Over the past 15 years, I’ve adopted 7 cats, 4 of which have had health issues. During that time, I’ve learned a lot from our vets. While it’s always best to have at least annual vet visits to catch any potential problems early, I know from first-hand experience that that isn’t always possible. So, I’ve put together this post with some information that can help with some basic issues when a vet visit isn’t possible. For additional, supplementary information, you can take a look at the Veterinary Definitions and Resources page for useful links and information
I want to reiterate that a vet visit is best if you’re able to take your furbaby to the vet. Please don’t take this information as an alternative to a vet. While the information has come from our veterinary office, it was specific to our cats, and every cat is different.
Note, none of the links included below are affiliated links.
Allergies
Allergies in cats can take several forms, including watery eyes, sneezing, and skin rashes. So far, 4 of our cats have had issues with allergies. Interestingly, all of them exhibit(ed) the sneezing and watery eyes. Some human allergy medicines can be used for adult cats:
- Chlorpheniramine Maleate: Start here. To the best of my knowledge, there isn’t a brand name of Chlorpheniramine. It comes in 4mg tablets, and you can administer one tablet daily. This is the safest medicine, and the only one I can comfortably advise to give a cat that isn’t regularly going to the vet.
- Loratadine — AKA Claritin: Depending on the size of your cat, you can administer 2.5-5 mg daily. The easiest option is the dissolving tablets that you can mix into wet food, but they typically come in 10mg form, which you’ll have to cut into quarters with a pill cutter. Start with 2.5 mg, if symptoms don’t get better, try giving 2.5 mg twice a day.
- Cetirizine Hydrochloride (HCl) — AKA Zyrtec: Cetirizine is also 2.5-5 mg daily. Start with the 2.5 mg and go up if necessary (depending on the size of your cat). I don’t believe this one comes in dissolvable tablets, so you’ll need to crush it or administer as a pill.
- Diphenhydramine HCl — AKA Benadryl: Benadryl can be risky, and I’d advise speaking to a vet first. However, dosage is approximately 1mg/pound; you can check dosage with this calculator.
Pain
While research is currently in progress to better understand how cats process pain, there are currently no pain medications available for them. There is, however, Gabapentin — prescription required — which is a mild sedative for cats.
While it doesn’t control the pain, it effectively gets a cat high so they don’t care about the pain. Dosage is based on weight.
Administering pills
I’ve tried quite a few methods of administering pills: pill pockets, which they learn to eat around, homemade pill pockets, which crumble easily, hiding the pill in “cat mousse” on your finger, which they lick around, etc. My favorite method for any pill I can’t crush and put into their wet food dinner is the pill shooter.
It takes a bit of getting used to to make sure that you get the pill in the right spot — slightly to the left or right of the center of the back of their tongue — but once you’ve got it down, it’s foolproof. The pill goes far enough back that they can’t just spit it back out, and often they don’t even seem to taste it.
Cutting and crushing
There are many times you may need to cut pills for your cat. I’ve recently discovered a new pill cutter that is more precise than the ones you can usually find at drug stores. This one actually holds the pill(s) in place. If you need to crush pills, a ceramic mortar and pestle work well since there aren’t any nooks or crannies for the medicine to stick in.
Constipation
Several conditions can mimic constipation, and constipation itself can be dangerous for cats, so if it continues more than a day or two, get them to a vet. However, for short-term relief, you can administer 1/4 tsp of MiraLAX in wet food or a viscous treat.
Feeding while sick
If your cats are anything like mine, they don’t eat well when sick. And, depending on the severity of the illness, that can cause serious problems. Fortunately, there is a high-calorie supplement gel that you can mix with whatever food they will eat. Or, if necessary, you can even feed it via oral syringe — I know from experience that this one works well — you just have to make sure the syringe is aimed at the tip of the tongue rather than the back of the throat.
Hydration
While hydration is important for all cats, it’s especially so for male cats. Cat urine has a propensity to form crystals, and a male cat’s urethra narrows so much at the penis that the crystals can get stuck causing a blockage. So, they need to pee often, which means they need plenty of water.
After Sandy got blocked, I made sure to add water to all of the cats’ wet food dinners. I add 1 oz (2 tbsp) every day, on top of having a water fountain available for them 24/7. The extra water probably isn’t necessary, but I’m paranoid.
Tooth cleaning
There are many videos on YouTube, by vets, on how and why to brush a cat’s teeth. And, while it isn’t truly necessary for them all, for ones, like Floofenstein, who are at high risk of oral disease, it’s an important part of keeping them healthy. I’m well aware that Floof is a unique boy, but he loves the toothpaste our vet recommended so much that he is eager for toothbrushing at bedtime.
Toothpaste
Our vet recommended Virbac CET enzymatic toothpaste which you can buy alone — I got the poultry flavor which will hopefully be back in stock soon — or in a kit.
Toothbrush
I’ve tried various toothbrushes in the past, and all of them were difficult for me to reach the back teeth with. Then I discovered the Jasper Microbrush which is angled. I highly recommend it.
Skin issues
Athena and Ritz both have skin issues that require baths — every three weeks and every few months, respectively. While Ritz only has problems with dry skin and dandruff, Athena gets itchy skin and overgrooms.
Ritz’s problems are easily dealt with using an oatmeal shampoo, the brand doesn’t seem to matter. But, so far, the best calming shampoo I’ve found for Athena’s issues is Douxo S3 Calm. Douxo has range of specialty products targeted to skin concerns, as well as a “spa” line for regular bathing needs.
I hope you found this post useful. If you’ve learned any other tricks from your vet, let me know in the comments! I’d love to hear from you.
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Attribution: The cats image I used in the share images for Instagram and Facebook is “Assorted Cat Faces” by Giuseppe Ramos, licensed through Vecteezy.com.
