Calamine lotion for pets?

Recently I’ve been tackling subscriber questions.

These questions range from basic pet care, to behavior training, and issues surrounding animals to veterinary medical care.

First, let me say this blog is dedicated to a variety of animal topics but mainly animal behavior training and careers.

Although I did study a variety of topics during my degree studies, this really isn’t the forum to tackle veterinary medical questions nor is the Internet a place to seek answers for veterinary medical issues.

Most animal professionals have a wide base of expertise to draw from (and that certainly is my case) but I want to encourage everyone that has a veterinary medical question or issue to seek a qualified veterinary clinic to assist you.

Your pet’s health is nothing to fool around with.

Now, I also want to stress that human oriented products are made specifically for humans–not pets.

This means that they can often be toxic or harmful to pets.

So, this is certainly the case when it comes to this question:

Is Calamine Lotion poisonous to cats? (What over the counter human remedy’s are toxic to animals?)

Caladryl aka (calamine lotion) is not recommended for pets as calamine lotion combines zinc oxide (ZnO), iron oxide (Fe2O3) and other ingredients that are toxic to pets if ingested.

The main concern I want to address is that it is critical to identify the source of the problem you want to solve for the pet because itching can be caused by physical irritation or chemical changes caused by disease, allergy, inflammation, side-effects of drugs, or another reaction–so get your pet in for a veterinary assessment.

Now if you are seeking the best place to research specific plants or products online, it would have to be the ASPCA Animal Poison Control or the pet poison hotline.

Keep in mind that a large number of over the counter human remedies are toxic to pets and the ASPCA site has many listed plus resources to help you–including a pet poison hotline.

ASPCA…resource for any animal poison-related emergency, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. If you think that your pet may have ingested a potentially poisonous substance, call (888) 426-4435. A $65 consultation fee may be applied to your credit card.

But please, always take the time to call your veterinary office to get the right products for your pet’s ailments and to get a proper assessment for the health and well-being of your animals.