How to give activated carbon to a cat - methods and when can the absorbent be used?

Activated carbon is widely used in veterinary practice to combat metabolic disorders. It is recommended to give medicine to cats in the form of a powder or suspension, but you can also resort to tablets. Despite the effectiveness of the pharmaceutical product, it has contraindications for use, so its use must be agreed with a veterinarian.

Properties of the drug

The medicine is obtained from charcoal that has undergone heat treatment. For diarrhea, poisoning and vomiting, this absorbent can be used not only for people; activated charcoal can be given to a kitten and older pets. The medicine is most effective when eliminating toxic substances that have not yet left the gastrointestinal tract. Manufacturers add starch and glucose to the crushed coal powder, which, when entering the body, stabilizes basic processes and also reduces stress, which is often observed during poisoning. Carbon absorbents normalize the functioning of the kidneys and liver. The medicine is produced in the form of suspension, powder, tablets and capsules. It is better to give activated charcoal to kittens in powder form or pre-grind the tablets into a powder.

What can poison a dog?

• Poor quality, spoiled food. No, you cannot feed your dog missing food. The stomach of animals is by no means “tinned”; they can also become ill from sour milk or moldy bread.

• All kinds of household chemicals. We humans know that we should not drink shampoos, but how do animals know this? The cause of poisoning can be household, cosmetic and chemical products left unattended.

• I. If your dog is not trained to ignore treats scattered on the streets, drive him around with a muzzle. Unfortunately, the animal can eat not only dead meat, but also treats with poison scattered by dog ​​hunters.

• Snakes and poisonous insects. A viper can bite a dog too - and it is important to see what kind of viper bit your pet, because it depends on what kind of serum the veterinarian will inject. No matter how tempting it may be, try not to let your dog off leash in unfamiliar areas that are potentially infested with snakes or poisonous insects.

• Medicines. Finally, the dog may overdose on the medication. The veterinarian gives a clear dosage, which is why self-medication is so dangerous. Paracelsus also said: “Everything is poison and everything is medicine”: this means that in a small dose a tablet can bring relief, but in a large dose it can become deadly.

Benefits and harms

The drug will help an animal that has eaten something wrong.
The advantage of using this medication lies in the fact that its systematic use helps prevent the occurrence of food poisoning. In addition, the medicine is also effective for cats in cases where metabolic disorders have already occurred. The benefits of activated carbon lie in the removal of heavy metal salts and relief from bloating after eating a large amount of food. However, the medication can also cause harm to the body. If given to cats over a long period, bowel problems may develop. In addition, long-term use of pharmaceuticals sometimes causes leaching of useful substances from the body.

Prevention of poisoning in cats

For preventive purposes, the medicine is prescribed 1 tablet per day, by mixing it with food. Before adding it, it must be crushed into powder and mixed into food in small portions throughout the day, so that the pet does not sense the presence of the medicine.

Also, for the purpose of prevention, certain points that can provoke poisoning should be observed:

• It is not recommended to grow poisonous plants at home;
• medicines and household chemicals should be kept out of the reach of your pet;
• do not leave food that is not intended for animal consumption unattended;
• close the trash can tightly;
• carry out preventive measures against fleas and ticks in a timely manner, but only with products for cats and taking into account weight (replacing the medicine with an analogue for dogs can provoke poisoning).

To summarize, we can say that activated charcoal can be given to a cat at the first symptoms of poisoning. However, if there is no improvement within 24 hours or if the pet becomes worse after taking it, then you should contact a veterinary clinic to prescribe effective treatment.

Preparation and application

With this drug you can give an animal an enema.
First of all, veterinarians from the Zoovet clinic recommend giving your pets an enema with an activated carbon suspension. To prepare it, you will need to take about 20 g of powder or tablets that have been previously crushed and dissolve them in warm water. The enema is administered using a baby syringe. It is permissible to resort to this manipulation for any type of intoxication of the body.

Once the enema has been done, the cat will need to be given activated charcoal orally. It is recommended to adhere to the following dosage: 1 g of the powdered state of the medicine per 1 kg of body weight of the pet. For a kitten who is not yet six months old, one crushed tablet is enough. The medication will need to be mixed with purified water at room temperature to obtain a mixture that has the consistency of fairly thin sour cream. Then the cat owner needs to arm himself with a syringe, having first removed the needle from it, and draw the resulting mixture into it.

The animal will need to be seated on your lap so that its back rests against the owner's stomach. You should carefully lift the cat's head and pull back the lip. Next, you need to insert a syringe into the hole between the jaws and inject the medication. It is important to wait until the cat makes a swallowing movement, stroking it in the neck area, after which you can lower the pet’s head.

The procedure will need to be repeated after 2 hours. On average, it is recommended to do about 4 such manipulations. Once your cat stops vomiting, mixing activated charcoal with water is no longer recommended. Veterinarians advise giving the whole tablet, placing it on the root of the cat’s tongue.

How to calculate dosage

In pharmacies, the drug is most often found in the form of black porous tablets of 250 mg. It is produced for humans, so the instructions do not contain instructions for treating animals. Each tablet is calculated for 10 kg of weight. An adult cat is given 0.5 - 1 piece at a time, half is enough for a kitten. Increasing the dose by 2 times does not bring negative side effects; if it is greatly exceeded, the cat develops constipation. If charcoal is not removed within a day, then the reverse process begins: toxins from it return to the intestines and treatment becomes useless.

The frequency and duration of administration depends on the severity of the animal’s condition. On average, coal is given 3–4 times a day with an interval of 3 hours for 3–7 days. If improvements are noticed the next day, the dose is halved. If there is no result after 5 days, veterinary attention and additional medications for treatment will be required. The absorbent neutralizes toxins in the intestines, but does not affect them after they enter the blood.

Is it acceptable to use on pregnant and lactating cats?

For females expecting offspring, the use of this drug is allowed.
The medication is completely eliminated from the body, so veterinarians note that it is not dangerous to the health of both the cat and its offspring. Often during pregnancy, pets experience vomiting or diarrhea after childbirth. In such a situation, veterinarians often prescribe the use of activated carbon.

Treatment of poisoning in a veterinary clinic

Before starting to treat a cat with poisoning, the doctor must obtain from the owner information about what, in the owner’s opinion, the cat was poisoned with, whether there was vomiting (it would be a good idea for the owner to take a sample of the vomit with him), whether there was diarrhea, what chronic diseases your cat has, and etc. A quick clinical examination is carried out and resuscitation measures begin.

The cat is given a drip with 40% glucose. General stimulants (Gamavit, Katazol, Vitam, Vitamin C) and detoxifying drugs, hepatoprotectors (Essentiale), cardiac drugs (camphor, caffeine, cordiamine), antiemetics (Cerucal), and antidiarrheal drugs are administered intravenously. In case of severe poisoning, the drip to the cat is repeated every other day.

To normalize water-salt metabolism, the cat is injected intravenously with Ringer's solution. When treating poisoning, veterinary specialists also use antispasmodics - no-shpa, baralgin.

In order to speed up the elimination of poisons that have entered the body, diuretics are prescribed.

Depending on the general condition of the body, a veterinarian may additionally resort to symptomatic treatment.

Adverse reactions

Rarely, pets may develop constipation in response to drug therapy.
Mostly activated carbon and Polysorb are well tolerated by the cat’s body and do not cause side effects. However, some pets experience a deterioration in the absorption of hormones, vitamins, microelements and other beneficial components. It is possible that prolonged constipation may occur, as a result of which breakthrough diarrhea or hemorrhoids often develop. Activated carbon can also affect the activity of gastric juice, reducing it. The safest side effect is considered to be a change in the color of stool to black.

Types of diarrhea and diagnosis

The color, consistency and smell of diarrhea differ in each case and allow an accurate diagnosis to be made.

Diagnosis of stool by consistency

The consistency and presence of various inclusions in the stool make it possible to determine the problem organ:

• vomiting with foam and loose stools are symptoms of food poisoning;
• feces with mucus are the result of damage to the large intestine, while the cat often strains to no avail;
• diarrhea with blood - the result of infection or internal parasites;
• watery diarrhea is a symptom of mild poisoning or a disease without damage to the intestines.

Diagnosis of stool by color

The color of feces most fully allows you to determine the problem with your pet’s health:

• yellow diarrhea signals an incomplete digestive process; food has not been digested sufficiently;
• black stool is the result of taking iron-containing drugs, an excessively “meaty” diet, severe damage (bleeding) of the small intestine;
• green diarrhea is formed as a result of rotting processes of spoiled food in the intestines;
• white color indicates the absence of bile in the stool as a result of pathologies of the biliary tract;
• orange color is an indicator of liver problems, severe intoxication of the cat’s body.

Signs of the most dangerous diseases are inclusions of blood and mucus, black, white and orange stool. In these cases, contacting a veterinarian should be done immediately.

Methods for treating diarrhea in cats

Pharmaceutical analogues

Pharmacy chains offer a wide selection of medications that have a similar mechanism of action on the cat’s body. Carbopect and Polysorb will help you cope with poisoning and other metabolic disorders. At the same time, it is important for pet owners to pay attention to the fact that it is strictly prohibited to independently replace a medication prescribed by a veterinarian, even with a similar one. The decision to replace can only be made by the doctor, who takes into account the presence of concomitant diseases in the cat, age and individual characteristics of its body.

General information

Diarrhea (popularly called diarrhea) is a digestive disorder that requires mandatory treatment. With each bowel movement, the pet's body loses a large amount of fluid, weakens and becomes depleted. If not treated promptly, diarrhea can lead to the death of the animal.

Diarrhea is often accompanied by nausea, abdominal pain, and vomiting. The animal experiences discomfort, anxiety, stress. He loses his appetite.

Diarrhea in a cat: how to properly treat an upset stomach

Diarrhea may also be accompanied by:

• fever;
• flatulence;
• fatigue, lethargy;
• nausea;
• vomiting;
• bloody discharge.

Diarrhea is not an independent pathology, it is only a symptom of existing health problems in your pet.

Charcoal for diarrhea

Approximately 25% of pet owners' visits to veterinarians related to poisoning result in the prescription of activated charcoal. Therefore, cat owners must be able to distinguish one type of poisoning from another and know in what cases it is appropriate to give this remedy to the animal, and what it can be combined with.

Due to the fact that the drug acts as a cure only for the symptoms of diarrhea, it does not eliminate the real causes of the problem.

Overdose

Side effects from activated carbon are rare; symptoms of overdose correspond to severe constipation. Since the drug, as mentioned above, absorbs a large amount of liquid and mucus.

Symptoms:

• the animal tries to go to the toilet, strains, but feces do not come out;
• severe dehydration; if you lift a cat by the withers, it then does not straighten out for some time;
• dry, cracked stool;
• stomach ache;
• a lump is felt in the abdomen.

a large amount of water along with the charcoal . Enveloping drugs and agents that enhance intestinal motility will help the dense lump come out (the latter may not be given in case of diarrhea).

Features of the treatment of small kittens

When an animal has diarrhea, charcoal does not distinguish between harmful and beneficial substances. If the kitten is given any other medications, then charcoal may reduce their effectiveness, so it is better to give it to your pet an hour after taking the other medications.

The drug has a positive effect on the intestines, so it is allowed to be used even when the pet is severely weakened.

Coal will eliminate symptoms of intoxication in case of mild food poisoning or during a diet change.

Chemical composition of activated carbon

Activated carbon is a raw form of graphite. It is obtained by heat treatment of wood. It can also be obtained from any substance that contains carbons in sufficient quantities. Most often, coconut peel is used for this.

The resulting substance is a porous light mass. In terms of its chemical structure, it is a crystal, the layers of which are held together by carbon bonds. The final structure depends on the feedstock and the manufacturing process from which the sorbent is obtained.

The “activation” process clears the active substance of foreign impurities, freeing up space for binding with other molecules, ions or atoms. Cleansing the body with activated carbon is based on adsorption: toxin molecules are captured by the external or internal surface of the sorbent.

How to avoid poisoning?

• The child should be taught to wash his hands after visiting the toilet and before eating. Eat only washed vegetables and fruits;
• parents follow the rules for storing and preparing food;
• you cannot buy products of dubious quality in spontaneous markets and stores;
• you should not cook for future use in the summer months;
• when bathing children in ponds, it is worth remembering that pathogens of intestinal infections can live there;
• do not allow children to pick berries and mushrooms without adult supervision;
• do not feed mushroom dishes to children under 7 years of age;
• Medicines and various chemicals must be stored exclusively out of the reach of children.

Health to you and your child!

What to feed a child after poisoning?

Dishes are warm, pureed or served in crushed form - rubbed through a sieve or processed in a blender.

What can you eat after poisoning? Ready-made baby products are perfect for this: meat and fish soufflés, vegetable purees, porridge or home-cooked boiled or steamed dishes. On the contrary, you should exclude: cucumbers, tomatoes, cabbage, wheat, pearl barley porridge.

What can you eat after a period of intoxication? During the recovery period, the menu consists of: boiled chicken meat, buckwheat porridge, natural yogurt, low-fat fish, kefir.

Diet period - 2-3 weeks from the moment of poisoning in children.

Treatment at home with the help of dietary nutrition will help to avoid chronic diseases of the digestive system and other complications.

Now let's talk about what to do while you are waiting for the doctor. So…

When the remedy is needed

The product is used to combat toxins. This is necessary in the following cases:

1. When bacteria penetrate the animal’s body, the drug removes fermentation products from the gastrointestinal tract that cause bloating.
2. When infected with worms, charcoal removes mucus elements and toxic substances produced by worms.
3. For food poisoning, tablets are indispensable because they will quickly rid the body of harmful substances.

But the remedy does not remove the cause of diarrhea. This suggests that it is only suitable for symptomatic treatment.

Contraindications for use and possible side effects

The main situations in which coal will not help:

1. After 1.5 hours, the toxin will already be absorbed into the blood and taking the drug will be useless.
2. Another contraindication is a situation in which the toxicant cannot be bound by coal molecules. This happens when poisoned with salts of heavy metals, ethylene glycol, and alcohol-containing substances.
3. For salt poisoning (salt toxicosis).

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 why it is not only possible, but also necessary to give your cat activated charcoal are the following diseases and symptoms:

• poisoning;
• flatulence;
• diarrhea;
• increased acidity of gastric juice;
• allergic reactions;
• renal failure.

If your pet exhibits one or even several symptoms, you should not even think about whether activated charcoal can be given to cats. However, it is worth mentioning that the most convenient forms of this drug for pets are suspension, paste and powder.