can you use human anti-biotics on cats. my friends cat has an upper respiratory infection and wants to use?

He should really call the vet, human and animal dosages will be very different, and most likely a different medication all together. I know its a bummer to have to take them in, but tell him if he waits the cat will just get sicker and in the end he will spend more money later on when the cats gwets even worse.. So go now and get it taken care of.

Get some pet insurance, and never give medicine that is prescribed to you for your animals. Diagnosing an animal can be difficult, and the animal you are referring to may not have what you are calling an upper respiratory infection. If you treat an animal for something that it does not have with medication you have no true dosing for, you might put the animal at risk for other complications.

Best solution to your VET dilemma, is to 1)get pet insurance 2) find a clinic that will treat on a sliding fee scale(check ASPCA in your area). 3)Take up a vet fund from friends and family members, and get your animal to the vet as soon as possible because the condition will worsen and be more expensive to treat. The vet bill will range from $80.00 conservatively to over the top $260.00 depending on in office services.

you can give dogs and cats amoxicillan, but if he has a respritory infection he might want to see the vet, because he may need more than an antibiotic. he could need a few steriods to get him back on track. if your friend does give the cat amoxicillan, only give him about 1/2 a CC in a medicine dropper of it, twice a day and see how he reacts, make sure he watches him and he shows no sign of an allergic reaction. if he does seem to be allergic or he gets worse quickly, then he WILL need to see a vet asap Good Luck

No offense but now I understand why it's like trying to adopt a child when you try to get a cat/dog. It's truly amazing how many people lack what I seem to think as common sense. DO NOT give your animal human ANYTHING! ITrust me I know animal medical expenses are overwhelming but it's not fair to his cat to let him sit there and be sick. Although vets to give cats human meds it's in a different form and much lower dosages. I know it seems convenient but this may harm your animal much more and possible life threatening. If he can't care for the cat please give it to some agency/

A way around this is to take the cat in and then re adopt it. It's not exactly the most hinest thing but your cat will get cared from from agency and you'll only have to pay the re adoption fee. (make sure you take to a no kill place)

Any precribed antibiotic is given for a reason (certain antibiotics are used for certain types of infections). Even though the names may be interchangeable the dosages and durations are not.

Humans are not supposed to keep old antibiotic prescriptions around the house. They are meant to be used until they are gone. Same with the cat. The vet needs to decide on the right antibiotic and the owner needs to give it in the right dosage for the precribed length of time.

If you give "left-over" antibiotics the cat will not get the full dose he needs as there won't be enough for him. The cat may not need antibiotic at all. Antibiotics are not at all effective on viral infections in the first place.

Many antibiotics are the same but the difficult thing is knowing whether to give one and what one will be effective. Also dosage must be correct as cats are very sensitive to some substances. I would not risk it and I would take the cat to the vet. It can be difficult to get rid of upper respiratory infections.

You need to consult the vet. Even with the same medicine, the dosage will be different. You shouldn't play around with medicine and your cat. You could overdose or give something toxic. A course of antibiotics from the vet isn't expensive.

NEVER USE HUMAN MEDICATION ON A PET WITHOUT CONSULTING WITH A VETERINARIAN.

Most people do more damage than good.

What if it is not an upper resp. infection? If it is a URI it may be caused by a virus - in which case antibiotics will be of little value.

When your cat gets really ill because you have been screwing around instead of taking it to the vet your bill will be twice as much.

URIs in cats are viral. Generally there is no need for antibiotics, unless the viral infection turns into a bacterial infection. If the cat is eating and otherwise acting fine there is no need for Antibiotics at this time, but if it worsens the cat needs to go to the vet, may need an x-ray to see if there is pneumonia.

Yes these medications are used in pets, but at very different doses, and neither are the antibiotic of choice for URIs

Cephalexin is a good broad spectrum antibiotic which means it is useful in most common and uncomplicated infections. It is especially useful against Staphylococcal infections (most skin infections) and is commonly used for long (6-8 week courses) against deep skin infections ("pyodermas").

SIDE EFFECTS

Nausea may be seen in some individuals receiving cephalexin. In general, this problem is solved by giving the medication with food.

Occasionally cats will develop a fever in response to cephalexin. If this occurs, a different antibiotic should be selected. The veterinarian should be informed.

The vet gives cephalexin to my dog. I also take it. It is a pennicillin-type drug that is fairly effective in treating respiratory infections