Is it safe to give my cat children's Benadryl for car trips?

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! When using products like Benadryl to reduce anxiety and to help sedate the patient a bit, I prefer using them 15-30 minutes before. We unfortunately cannot prescribe a specific dose of a medication as this requires a patient doctor relationship which requires an in-person evaluation. However, this is something your veterinarian could prescribe as they have evaluated her. Keep in mind that Benadryl is not commonly used in cats for this purpose. I would recommend another product such as Feliway which you can find online or over the counter at your local pet store and this is likely going to be effective for this purpose. Best of luck!

I recommend you speak to your vet, as Benadryl will not be very effective in this situation, but there are other medications your vet may recommend that may be. You will likely need a health certificate for Ollie to travel on the plane anyway, so you can discuss it when you take Ollie to your vet to get one. Make sure you follow the airline's regulations about travelling with a pet, including carrier size, timing of obtaining the health certificate with regards to your flight, food and water bowls, etc. If you are travelling internationally, make sure you are following all regulations for export of pets from the area you are departing from, and import requirements for wherever you are going/ anywhere you may have a stopover with Ollie. Feliway pheromone spray may help as well: https://www.feliway.com Also see the link below for more information on travelling with Ollie: https://indoorpet.osu.edu/cats/felinelifestressors/traveling-your-cat Good luck, and have a safe trip!

I would suggest using benadryl or Dramamine rather then melatonin for your cats if they do not travel well. https://www.petcoach.co/article/6-human-medications-that-are-sometimes-safe-for-sick-pets/

Benadryl is generally quite safe for dogs so it's unlikely that this would cause any harm; however, it rarely does much to help with anxiety in my experience. A better option would be to talk to your veterinarian about prescription anti-anxiety medication such as alprazolam or trazodone - these medications are much more effective for anxious pets, and can be used as-needed for car rides or other situations that may cause stress :)

You can give ~12.5mg of dimenhydrinate as the cat dose. However, dramamine (same thing) is not a very good medication for sedation in cats. It works well for motion sickness. If you want an over the counter medication that generally works better as a sedative in cats, then try diphenhydramine (benadryl). Give 12.5mg (the children's dose, or 1/2 the adult dose). Benadryl tends to do a better job for sedation. Did your vet possibly say 30 MG, not ML? You're right, 30 ml is an entire ounce of liquid and I doubt that you'd get much in, as little as cats like getting medicine.

Benadryl (diphenhydramine) can be used for cats. Other over the counter antihistamines for use in cats include Chlor-Trimeton® (chlorpheneramine), Claritin® (loratadine) and Zyrtec® (cetirizine). You can get doses for any of the above from your veterinarian. Legally, we are prohibited from supplying doses for medications, even OTC meds, in the absence of a physical exam and a VPCR (Veterinarian-Patient-Client Relationship).

Yes, Benadryl is quite safe for long term use, but often causes excitement in cats. Always talk to your vet before giving Zach any medications to assure that the medication is necessary, safe and dosed appropriately.