<< Has anyone given this OTC drug for humans to their cats? Needless to
say I do not feel inclined to trust this particular vet's advice.
Thank you. >>

I just did a google search because I have taken sudafed before and, although I
tolerate almost every medication I've ever taken well, sudafed makes me very
hyper and unable to sleep.  30 mg seems awful high for a little kitten.

<A HREF="http://www.pettimes.com/">http://www.pettimes.com/</A>

"The ingredients in these preparations for humans often include a decongestant
such as pseudoephedrine, an antihistamine, and a painkiller such as
acteaminophen. If these drugs are ingested, dogs and cats may show signs
ranging from lethargy to excitement to seizures. Even vapor rub and zinc
lozenges can make pets sick. If a pet eats any amount of human medication, call
your veterinarian and be ready to describe what, when, and how much the pet
ate.
It may seem odd that the same drug helpful to a human could make a pet very
sick. But, not only are pets much smaller than we are, but their bodies work
differently. That makes even a small amount of some human medications
potentially lethal for pets. “It’s important to keep all your medications
away from pets, and don’t try to medicate animals without first asking a
veterinarian,” says Dr. Volmer."

But in
<A
HREF="http://www.vetinfo4cats.com/catrespir.html#Chronic%20snuffling%20cat
s%20and%20older%20kittens">Respiratory Problems in Cats</A>

under a letter, "Chronic upper respiratory infections," this other vet does say
it is used sometimes.  So I guess it's one of those things that is a matter of
opinion.  Do you personally have a vet you go to and trust who you could call
and ask if this is a safe drug for kittens?  This poor kitty is having such a
hard time of it, it's so sad.

Candace
(take the litter out before replying by e-mail)

See my cats:
http://photos.yahoo.com/maccandace

"One does not meet oneself until one catches the reflection from an eye other
than human."  (Loren Eisely)

I used to take Sudafed.  Would that be the same medication, despite the
variation in spelling?  If so, it worked well for me and did not cause
drowsiness -- one of the few decongestants that did not cause me to fall
asleep.  However, my doctor had me discontinue it.  It has been a few years,
but I think he told me to stop because it can cause high blood pressure.

MaryL

The dose prescribed sounds awfully high and I wouldn't be inclined to
trust the vet.
I would stay away from that.

When I had a congested cat it was prescribed *children's* neo-synephrine
nasal drops (which is .025% IIRC) at one drop in each nostril twice a
day for 2-3 days. It shouldn't be used for longer than that but that
should be enough. Using a very warm damp compress on the kitten's nose
beforehand will loosen up and help to drain the sinus and should be done
before administering the nosedrops. URI's are often herpes related, so
adding 250-500 mg a day of Lysine (get the capsule form and mix the
powder in with some babyfood or canned food) will also help.

Megan

                                   

Nope, never.  But I have only had limited experience with URIs in
cats.  An old fashioned steam bath comes to mind for this.  Just fill
the bathroom with steam 2x per day and sit with kitty in there for
about 10 minutes.  This I *have* done.

I just checked with my vet clinic and they only list dosages for dogs,
and the vet said she would not prescribe Sudafed for cats. Given that, I
would definitely not trust the vets prescribed dose and would look at
other options. 30 mg is half the dose an average 125-175 pound human
would take. Giving that to a 6 pound cat goes beyond the bounds of
common sense.

Megan

                                   

Human dose is 60 mg. 30 mg is a lot for a cat. My vet recommended some over the
counter baby allergy tablets cut in half for my cat. I forget what it was but
it worked fine.

Well, I think she should not give the cat any drug without a
prescription even if it is an over the counter medication. If this
thing kills the cat, the vet can deny prescribing it afterwards. What
is the dosage recommended for an adult? Does it say how much should be
given in body weight or just a general dosage? If it´s general, the
weight considered is the "average human weight", that is, 70kgs. If
that kitten is 0.5 kg, she weighs 1/140 of the weight of an adult
human. So you should get the dose prescribed for an adult human and
divide it by 140. Ideally, your friend should look up if this drug is
ok to be ministered for cats and what the usual dosage is. I did a
quick Google search and could not find any page recommending its use
for cats. I did some reading on this drug and I would definitively
*not* give it to any of my cats. I agree that changing vets is a must
here.

1 kg = 2.2 pounds

Here´s something interesting about Pseudofed:

Sale of drug ingredients to be limited
By Bridget Carter
Tough new rules affecting the sale of the chemicals that can make
methamphetamine are about to be introduced by police and the drug
industry.

Richard Schurr, of the police National Drug Intelligence Bureau, said
a meeting in Auckland this month with groups such as Medsafe, the
Pharmacy Guild and the Non-Prescription Medicine Association was
partly in response to directions by the United Nations to create
international protocols and conventions over trading chemical
products.

While no one will reveal details of the options to be considered, the
Herald has been told that methods used in Australia that restrict the
sale of drugs will be considered.

Across the Tasman, the popular cold drug Pseudofed cannot be sold in
packets of 60 or 90 tablets.

The product contains pseudoephedrine, the substance used to make
methamphetamine, or speed.

The smaller packets are kept out of easy reach and must be dispensed
by a pharmacist.

Australian National Drugs Strategic Unit spokesman, Steve Vaughan,
said the company Pfizer had agreed to stop selling the large Pseudofed
packets in Australia nearly 18 months ago.

Some pharmacists asked for photo identification before they sold
anything containing pseudoephedrine.

For the past five years, the Australian pharmaceutical industry has
had a code of conduct restricting who can buy certain substances,
preventing them from being paid for in cash and requiring that courier
companies deliver them to specified business addresses.

Mr Vaughan said the rules were working, but a difficult area to
control was the sale of substances through the internet. Australian
methamphetamine manufacturers had bought the chemicals for speed on
international websites, including New Zealand sites.

"If you go on international sites it is quite widely advertised."

Mr Schurr said methamphetamine, a highly addictive stimulant that
works on the central nervous system, first came to notice in New
Zealand during the early 1990s, and the first methamphetamine
laboratory in this country was found near Timaru in 1996.

Last year, police discovered 41 laboratories, compared with nine in
2000. Some were located in car boots or in bathrooms.

Most were found from Hamilton northwards.

The drug bureau says the trade can provide manufacturers and suppliers
with vast profits.

Those involved can turn chemicals worth a few hundred dollars into
$200,000 in just a few days.

On the street, speed sells for up to $100 a gram.

It is made out of ephedrine, which comes from a plant, but can also be
made synthetically and is mixed with other substances.

Most chemicals to make the drug come from organised groups of
shoppers, paid by the methamphetamine cooks to travel around
pharmacies until they have bought hundreds of tablets containing
pseudoephedrine.

Mr Schurr said companies had to be licensed to buy the chemicals used
to make speed but there were ways around it.

He said New Zealand needed ways to address the problem with drugs
being sold to make speed.

But there needed to be room for people to still go about their
business.

David Jones, a spokesman for the Pharmacy Guild, said there were 42
products sold in pharmacies that contained substances used to make
speed. Examples were Actifed and Telfast. Pharmacists would be
suspicious of anyone who bought more than one packet of these drugs.

Pharmacies had been exposed to burglaries and raids and staff had been
put under a lot of pressure to sell them, he said.

Auckland pharmacies the Herald spoke to were not stocking cold-tablet
type products in packs of more than 30 tablets and had a policy of
asking for identification and restricting sales.

Products containing codeine, such as Panadol, are available in packs
of up to 100 tablets but are usually held behind the pharmacy counter.
The smaller cold-treatment packs are often on open shelves.

NZ Herald - 1 April 2002

Well that doesn't sound right at ALL. That's a human dosage! Man, this woman
needs a different vet. Try steaming the bathroom up. She could even run a
vaporizer if she has one.

Karen