NSAIDs and pets don't mix - very poisonous to dogs and cats

Murphy may have ingested a Tylenol pill last night.

Got a headache, fever, or cramps?  We often reach for pain relief in the form of a pill.  Whether by their brand names or generic drug name, they help remediate some of these symptoms.  They are fine for us, but for dogs and cats, they can be killers.

Tylenol (acetaminophen), Advil (ibuprofen), and Aleve (Naproxen) are NSAID (non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs) that work well in humans but are toxic to pets.  The problem is two-fold in that small pets can easily receive a toxic dose.  Tylenol, for example, reaches toxicity at 100 mg/kg.  In humans, that dosage is toxic as well.

Murphy may have eaten a pill this morning.  He is a little over 5 kg and he may have eaten a 500 mg Tylenol last night.  If you do the math, you will find that it is near the 100 mg/kg dosage.  I gave Kathryn two pills as she has been feverish but she may have dropped one.  Murphy was heard crunching something in bed and later that night started shaking uncontrollably.  He didn't sleep at all, paced the room or lay with us in torment.  I also noted that his heart was racing and that he occasionally had odd breathing sounds.  We rushed him to the vet at 5 in the morning.

With Tylenol, the acetaminophen binds with hemoglobin and prevents the uptake of oxygen.  Later on, it attacks the liver.  In three days the dog can show signs of liver failure and in a week it can be dead.  It is even worse with cats; they often die from a single dose, no remedies.

For Murphy, they had him vomit, gave him some charcoal, and injected a drug to counteract the blood-binding properties.  I checked on him a few hours ago and he is doing fine - so far.  If he is still well this evening we can take him home.  However, in three days we have to take him back for another blood test and then we will see.  He will get some liver support meds to help him with this.

It may not be that at all; the actual problem could be something else, but his symptoms were very real and it will be a couple of days before we are sure.  In the meantime we don't have our dog, we spent $1500 for the vet (you heard right), and it will be a week before we know if he will be OK.

Be careful with your meds.  Keep them far away from your pets!

Thanks for reading.

Eric Svendsen     www.ericspix.com                          If you want to read more, click here.

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