In order to prevent some minor illnesses, families now keep a medicine box at home for emergencies. I don't know that the medicine box may also attract the attention of cats. You know, cats are curious animals, and nothing can escape their eyes, but the medicine in the medicine box is dangerous to cats. Let's talk about how to keep the cat away from the medicine box.
The family medicine box must be locked away and kept out of the reach of cats. It is necessary to develop the good habit of putting the medicine back in the medicine cabinet after eating, so as to prevent the cat from eating by mistake because of curiosity. Some volatile drugs must be covered tightly, and drugs used by people and cats should be separated. At the same time, don't give cats the medicine they eat casually. If they want to feed them, they should consult a veterinarian first.
Common drugs that can poison cats are aspirin and acetaminophen. ? Aspirin has been used for one hundred years and has become one of the three classic drugs in medical history. It is still the most widely used antipyretic, analgesic and anti-inflammatory drug in the world, and it is also the standard preparation for comparing and evaluating other drugs. It is also commonly used in canine medicine to treat pain or fever of eyes, bones and muscles, and as an auxiliary treatment of filariasis. The detoxification and excretion of aspirin mainly depend on the liver to combine this product with glucuronic acid. Except cats, most adult mammals have enzymes that bind aspirin to glucuronic acid in their livers. Cats' ability to detoxify and excrete this product is quite poor, which increases the toxicity and sensitivity of the drug. Therefore, if cats eat aspirin by mistake or their owners force them to feed aspirin, it will cause serious poisoning reactions, including depression, anorexia, disorientation, vomiting, diarrhea, jaundice, coma and even death!
Acetaminophen, also known as propranolol and paracetamol, is the most common analgesic and antipyretic drug, which is commonly used when people have a fever and will not have the disadvantage of aspirin hurting the stomach. It is a deadly poison for cats, and almost all cold medicines on the market contain acetaminophen! Because cats can't metabolize acetaminophen, it will cause heme disease in their blood. As long as it is about 50 mg, cats will have symptoms of poisoning; 500 mg can kill a cat of about 3 kg; Even a small amount can cause asymptomatic liver poisoning! Poisoning symptoms include cyanosis, denatured hemoglobin, anemia, hematuria, jaundice, facial edema and even death.
There are also some commonly used drugs at home, such as painkillers, antineoplastics, antidepressants, diet pills and so on. A small dose may poison the cat, so be sure to read the ingredients of the medicine carefully before feeding the cat to ensure the cat's health.