Can I give my cat Pepcid daily for months? Is it safe long-term?

In the long term, there is a thought the chronic famotidine use may decrease some nutrient absorption and lead to excessive gastric acid production with possible esophageal acid reflux if it is discontinued. However, most internal medicine specialists still preferentially recommend famotidine over other antacids (such as omeprazole/Prilosec) for chronic use as it is a bit more "mild" in its mechanism of action. I know you mentioned changing foods, but consider discussing a diet trial with a hydrolyzed "hypoallergenic" diet with Brody's vet. If he has a degree of a food allergy or inflammatory bowel disease causing his vomiting and skipping of meals, these hydrolyzed diets fed for 2-3 months can remove a lot of antigenic stimulation in the GI tract and potentially prevent a lot of GI upset.

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. Indigestion / reflux can be a life long problem so Pepcid AC may need to be given for the rest of Darby's life. Changing food to a hydrolyzed protein diet such as Hills Z/D or Royal Canin Ultamino may also help reduce the reflux as it may be dietary related. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

Yes, you can give 10mg of Pepcid (famotidine). It should be given once a day at the same time each day. You can give it for 14 days straight and then stop. Hopefully the problem will have resolved by then.

We do sometimes dose Famotodine twice daily in some patients, and normal recommended doses are 0.5 to 1.1 mg per kg of body weight every 12-d24 hours. The recommended dose/frequency can vary if the pet has underlying kidney disease, so I would recommend discussing any dosing changes with your cat's vet.

Hi there! I'm not sure what the reasoning is on avoiding it with kidney disease in humans, but I can tell you that it's used extremely commonly in dogs with chronic kidney disease without any problems. It's a very safe drug in general, and can often be helpful for patients with this problem because kidney failure can cause excessive acid production in the stomach. The Pepcid helps with this.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! While that could help, it is still unlikely to result in resolution of his vomiting and it is crucial to find out what is causing his severe vomiting. I hope he starts feeling better soon! Good luck and have a great day!

The quarter tablet that you gave is absolutely fine. And the time at which you gave the famotidine is absolutely fine. What you did did not cause any harm so do not worry. I would stick with what was originally told for the famotidine dose though. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any further questions or concerns and I'll be more than happy to help.