6980Pavel
Animals get sick no less often than people. What to do if your cat starts vomiting? If it was more than once or occurs several times a week, then you need to visit a veterinarian. Cerucal for cats is often included in the treatment regimen for gastrointestinal disorders.
If an animal vomits once a month, this usually does not require taking any medications. If a cat is vomiting bezoars - hairballs, then you need to purchase a special paste for removing hair.
© shutterstock
How the drug works
"Cerucal" is available in two variations - tablets and solution for injection. The active substances, being absorbed into the blood, quickly relieve the urge to vomit (impulses), and the condition will soon return to normal. Cerucal tablets for cats act a little slower than injections. If the cat is very ill, vomiting continues for a long time, and the condition urgently needs to be normalized, then solutions for intramuscular or intravenous injection are used.
Where to inject Cerucal for cats? The intravenous injection begins to work within a few minutes. If you give an injection into the muscle (upper thigh), the medicine will take effect in fifteen minutes.
How and where to give an injection to a cat
With incessant vomiting, there is a real danger of death, so sometimes, with the permission of a specialist, you have to inject Cerucal into the animal yourself; for this you need to know how and where to inject the cat correctly.
The antiemetic agent can be administered subcutaneously to animals, but to obtain the stated effect, only intramuscular or intravenous administration of the drug is allowed. Injections into a vein are given only by a veterinarian; the medication must be administered by drip with constant monitoring of the animal’s vital functions.
The owner can give the cat an intramuscular injection on his own, but a specialist should consult the owner about the dosage and possible side effects.
It is more convenient to place the injection in the thigh muscle; injection into the shoulder of a pet is also allowed. It is advisable to carry out the procedure with the participation of an assistant who will secure the animal to avoid injury to the owner.
Before the injection, you should thoroughly wash your hands with soap and draw the required amount of a single dose of Cerucal into the syringe, strictly following the specialist’s instructions. The animal must be restrained so that the hind limb is relaxed and flexed at the joint. The needle is inserted at a right angle with a clear, short movement, then the medicine is slowly injected, and the syringe is removed and the muscles of the animal.
Composition of the drug
Whatever form the drug is released in, its main active ingredient will be metoclopramide hydrochloride monohydrate. It is this component that acts as a blocker of impulses to vomit. The excipients of Cerucal tablets, the instructions for use of which we will consider below, are the following components:
- lactose monohydrate;
- gelatin;
- magnesium stearate;
- potato starch;
- silica.
The auxiliary components in injection solutions are as follows:
- disodium edetate;
- saline;
- sodium sulfite;
- sodium chloride.
Tablets are sold in cardboard boxes, the injection composition is packaged in glass ampoules of 2 milliliters. Instructions must be included in medicine packages.
Causes of vomiting in dogs
Vomiting is a reflexive process undertaken by the body to cleanse the gastrointestinal tract. In most cases, vomiting syndrome occurs due to various types of poisoning - the animal makes attempts to get rid of a foreign substance, body, etc.
Vomiting in a dog occurs for reasons such as:
- reaction to a toxic or foreign substance (poison) entering the stomach;
- spoiled food;
- foreign object in the stomach or intestines;
- parasitic (helminthic) infestation;
- parasitic infections, such as piroplasmosis;
- diseases of the stomach, intestines, and other organs of the digestive or excretory systems;
- motion sickness in transport;
- eating grass to cleanse the intestines.
The last symptom may not mean anything - dogs often arrange “fasting days” for themselves, but if this phenomenon occurs frequently, it makes sense to think about checking the animal for the presence of inflammation or chronic diseases of the gastrointestinal tract.
If your dog vomits during or after a car ride, it is most likely motion sickness. To prevent motion sickness before the trip, it is recommended not to feed the animal, but to give it an anti-motion sickness medication, for example, Dramamine, Cerucal.
Forms of preparation
Cerucal is available in tablet and injection forms. The main composition of the drug includes metoclopramide hydrochloride. Auxiliary components when released in tablets are potato starch, lactose, gelatin, magnesium, silicon. The injection version of the drug, in addition to the main constituent substance, contains water for injection, sodium chloride, disodium salt, etc.
The main purpose of the medicine is to relieve vomiting syndrome. The drug is also used to enhance intestinal motility and gastric motility.
Origin of nausea in dogs
Nausea is not an independent disease. At best, this is a one-time nuisance; at worst, it is evidence of a chronic disease or poisoning.
In case of infrequent vomiting with suspected poisoning from poor-quality food, the dog should be given adsorbents: activated carbon, filtrum, endosorb. When the vomiting stops, you can give the dog chamomile infusion, use a course of Enterosgel, Bifidoc, etc. to restore the gastrointestinal tract. In this case, it is not forbidden to give a pill or give a cerucal injection to a dog.
However, any unusual behavior in the pet over the past day or three should alert the owner. It is necessary to remember whether the pet has eaten low-quality food or swallowed anything on the street. The cause of the urge to vomit in this case may not be food poisoning but poisoning.
Nausea can be caused by bone fragments or a foreign object (toy, splinter, cellophane, rope, etc.) stuck in the stomach, esophagus, even teeth. If you suspect this option, you should contact a veterinarian, have an ultrasound or X-ray, because the dog may not be able to get rid of the object that is bothering it on its own. A foreign object, a pathology such as volvulus, a bone that has damaged the esophagus - medical care not provided in time can cost the pet’s life.
Vomiting may be accompanied by an upset stomach - diarrhea, constipation due to refusal of food (sometimes water). In the case of diarrhea, we can talk about the toxic or infectious origin of vomiting - poisoning, enteritis. Dehydration caused by loss of fluid is extremely dangerous for the animal’s body, so you should urgently go to the clinic.
Before visiting the veterinary clinic, you can ease the animal’s condition a little by giving him an ice cube to lick. Next you need to give an injection of an antispasmodic or pain reliever. The instructions for cerucal for dogs state that it should be used intramuscularly at a dosage of 0.1 mg per 1 kg of animal body weight, after which go to the doctor. When the diagnosis is made, we can talk about the planned use of cerucal.
Indications for use
If vomiting occurred once, and at the same time the cat regurgitated pieces of fur, then no medicine will be required; this is a normal reaction of the body to indigestible objects. To prevent this from happening again, give your animal special hair-breaking medications, which are sold both in tablet form and as treats.
If the animal often suffers from vomiting, then you will need to use Cerucal for cats, which should only be prescribed by a veterinarian. The specialist will select the optimal type of medication (tablets or injections), dosage and number of applications per day and per course, depending on the patient’s condition.
"Cerucal" for cats is prescribed for the following causes of vomiting:
- Taking certain medications may cause vomiting.
- Problems with the kidneys or liver.
- Damage caused by foreign objects (the animal could have swallowed something, which injured the mucous membrane of the larynx or stomach).
In addition, “Cerukal” for cats is also prescribed for complex therapy for the treatment of the following diseases:
- hiccups;
- exacerbation of ulcers;
- flatulence;
- dyskinesia;
- esophageal and peloric reflux;
- gastrostasis.
It happens that at a doctor’s appointment, before prescribing therapy, you need to x-ray your cat, but this is impossible when the animal is vomiting. In this case, the veterinarian will administer Cerucal intravenously to stop gag reflexes.
When is Cerucalh2 used?
1Use of the substance Omeprazole Orally, intravenously. Adult patients: duodenal ulcer; prevention of relapse of duodenal ulcer; stomach ulcer; prevention of recurrence of stomach ulcers; erosive and ulcerative lesions of the stomach and duodenum associated with Helicobacter pylori (as part of complex therapy); erosive and ulcerative lesions of the stomach and duodenum associated with taking NSAIDs; prevention of erosive and ulcerative lesions of the stomach and duodenum associated with taking NSAIDs, prevention of stress ulcers; reflux esophagitis; long-term monitoring of patients with cured reflux esophagitis; gastroesophageal reflux disease; Zollinger-Ellison syndrome. Application in pediatrics. Inside. Children over 2 years old with body weight ≥20 kg: reflux esophagitis; gastroesophageal reflux disease (heartburn and sour belching). Children and adolescents over 4 years of age: duodenal ulcer associated with Helicobacter pylori (as part of complex therapy).
> Analogues of Cerucal
Analogs: Metoclopromide.
In what case will Cerucal not help?
There are a lot of viral diseases for which the medicine will help stop vomiting, but will not affect the treatment of the animal in any way. If your cat starts vomiting, and this happens several times, you will need to seek help from a veterinarian, because these could be symptoms of a life-threatening viral disease. Poisoning can also cause vomiting. In this case, Cerucal for cats will help, but you will also need to give other medications that will help remove toxins from the body.
The use of "Cerucal" will be inappropriate if the animal's vomiting is caused by disorders of the vestibular apparatus or is of psychogenic origin. In such cases, the veterinarian prescribes completely different medications.
Storage rules
Despite the fact that Cerucal for cats is a potent remedy, it is absolutely safe for the cat’s body. The manufacturer recommends storing the medicine under certain conditions
- Temperature range from 0 to +25 degrees Celsius. The liquid for injection is stored at a temperature of 0 to +4 degrees Celsius.
- The storage location must be inaccessible to children and should not be exposed to direct sunlight. The absence of humidity is also important, otherwise the product will quickly become unusable.
- In addition, it is highly undesirable for it to be accessible to pets.
Is it possible to use medications without a doctor's prescription?
Self-medication is generally not encouraged anywhere, because it can cause harm rather than help. Cerucal has contraindications, and an overdose will not bring anything good. If you are vomiting, you need to call a specialist at home, he will be able to make an approximate diagnosis, prescribe treatment to alleviate the condition, and then give a referral for examination.
If it is not possible to call a veterinarian at home, then you can give Cerucal to stop vomiting and calmly get to the clinic. You cannot prescribe the drug yourself and treat an animal with it without the appointment of a specialist!
"Cerucal" for cats: dosage
This item is for informational purposes only; using it you can calculate the dose for the animal in order to provide first aid. The further treatment plan is prescribed and calculated only by the veterinarian. The instructions for using Cerucal tablets are quite simple.
A correctly calculated dose is the key to success. You can calculate it yourself based on the weight and condition of the animal. For one kilogram of a cat you need to take 0.2 mg for mild vomiting and 0.4 mg for severe vomiting. Daily doses are also calculated individually - 2 times for mild cases and during course therapy of diseases and 4 times for severe cases.
The dosage of injections is also not difficult. In order to give a cat an injection, which will help faster than a pill, you also need to calculate the single and daily dose based on the weight and condition of the animal. Dosages are similar to tablets.
How to give/administer the drug
If we are talking about tablets, then you will need to crush them into powder, dilute them in a syringe without a needle or in a small spoon with a small amount of water. This will make it easier to give the medicine to the animal, and it will be absorbed faster. Next, open the cat’s mouth, carefully pour in the medicine as close to the root of the tongue as possible (to prevent the animal from choking, there is no need to sharply inject from a syringe or pour from a spoon). Lifting the animal's head and closing its mouth, wait until the drug is completely swallowed.
As for Cerucal injections for cats, they can be injected into a muscle, under the skin, or intravenously. If you are not a veterinarian and do not know how injections are given into a vein, and in general, how to find a vein in a cat, then you should abandon the last option. You can give an injection into the muscle of the upper thigh or inject the medicine into the withers.
Application of Cerucal for dogs
"Cerucal" is used in dogs for long-term incessant vomiting, when there is a threat of dehydration. It is advisable to use the medicine in consultation with a veterinarian, but in emergency cases it is permissible to administer it to the dog yourself. There will be no disastrous consequences for the animal if the dose is selected correctly (we will consider this issue in more detail below).
Dehydration in a dog
Causes of vomiting in dogs
Incessant vomiting occurs in dogs for the following reasons:
- peptic ulcer of the gastrointestinal tract;
- poisoning with stale food;
- parasites in the intestines;
- diseases of the central nervous system;
- cancerous tumors;
- the presence of a foreign object in the gastrointestinal tract;
- prolonged hiccups.
Indications for the use of the drug will be all of the above conditions, except for brain diseases. In this case, Cerucal can cause irreversible consequences and severe side effects.
Poisoning in a dog from poor quality food
Another indication for prescribing the medication will be studies of the gastrointestinal tract, when a probe (a device with a built-in video camera) is inserted into the dog’s stomach to examine the condition of the mucous membrane of the digestive organs. When it penetrates, a strong gag reflex occurs; the pet can interfere with the procedure. The veterinarian administers a prophylactic dose of Cerucal subcutaneously within 20-30 minutes. The same applies to x-ray examination of the dog. Before this procedure, a large amount of barium sulfate solution is injected into the stomach. It doesn't taste good and causes a gag reflex. The specialist successfully repays it using the described means.
Examination of the gastrointestinal tract in a dog
Dosing medication for dogs
The tablets are difficult to dose, but for large dogs their use is possible. There should be 0.5 active ingredient per 10 kg of pet weight. In 1 tablet its content is 10 mg. It is almost impossible to divide a tablet into 20 equal parts. Only if the dog weighs 20-30 kg can the dosage be carried out correctly.
Table 1. Indications for use and dose of “Cerucal” for vomiting in dogs.
Indications for use | Dose of the drug for every 10 kg of dog weight |
Peptic ulcer | 0.5 mg |
Intoxication (poisoning, helminthic infestation) | 0.7 mg |
Oncological diseases | 0.5 mg |
Hiccups | 0.5 mg |
The maximum amount of medication that can be given to an animal during the day without causing an overdose is 2 mg per 10 kg of dog weight. The dose should be divided into 3 parts and given one at a time throughout the day.
Dosing the injection solution is easier and more accurate. 2 ml of solution (one ampoule) also contains 10 mg of the drug. You can measure the required amount of medicine using an insulin syringe according to the marks on its reservoir.
Instructions for use
It is very difficult to give tablets to a dog. When vomiting, it is difficult for the owner to understand how much of the drug was absorbed into the pet’s blood and how much came back out with vomiting. There is a high probability of overdose if the tablet is reintroduced into the esophagus. If there is no other option, then dissolve the tablet in a small amount of water and add the solution to a syringe without a needle. With its help, squeeze the dissolved drug onto the root of the dog’s tongue and give it to drink so that the unpleasant taste does not cause repeated vomiting.
Administering medication using a syringe without a needle
Injections are easier to give. The dosage of the drug is carried out using an insulin syringe. They also give the injection. At home, subcutaneous injection into the withers is preferable. The skin on it is pinched with your hands, and at the same time a needle and drug are inserted under it. You can put the medicine into the muscle on the thigh, the main thing is not to insert the needle deep, because it can touch the bone - this is painful for the dog.
Injection into the dog's withers
Injection into a dog intramuscularly
The course of treatment with Cerucal is 3-5 days, the duration of use can be increased in consultation with the doctor.
Signs of overdose
Why shouldn’t you use the drug yourself? Because you can simply overestimate the animal’s weight (if there are no scales) or its condition and give more medicine than it should. Signs of an overdose can be even more frightening and cause more harm than vomiting itself, so you need to be extremely careful.
If you give too much Cerucal, the following symptoms may appear:
- the cat partially or completely begins to get confused in space, it sways, it falls, cannot get up, knocks over objects;
- heart rate becomes erratic;
- The worst thing is stopping breathing.
Treatment of overdose is symptomatic and carried out only under the strict supervision of a veterinarian.
Contraindications and restrictions
You should completely stop taking Cerucal if your cat has the following diseases:
- tumors, both benign and malignant;
- there are gastrointestinal bleeding;
- epileptic seizures occur;
- intestinal obstruction in case of blockage by foreign objects;
- intolerance of the animal to any components of the drug.
In addition, Cerucal is contraindicated in kittens, as the drug can cause irreparable damage to the liver.
The drug should be taken with caution in the following cases:
- renal failure;
- disturbances in liver function;
- animal pregnancy and feeding kittens.
In such cases, the drug should not be given independently, even for first aid. Only a veterinarian can calculate the dose correctly, and only under his supervision can Cerucal be given.
Characteristics and mechanism of action of the drug
Vomiting occurs as a result of irritation of receptors that ensure the passage of impulses from the intestines and the pylorus of the stomach to the corresponding centers of the brain.
The drug Cerucal stops vomiting in cats.
The active ingredients of Cerucal block these processes and also prevent other negative manifestations of the gastrointestinal tract associated with digestive disorders. This is an immediate aid that is quickly absorbed into the blood and begins to act a few minutes after intravenous administration and a quarter of an hour after intramuscular administration.
On a note! The effect of the tablets appears somewhat later, and for this reason, in case of severe stomach cramps and profuse vomiting, an injection solution should be used.
Side effects
Few medicines can boast of the absence of side effects. "Cerucal" in some cases can cause:
- overexcitability and nervousness of the animal;
- tachycardia;
- spontaneous contractions in muscles;
- extreme drowsiness;
- diarrhea;
- extreme thirst.
If any of the symptoms appear, the drug must be stopped. If symptoms do not disappear within 24 hours, you should immediately contact a veterinarian.
Side effects after taking Cerucal
The following side effects are possible:
- The animal exhibits vomiting and diarrhea.
- Various nervous system disorders, including irritability. Some pets develop causeless, uncontrolled aggression.
- The cat's heart rate increases and blood pressure increases. If the animal initially suffers from hypertension, this can lead to the death of the pet.
- The cat may become overly apathetic, and in some cases there may be serious depression.
- Tremors (shaking) and strong, involuntary contractions of skeletal muscles are possible.
- Some pets experience intense hypersalivation (excessive saliva is produced).
Reviews of "Cerucal" for cats
Many cat lovers have encountered such a problem as vomiting in a tailed cat. Some of these people left comments about the treatment of the animal with Cerucal. Here's what cat owners say: the medicine helps quickly, after just a week you can finish the diet and go back to your usual diet without worrying that your stomach simply won't accept the food. Convenient form of release - tablets are easy to give, but not every animal is able to swallow an unpleasant drug. None of those who wrote noted any side effects.