its indications or its mechanism of action, which can be dangerous for us and even more for our pets. So, before evaluating the effects of paracetamol on felines, let's briefly explain what kind of drug this is.
Paracetamol belongs to the pharmacological group of NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs), acts mainly as anti-inflammatory decreasing the synthesis of some substances involved in inflammation (prostaglandins), although it is also an excellent antipyretic (decreases body temperature in case of fever).
In humans, paracetamol is toxic in doses that exceed the maximum recommended and it becomes especially harmful to the liver, the main organ responsible for neutralizing the toxics that come from the drug so that we can later expel them. Repeated high consumption of paracetamol in humans can cause irreversible liver damage.
Use of acetaminophen in cats
Self-medicating your cat with acetaminophen translates into intoxicate and endanger your pet's life. Acetaminophen is one of the prohibited medications for dogs, however, cats' sensitivity to acetaminophen is much greater and they begin to show symptoms of intoxication between 3 and 12 hours after ingesting the drug.
Cats cannot properly metabolize the drug and this results in the death of hepatocytes or liver cells, an organ that is also fundamental for our pets, so about a third of animals intoxicated by acetaminophen end up dying between 24-72 hours later.
What if your cat accidentally takes acetaminophen?
If your cat accidentally ingests paracetamol you will see the following in it symptoms:
- Weakness
- Depression
- vomiting
- Tachycardia
- breathing difficulty
- Coloring
- excessive salivation
- Purple/blue mucous seizures
In this case must go to the vet urgently, as it is who will administer a treatment aimed at reducing the absorption of paracetamol, facilitating its elimination and restoring vital constants.
In our article on cat poisoning and first aid we talk about this aspect and the importance of avoiding giving human medicines to our pets.
Help us end self-medication in pets
Self-medicating our pets, even with veterinary medicines, involves many risks, which are even greater when this self-medication is done with medicines intended for human consumption.
To avoid accidents that could cost your pet his life, be aware and consult the veterinarian whenever necessary and do not administer any medication that has not been prescribed by the appropriate professional.
Find out in PeritoAnimal the different health problems of cats to find out about any problems you observe. Also, remember that the veterinarian is the only one who should give you a diagnosis and therefore a recommended treatment.
This article is for information purposes only, at PeritoAnimal.com.br we are not able to prescribe veterinary treatments or perform any type of diagnosis. We suggest that you take your pet to the veterinarian in case it has any type of condition or discomfort.