For many people, pets are full members of the family. Dogs, cats, parrots, hamsters, aquarium fish and many other animals have long become more than just representatives of the animal world. But sometimes, unfortunately, it happens that pets are unwell, and the owners need to take urgent measures to cure their pet.
The most common variant of the disease of domestic cats is poisoning of different types. Well, the most popular and effective drug for the treatment of poisoning in humans, as you know, is considered activated carbon. That is why owners of domestic cats very often may wonder whether it is possible to give activated charcoal to cats.
Activated Carbon: General Information
Made from ordinary charcoal as a result of its heat treatment, this drug has a fairly rich history. Even in ancient times, noticed the useful properties of ordinary coal and ash in the treatment of poisoning of varying severity. The thing is that the porous structure of coal allows it to absorb into itself toxic substances and remove them from the body.
Nowadays, starch is added to such coal to form crushed coal into tablets and glucose to normalize the work of the whole organism. It is this drug that is popularly called activated carbon, which is considered the ideal antitoxin.
Activated Carbon in Veterinary Medicine
From all of the above, we can conclude that this drug is very useful not only for people, but also for cats. The most popular reasons for which not only it is possible, but also necessary to give the cat activated charcoal, are the following diseases and symptoms:
- poisoning;
- flatulence;
- diarrhea;
- increased acidity of gastric juice;
- allergic reactions;
- renal failure.
If your pet has one or even several symptoms, you should not even think about whether you can give cats activated charcoal. However, it is worth mentioning that the most convenient forms of this drug for pets are suspension, paste and powder.
Poisoning treatment
As mentioned earlier, activated carbon is the best treatment for poisoning. Unfortunately, cats get poisoned quite often, and there are two reasons for this. Firstly, these animals are very curious, they need to know what kind of powder is scattered on the floor and what is in the jug on the top shelf of your closet. But secondly, the cleanliness of cats can play a trick on them. For example, if a toxic substance gets on your pet’s hair, then after a while it will be in the animal’s stomach.
The main symptoms of poisoning are:
- vomiting and diarrhea;
- copious salivation;
- lethargy;
- disorientation in space;
- dilated pupils;
- hard breath.
In the presence of at least two symptoms, the owners should already be wary of a possible poisoning of the pet. In this case, you must always contact the veterinarian and take your pet to him for examination. If it is impossible to do this, you can give activated carbon to the cat, it will not be superfluous, but will only benefit.
Prophylactic
Also, very often people are interested in whether activated carbon is given to cats only in case of poisoning. The answer is unequivocal - no. A very popular use for this drug is for prophylactic purposes.
Very often, veterinarians advise cat owners to give this tool to their four-legged friends as a prophylaxis and prevention of possible poisoning and health problems. The systematic use of activated carbon significantly reduces the risk of catching any infection. The best option is a course of ten days every three months. Thus, this is another answer to the question of whether it is possible to give activated cat charcoal.
The drug and the bite of the plague beetle
In addition to banal poisoning, diarrhea and vomiting in a cat can be caused by other reasons. One of them is the bite of a plague beetle. This small and harmless-looking insect is very dangerous for small animals, since even a horse can kill it in certain situations.
The thing is that in the body of this beetle contains poison, which, on contact with the skin leads to burns and subsequent formation of characteristic blisters. If you notice such a blister on the skin of your pet, you should immediately take him to the veterinarian. But before that, you must definitely give the cat activated carbon, which will fight the infection while you are on the go.
Dosage
So, this drug has quite useful properties for the body of an adult and even a small kitten. Thus, after you understand the need to treat the animal, the following logical question arises: "How much to give activated carbon to a cat in case of poisoning?"
Despite the fact that the structure of the cat and human body is slightly different, the dosage corresponds to the same principles. So, in order to figure out how much to give activated carbon to a cat, you need to know the following proportion: one tablet per 10 kg of your animal’s weight. That is, to treat a pet weighing 5 kg, half a tablet of coal will be required.
If you initially purchased this drug in the form of a powder or suspension, and your pet’s weight does not exceed ten kilograms, then the amount of activated carbon should be taken at the rate of 1 g of powder per 1 kg of cat’s weight. For an average animal, it is necessary to take about 6 g of powder.
How to give?
As you already understood, determining the necessity of using this drug and its dosage are not the most difficult tasks. The real difficulties will come when you think about how to give your cat activated charcoal in case of poisoning.
So, the required amount of activated carbon in the form of a powder must be dissolved in boiled water so that the consistency of the finished solution resembles liquid sour cream. Then the finished solution must be introduced into the syringe.
Well, then the fun begins. You need to take the cat and put it on your lap face up. As you may have guessed, the solution from the syringe must be introduced into the cat's mouth. It will be difficult to do this, since any animal will break out and will not want to open its mouth voluntarily.
Knowledge of the skeleton of cats will come to the rescue here. As you know, the teeth of a cat are not located around the entire perimeter of the mouth - they are not at the base of the tongue. Thus, if you gently pull the cat's lips down, you will have the opportunity to freely and, most importantly, painlessly for the cat, insert the tip of the syringe into the animal’s mouth and inject the solution into it. At a time, no more than 2 ml of the solution should be infused, and such manipulations should be carried out 3-4 times a day when the first signs of poisoning appear. As soon as your pet's condition improves, you need to start giving whole or broken into half tablets.
However, do not forget that pets have severe poisoning. In this case, pouring a solution of activated carbon into the mouth will not be enough. In this regard, a logical question arises: "How to give activated charcoal to a cat with diarrhea?" The answer is a cleansing enema.
To do this, you need to dissolve up to 20 g of powder in 100 ml of water and inject the finished solution into the rectum. This option will be the most effective way to remove all harmful substances from the body of a pet.
Contraindications and side effects
Despite the very noticeable benefits, this drug still has some side effects. For example, long-term use of coal can lead to constipation. Activated charcoal is also contraindicated in cats with ulcerative lesions of the stomach. In addition, this drug cannot be combined with other antitoxic drugs, as the result of this combination may be unpredictable.
In conclusion, veterinarians are often asked if activated carbon can be given to cats during pregnancy? Since this drug is not absorbed into the intestine, it is completely harmless to both pregnant and lactating animals.
Conclusion
Despite the fact that there is some concern on the part of pet owners about whether it is possible to give activated carbon to cats, this drug is an indispensable tool for the treatment of poisoning. When the first signs appear, it is worth immediately watering your pet with this medicine. It is worth considering that giving the cat activated charcoal is a rather serious task, which, however, can be easily handled by doing everything right.