Cat has allergies - need Rx

Question
My 2 year old cat has allergies and with the spring pollen she is very miserable, sneezing and runny nose.  Can I give her a small dose of Benedryl or something else? She weighs 9.3 lbs and is otherwise healthy.

Answer
Bill,

I would strongly recommend you ask your vet.  While it is okay to give benadryl to a cat, you MUST give a dose that is calculated based on your cat's weight, otherwise you can give too much which could have adverse side effects.  Also, benadryl is more appropriate to be used for an acute allergic rxn to something like a bug or insect bite--not allergies to pollen.  

There are more appropriate antihistamine drugs that can be used for your cat's allergies.  The other reason it would be a good idea to see your vet is because the sneezing and runny nose could actually be symptoms of a URI (upper respiratory illness).  They present in the same way, and even though your cat may act fine otherwise, those symptoms could need a completely different treatment.  

Please call your vet and let him/her know what's going on with your cat.  Then they can make the decision whether to rx benadryl, and if so, rx the correct dose (the lowest dose of benadryl available OTC is still likely too much for a cat) so your cat doesn't get too much.  

Savannah