Talked with our vet about giving Famotadine but I'm not sure what to buy. I see on here many saying to give Pepcid, not Pepcid AC, but I can only find AC even in off brands. I see chewy has plain famotadine without any additives but we weren't given a prescription. A link to what anyone else purchases would be great. Thanks!
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Famotadine?
- Thread starter Theboyboy
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Pepcid AC is totally fine to use. I believe at one time the AC was using a different active ingredient. I just looked at it and it's famotidine plus some inactive ingredients to hold the pill together. None of those inactive ingredients (in the amount you will be giving) give me any concern.
That said, cats are supposed to have a highly acidic stomach. Of the many things that vets prescribe famotidine for, few of them are effectively treated by this drug. The one case that I think Pepcid is useful for is if you have a suspected or confirmed stomach ulcer. In that case, your cat would probably also be sent home with sucralfate. The sucralfate would act like a liquid bandage and the Pepcid would raise the pH making the stomach less acidic and thus giving the ulcer a better chance to heal. If it's not a stomach ulcer or suspected ulcer, I would ask about other options like ondansetron or Cerenia. Some cat parents swear by Cerenia and it really works well for their cats. Others find ondansetron is better for their cats and their particular conditions. I prefer ondansetron because it doesn't crater my cats' appetites like Cerenia does. It's also a smaller pill (fragment really after cutting it four ways) and easily crushed into her twice daily gabapentin dose.
Because famotidine does alter the stomach pH, I would assume digestion would be affected, and likewise, I would adjust his/her food intake accordingly: smaller meals more often. This is a good tip anyway, regardless of famotidine, when dealing with gut issues.
EDIT: Be mindful of the dose the vet prescribed. It seems the only difference between Pepcid and Pepcid AC is that one comes in a 10 mg tablet and the other in 20 mg tablet. There is a Pepcid Complete that adds an antacid. This one you want to avoid.
That said, cats are supposed to have a highly acidic stomach. Of the many things that vets prescribe famotidine for, few of them are effectively treated by this drug. The one case that I think Pepcid is useful for is if you have a suspected or confirmed stomach ulcer. In that case, your cat would probably also be sent home with sucralfate. The sucralfate would act like a liquid bandage and the Pepcid would raise the pH making the stomach less acidic and thus giving the ulcer a better chance to heal. If it's not a stomach ulcer or suspected ulcer, I would ask about other options like ondansetron or Cerenia. Some cat parents swear by Cerenia and it really works well for their cats. Others find ondansetron is better for their cats and their particular conditions. I prefer ondansetron because it doesn't crater my cats' appetites like Cerenia does. It's also a smaller pill (fragment really after cutting it four ways) and easily crushed into her twice daily gabapentin dose.
Because famotidine does alter the stomach pH, I would assume digestion would be affected, and likewise, I would adjust his/her food intake accordingly: smaller meals more often. This is a good tip anyway, regardless of famotidine, when dealing with gut issues.
EDIT: Be mindful of the dose the vet prescribed. It seems the only difference between Pepcid and Pepcid AC is that one comes in a 10 mg tablet and the other in 20 mg tablet. There is a Pepcid Complete that adds an antacid. This one you want to avoid.
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- #4
Thanks for all of the helpful info. We've tried cerenia and you're right, it really ruined his appetite. Ondansetron didn't seem to help at all. I'll check back in with our vet about the famotadine. Admittedly, the vet that suggested it isn't our usual vet so now that you've brought it up I have concerns. Thank you!
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- #5
Thank you, this is helpful. The Walmart brand linked here is exactly what I was looking at (and what we actually already use at our house), just wanted to make sure it was safe first.
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Oh! Yeah. I thankfully have no experience with CKD. If famotidine is helpful with CKD cats, more power to them.
I do know from experience and reading that it's not very helpful for IBD kitties which I sadly have too much experience with.
Famotidine is the generic name of Pepcid. The dose is usually 1/4 of a 10 mg tablet. You can get them at Walmart. I have an IBD kitty and it's helped him, but it's only effective for about 6 hours. We usually give it in the evening to help him overnight while we're sleeping.
