Cerenia?

ankitty said:

 
Good to know. Thank you. I'll keep that in mind. Maybe that's why it's given to my cat every other day?

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Perhaps. My vet likes to go 5 days on, 2 days off, although I've heard others say their vets recommend 4 days on, 1 day off. Serves the same purpose.

My cat is on a low enough of a dose that my vet is allowing my cat to be on it 7 days a week with no ill effects....

StephenQ said:

 
My cat is on a low enough of a dose that my vet is allowing my cat to be on it 7 days a week with no ill effects....

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Tablets I presume - not injection?

Yes we started with a 1/4 4mg tab so 1mg now at 1.2 4mg tab. Injections with sub Q fluids only in a crisis.

Have they come out with Cerenia tabs for cats yet?   What I saw available was really manufactured for dogs.   Breaking them into cat size portions was not so easy.

The ones i got are for dogs. I have to break the pill into 1/4. Very tiny, but easy to make my cat swallow. 

zoneout said:

 
Have they come out with Cerenia tabs for cats yet?   What I saw available was really manufactured for dogs.   Breaking them into cat size portions was not so easy.

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No but the 4mg tabs can be quartered or halved depending on the dose your vet wants your cat to get.  Halving is easy, but because of the shape, quartering is a bit trickier.  My cat is currently on a 1/2 tab, but every cat reacts differently apparently, or can react differently and some can't handle it.

Ok thanks. I hope it gets FDA approval for cats soon. It really should. I mean it works - what are they waiting for? Typical govt red tape.

zoneout said:

Ok thanks. I hope it gets FDA approval for cats soon. It really should. I mean it works - what are they waiting for? Typical govt red tape.

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Good question and I couldn't agree more.

Yes, the tabs are a pain to quarter. On a good day, I can get a nice, clean cut. But sometimes the quarters will crumble and I'm left trying to pick up each little speck to put in Sebastian's gel caps.    He gets a 1/4 tab as his maintenance dose and a 1/2 tab when he's flaring up.

oh yeah i hear you on that.

GoHolistic said:

 
Sebastian has been on Cerenia for over a year. The issue with Cerenia is that it depletes "Substance P" in the brain with continued use without a break, and could eventually cause tremors. To avoid this issue, Sebastian gets it for 5 days (Monday through Friday) and then takes a break from it on the weekends so that Substance P can replenish.

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Do your cat's tremors look like twitching in arms or shivering? My cat does that. I don't think he did before taking cerenia. I probably should call the vet. 

ankitty said:

 

GoHolistic said:

 
Sebastian has been on Cerenia for over a year. The issue with Cerenia is that it depletes "Substance P" in the brain with continued use without a break, and could eventually cause tremors. To avoid this issue, Sebastian gets it for 5 days (Monday through Friday) and then takes a break from it on the weekends so that Substance P can replenish.

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Do your cat's tremors look like twitching in arms or shivering? My cat does that. I don't think he did before taking cerenia. I probably should call the vet. 

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Sebastian has never gotten tremors from long-term use of Cerenia, so I couldn't tell you what they're like. We take that break from it on the weekends to avoid the risk of these potential side effects.

I called vet and we'll try cerenia on every third day instead of every other day and see if tremor continues. 

I wish I'd know you could give cerenia more frequently than every five days.  My vet said you couldn't.  Perhaps it's a Canadian thing. 

YoohooRa said:

 
I wish I'd know you could give cerenia more frequently than every five days.  My vet said you couldn't.  Perhaps it's a Canadian thing. 

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I think it's off-label use here too, since it's for dogs.

It could be a food allergy that is causing vomiting.  I have a 12 year old female cat named Beep, and she used to vomit 3-4 times a week, and we could never figure out why.  The vet could never find anything wrong with her.  Then about 2 years ago, I realized that Beep had not thrown up in about 3 weeks. At the time we had been feeding all of our cats Wellness (canned) chicken, turkey and beef and chicken.  I had gotten a deal on chicken Wellness, a couple of cases, and I realized that she had not had any of the chicken and beef.  I suspected it was the beef.  A few weeks later, she still had not vomited any more (or had any beef) and we kind of forgot and my husband gave her a can with beef, and within 2 minutes, she vomited.  There were a few other times that we had slipped and given her a food with beef in it, and she throws up right away.  My husband even gave her a tiny bit of his steak once, and within a few minutes, she threw up.  She is so sensitive to it, even if it is in a food that has mixed proteins, if it has beef, she throws it up.  You have no idea what a relief it was to know that this was the cause of her vomiting! Then I felt really bad, that I didn't even think that it was her food, and she did this for years.  I think that since she has not had any beef, she has thrown up maybe two times in the past two years.  My vet said that he does see quite a lot of beef allergies, but he also has seen his share of chicken or other proteins that cats are allergic to, but beef was pretty high up there as the biggest one he had seen.  

I just thought I'd share my experience with a cat that pukes all the time, that maybe it would be something to think about.   I do know that if my cats go too long without eating, they will throw up bile from having an empty stomach.  My dog is really bad about this, and we have to give her a small handful of kibble before bedtime to keep this from happening.  The only kibble my cats get are a few pieces as a treat occasionally.  You may want to try a novel protein, like venison or duck, and feed only that for several weeks and see how your cat does on that.  I know that Natural Balance is not the best food out there (it's not the worst either) but I can tell you that it is one that was well tolerated by my sick cat for quite a while.  I also have a few friends who have had cats with allergies, or non-stop diarrhea or vomiting and they have had good luck with Natural Balance venison and the duck.  

I have a very sick cat right now, and cerenia is a wonder drug, but I would not want my cat to be on it for a long time.  I agree, that it just masks the problem. My vet does not like the cerenia to be given for more than 4 days in a row.  Luckily for us, a shot every two or three days has been helping keep my cat from vomiting.  But I would try pepcid first before resorting to a strong drug like cerenia.  Cerenia is great for short term, or a serious chronic condition, but not for regular use otherwise, at least that's what I would think.  I hope you figure out something that works for your cat.

Apologies for the resurrection, but I found this forum Googling Cerenia and had a few questions.

Is this safer to use than Dramamine? How does it compare in terms of safety and effectiveness? Up until now we've been using Dramamine for our Albert but he has a few niggling side effects that we'd rather avoid. There's plenty of info on the web about the drug's side effects but all the pages I've found so far seem to be about dogs (http://www.veterinaryplace.com/dog-medicine/cerenia-for-dogs/) so I'm not really sure if the same side effects apply to cats?

Thank you guys!

Cats have much more sensitive livers and kidneys than dogs, and many drugs that dogs can tolerate, long and short term, simply are dangerous for cats. Most vets will only prescribe drugs like cerenia and tolfedine for cats on a very limited short term basis to avoid system damage. Other meds, like Metacam, though generally considered safe for dogs, are highly controversial for use for cats and many owners and vets will not use it at all. What does your vet say? Only your own vet, who knows your cat's medical history and possible reaction, can give a truly balanced judgement for your own pet.

Recently I checked out IBD Kitties on Facebook and they have more experiences and information on Cerenia.

Here's a link for some information: http://www.winnfelinefoundation.org...ndation/2008/05/30/cerenia-for-nausea-in-cats

Our vet recommended it for a long term use and so far our cat is doing very well.