Dogs and cats can take human over-the-counter (OTC) antihistamines, but they really don’t work well, particularly for an acute flare.
Research has shows that only 6.7% of dogs taking Benadryl (diphenhydramine), 15% of dogs taking Zyrtec (ceterizine), and 0% of dogs taking Claritin (loratidine) improved satisfactorily! Could your pet be one of the lucky ones? Maybe. OTC human medications are more likely to help if you start the medication before your dog shows signs of allergies.
Benadryl is dosed at 1 mg/pound of body weight for your dog, every 12 hours. It is very bitter-tasting to cats and not recommended (your cat might froth at the mouth for hours!) The other OTC medications are based on the weight of your pet, so please contact your veterinarian for specific doses if you want to try them.
Instead of wasting time and money on medications that probably won’t work, I recommend asking your veterinarian about Apoquel, Cytopoint, or Atopica for Cats. All of these are very effective at stopping the signs of allergies in pets (licking, scratching, biting) and will bring faster relief to your pet.
Once your pet’s itching is under control, you can then work with your vet to come up with a diagnosis for the itching. This allergy advice may include parasite control (fleas, mites), a therapeutic diet trial, and/or allergy testing.
Dr. Scarlett
