Can human take medication for cats?

I just wonder, can I take medication for my cats?

My old cat and I are dealing with the eye problems together now.

It's the eye ulceration due to Feline Herpes virus.

And "thanks to" our vets, the situation's getting worse now, there are ulcers in the middle of his eye, which do not have veins.

So the medication called Famciclovir won't work well on the cornea.

According to my study on the internet, famciclovir turns well in human body into penciclovir, well it doesn't work well in cats.

It's called bioavailability. And it can rarely reach the tears. For that reason, cats should take a high quantity of Famciclovir.

Which may do harm to their liver and kidney. especially for the old cats.

A vet wrote to me in the letter that cats can use other cats' or dogs' blood serum as eye drop. If dog can, can human do the same thing?

Does anyone know if it works? This kind vet who wrote to me seems out of reach of him PC for now. So I have to ask it here now.

Would a steroid eye drop work? My cat is on prednisilone (?) drops. Vet wrote prescription and I had a regular pharmacy fill it out.

I would not try anything without specific vet help. Do not put anything in your cats eye your vet doesn't prescribe!!

misterwhiskers said:

Would a steroid eye drop work? My cat is on prednisilone (?) drops. Vet wrote prescription and I had a regular pharmacy fill it out.

I would not try anything without specific vet help. Do not put anything in your cats eye your vet doesn't prescribe!!

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I think the OP was asking if he  / she could use the same eye medicine the cat is.

Personally I would not use a medicine prescribe for an animal on a Human. The medicine may be the same but a different strength / concentration. Please call your own doctor for advice on how to treat your eye problem.

The oral famciclovir works. But the cat need a high dose. Much more than human dose. Since we can cure the eye ulcers by other cat's blood serum and even dogs. Can cats use human serum? And the oral famciclovir turns well to penciclovir in my blood, so it may be more safe for him? I didn't gave it to him yet, i just want to make sure first.

TT I know my English isn't good. But I hope my English wasn't that bad. I didn't try to use the drops for animals. I'm fine. The oral famciclovir which works for FHV is indeed a medication for human. So it doesn't work as efficient as in human. I wonder if I can the the pile for my cat. And let the medication works in my blood and then make my blood a serum eye drop for my cat. So that it won't hurt his kidney and liver.

StephyMeow said:

TT I know my English isn't good. But I hope my English wasn't that bad. I didn't try to use the drops for animals. I'm fine. The oral famciclovir which works for FHV is indeed a medication for human. So it doesn't work as efficient as in human. I wonder if I can the the pile for my cat. And let the medication works in my blood and then make my blood a serum eye drop for my cat. So that it won't hurt his kidney and liver.

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No, this is not a good idea. It would be impossible to keep sterile, and you don't know if there is anything else in your blood that would impact your cat. Please do not experiment with your health and his.

Yes, don't experiment. If your cat has herpesvirus, you cannot inoculate him anyway. Feline herpesvirus and human herpesviruses are different viruses.

I think you are wondering if by you taking the Famciclovir and then making a serum eye drop using your blood to administer to your cat would be a more effective way to treat the cat's herpes?

I do not recommend this. I really don't think you would get the concentration needed to treat appropriately. Also, animal blood chemistry to different than human and therefore could cause more problems for your cat.

I have used a cat's own serum to treat for ocular issues before (twice) and this worked well for these two cats.

What eye drop is your at currently on? We use Idoxuridine and Cidofovir with our herpetic kitties.

yeah that's what my mom said to me too after I told her my idea. I hope the oral famciclovir will help him soon. and do not damage his liver and kidney. He's on high dose and he's not young.

#8 is the right translation. It's for a eye drop.but I'm not sure yet if the hospital will do it for me, and I haven't got the yes from the vet.

Finally someone understand what I mean.
That's what I'm thinking about.
We stopped the eye drops now. He's on oral famciclovir only.
It seems famciclovir is relatively efficient. The problem is 1.my cat's old 2.he's on high dose.
He drinks plenty of water these days, I don't know if it's side effects. I hope his kidney's fine.
So I began to wonder if I can take the medication, instead of him taking the medication. If it's necessary later.

Have you tried adding in L-lysine? What eye drop were you using?

If his ulcers do not heal, I definitely think making a serum eye drop out of your *cat's* blood would be worth a try. However, I still do not think using your serum would be a good idea.

Another thought to discuss with your vet...

We have use Polyprenyl Immunostimulat with the two of our rescues. One that had a horrible case of herpes (worst I have seen) that kept cycling through flare ups, and another with herpes related entropion. Both responded very well to the PI.

Yeah, we added L-lysine too. twice daily.

most eye drops he was using are antibacterial. misdiagnose for a long time.

then ganciclovir for 3 weeks, didn't work.

normally it takes 7-14 days to heal, but mine is latent state or chronic from November, which makes the situation quite complex

ps: it seems we can't get PL. is it a eye drop?

Some medications for veterinary use are similar to human medications and vice versa but it's not safe to assume that they are exactly the same.

First of all, the formulations and the dosages might not be the same.  Sometimes, the "inactive" ingredients in a pill play a role in how the medication works.  A good example is the caffeine in some brands of aspirin.  Technically, caffeine is an "inactive" ingredient but it does affect the way the salicylic acid (aspirin) enters the blood stream.  How do you know how the combination of aspirin and caffeine will affect a cat?  Unless you are a vet, you probably don't.

Second, the standards of manufacture are likely different.  The purity and sterility of veterinary meds aren't regulated by the same laws as human meds.  There's no way to know whether it's safe for a human to take medicine meant for a cat.  Maybe but only an expert would know for sure.  I'm not an expert.  If you are asking this question, you aren't an expert, either.  Advice:  Don't do it unless you consult an expert, first.

There are some medications that might be a one-to-one match between animals and humans.  Albuterol, the medication for asthma is one.  It's the same medication in the same formulation but the dosage and method of administration are different.  Okay...  so it's the same medication...  but how do you know what dosage to give?  A 100 lb. human isn't going to need the same amount of medicine as a 10 lb. cat.  If you accidentally overdose your cat on Albuterol, she will die a fairly icky death!  Besides, Albuterol can have harmful interactions with other medications.  Only an expert would know for sure.

Sure, SOME meds can go between humans and cats but, unless you are a vet with knowledge and experience, taking your cat's medication would be like putting a gun to your head and hoping it doesn't go off when you pull the trigger.

Thanks for the reply. But it's not about using human drugs on cats or using cat drugs on human. You misunderstand what I tried to say.

Polyprenyl is not an eye drop, it is a liquid oral medication. It is not an antibiotic, but rather helps boost the immune system (hence, Immuno-stimulant).

The medication was developed here in the States, and, thusly, may not be accessible elsewhere, though I am not sure. Many vets here (unless very up to date on their medicine) do not know about it.

PI is used to treat herpes, as well as offer treatment for the *dry* form of FIP (feline infectious peritonitis).

StephyMeow said:

So I began to wonder if I can take the medication, instead of him taking the medication.

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CatPack said:

I think you are wondering if by you taking the Famciclovir and then making a serum eye drop using your blood to administer to your cat would be a more effective way to treat the cat's herpes?

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StephyMeow said:

 
Thanks for the reply. But it's not about using human drugs on cats or using cat drugs on human. You misunderstand what I tried to say.

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Sorry if I misunderstood or if I sounded too harsh but that is what I read, above.

Making a serum from blood requires exposure to some substance.  Doesn't it?

So, I'll politely stand my ground.  Exposing a human to drugs meant for an animal or exposing an animal to drugs meant for humans is dangerous unless you are an expert.  Further, exposing an animal to a human's blood after exposing the human to a veterinary drug is doubly dangerous.

Sorry to sound rude but please don't do anything like this.  I want you ***AND*** your cat to be healthy. 

Caspers Human , I agree that the OP (original poster) shouldn't take the medication and attempt to make a serum using their own blood to administer to the cat, for reasons as stated previously. However, I do want to clarify that Famciclovir is a *human* medication that is also proven safe for use in animals (at an appropriate dose, of course.) So, the medication itself is not the issue here.

I'm sorry if I sounded argumentative but I still don't like the idea.

My father was a keeper for an animal farm (petting zoo) at a local amusement park before I was born and he was a dog breeder when I was a kid. I saw him do all sorts of things with different "medications and preparations" but, even with as much as I know from experience, I would still never do what has been discussed here unless I got the advice of an expert first.

Thanks,

I'll step off the soapbox, now.

I agree with you Caspers Human as I have stated in my previous posts. Just wanted to clarify that the Famciclovir itself is safe for both people and animal when given at appropriate doses.