Allegra for cats, any concerns?

I was given an allegra prescription for my cat. Vet said no side effects but she said the same thing with dentrol and sure enough I found it can cause vomiting, which my cat did for 48hrs. Just curious of anything I should be aware of with cats on this? My cat needs to recover, especially stomach wise. I'm suppose to get a pill cutter and quarter 30mg tablets.

I am far froma walking book of drugs for cats ... but a quick google yeilded nothing... Did the vet fill this Rx at his office?

Looking it up further (I already knew it was a 2nd gen) it does not cross the blood brain barrier and reportedly didn't cause the typical antihistamine side effects in the lab animals.
At the right dosage it sounds like it would be a great nearly side effect free antihistamine to use, and much safer than benedryl as its definitely not anticholinergic.

Call your vet and discuss it further if you're still unsure at their prescribing this for your cat.

Does your cat take any other medications? There's a very slight chance of interaction with some drugs, but not much since fexofenadine actually doesn't really metabolize as much as other antihistamines (it would vary a bit in cats as to what exact percentage would metabolize).

We use OTC Claritin, loratadine. We get the generic variety at Wal-Mart in the 10mg tablet. Then, we cut it in half and give half a tablet daily. You can start at 1/4 tab daily and work up to 1/2 tab daily. It dissolves easily in water, so we add a teaspoon or so of water to the girls' wet food in the morning, drop the tablet in, let it dissolve, then mix it all together.

Originally Posted by stephanietx

We use OTC Claritin, loratadine. We get the generic variety at Wal-Mart in the 10mg tablet. Then, we cut it in half and give half a tablet daily. You can start at 1/4 tab daily and work up to 1/2 tab daily. It dissolves easily in water, so we add a teaspoon or so of water to the girls' wet food in the morning, drop the tablet in, let it dissolve, then mix it all together.

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Just a reminder to check with your vet before using any medication. Claritin may not be appropriate for your cat and if it is, the vet may give you different dosing instructions.

Claritin also crosses the brain blood barrier some and metabolizes more, thus more chances for side effects and interactions with other medications. (in humans and animals -OTC doesn't mean safe to take without consulting a doc or pharmacist)

I'm pretty sure that's why the vet picked the med he did as it makes more sense.

For anyone reading this -- please follow the advice and check with your vet before you give your cat any medications.

I'm not a vet, but I prescribe medications to people and Claritin, though much cheaper than Allegra, is not the same medication.  Allegra also has a generic form, btw.

I recently asked my vet for example, if I could use prilosec for my cat instead of famotidine.  She said no very adamantly. 

Message = ask the vet.  Just because it seems like it's in a "like" category, does not make it safe!

My cat him Bruce that has had sinus issues all his life due to his original owner chain smoking in the house when he was a kitten. When he is having major issues I give him anything from benadryl, claritan, mucinex, zyrtec, and allegra. The claritan is well tolerated at 10 mg (human dose). Same with zyrtec. The only thing I stay away from is the major decongestants like pseudoephedrine or phenylephrine. A quarter or half dose of claritan I'm afraid will be ineffective for any adult size cat with real problems.