Cat Information

Can giving a baby(81mg) asprin to a cat cause health problems?

The cat is 17 lbs. and limping from joint pain.

Public Comments

1. You should check with a vet before giving asprin. And there are other more appropriate pain meds, especially given your cat's age. Please, get it checked out.
2. You should never give human medication to your pet. You don't know the side effects. I would ask your vet for prescription specially for your cat.
3. Yes the best option you can do is to take it too the vet to assure that there are not any broken bones or swollen joints. Not all pain relievers and OTC meds for people are good for pets, it sometimes can cause major damage to their internal organs.
4. Yes. Aspirin is in fact administered to cats for arthritis by vets To be sure of the correct dosage go and see your local vet.
5. Cats metabolize aspirin very, very slowly. This means you should not give a cat an aspirin every day. Also, dosage is based on weight. At 17 lbs, a whole 81 mg aspirin tablet may be too much. I have a 12 lb. cat with arthritis. The vet recommended aspirin therapy for him. He gets 1/2 of an 81 mg tablet every other day. To be on the safe side, I would discuss it with your vet, especially if the cat is on other medications. Overdosing can lead to liver and kidney issues in cats, and you definitely don't want that.
6. aprin can very quickly become toxic. Yes there are vets that prescribe it for a variety of issues, my own cat was on it, but she got 1/4 of a baby asprin every three days! (it was for a heart condition) I would be more concerned with trying to fix the joint problem. There are supplements you can give (cosequin being one) to help with joint issues. You could also put the kitty on a healthy diet to help reduce the weight of your kitty which in turn should help the joints. Has the kitty seen a vet? could it possibly be a fracture you don't know about? cats are very good at hiding pain, so if you are noticing something then the kitty really should be looked at by a vet. As for weight control, check out http://www.catinfo.org It is a website run by a vet who studies feline nutrition and has had great success in reducing the bulk of overweight kitties.
7. YES! That 81 mg is probably way to much asprin for your feline friend, and since it is so easy to overdose a cat, ask your vet about prober dosage first. You should give your cat only what the veternarian prescribes at intervals of 48-72 hours. Cats metabolise medications much slower than we do, so overdosing is really easy to do accidentally! Glucosamine and condroitin powder can be bought over the counter at most pharmacies, adding a pinch of that to kitties food is much safer and less addicting than asprin. Why don't you try that first?
8. CALL YOUR VET.............Assuming that you have one, and that he/she is "up" on your cat and it's health. Aspirin is toxic to cats, and should never be given to them, UNLESS a VET prescribes it and knows what it's for! It's only to be used with EXTREME CARE!! Aspirin can cause dehydration, vomiting, staggering gait. Also, can cause toxicity in the liver, bone marrow, and gastrointestinal bleeding! There are other meds for joint pain...........so CALL YOUR VET! It's possible that the cat (he/she??) could have some other underlying "age-related" illness, that's exhibiting itself through lameness. If this were MY cat (and I have 13, from 3-15yrs), I'd take it to the vet ASAP.........Good luck.......
9. YES, YES, YES IT CAN!!!!!! IT CAN KILL THE POOR THING!!! Well, at least regular aspirin can. Aspirin, ibuprofen (Advil), and acetaminophen (an active ingredient Tylenol) CAN ALL KILL CATS!!!! I don't know if it can for the same reasons, but Tylenol can kill cats because "cats don't metabolize these painkillers very well." And also because "one tablet might be the correct dose for a 150-pound human, but the dose for a 10-pound cat is almost microscopically small. Even Baby Tylenol is made for a child that weighs a lot more than a cat." Anyway, "...don't give any over-the-counter product or home remedy to a sick pet-- at least not before first checking with your veterinarian."
10. Aspirin is toxic. Call your vet for suggestions on what you can SAFELY use on a cat. Most human meds would kill felines.
11. It wouldn't be a good idea. You should call the vet and ask someone there what you can do to help the pain.