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Benzocaine
Toxic doses for cat from published sources; they are not treatment doses.
Toxic doses
Single acute ingestion, mg of the substance per kg of body weight. These are toxic doses, not treatment doses.
| Species | Signs begin | Severe | Deaths reported | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Cat
also gels and creams licked off |
not established | not established | not established |
Wilkie & Kirby 1988
Low confidence
A case report (Wilkie & Kirby 1988), in line with reports in dogs and man. Scientific article A study or review published in a scientific journal. Its findings apply to the animals and conditions it studied. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, J Am Vet Med Assoc 1988;192(1):85-86, 1988 methaemoglobinaemia 15-20 min after benzocaine cream on the skin; reversed by IV methylene blue |
Cat
Signs: Methaemoglobinaemia within minutes: breathing difficulty, brown or bluish mucous membranes, vomiting, collapse.
Benzocaine on a cat's skin can cause methaemoglobinaemia within minutes. A cat developed respiratory distress, vomiting and collapse 15-20 minutes after benzocaine cream was put on its skin; intravenous methylene blue reversed it. It is an ester-type local anaesthetic in human pain and teething creams, gels and sprays: do not use benzocaine products on cats.
Safety information
Known Contraindications
-
Critical
(Cat) Do not use benzocaine (creams, gels, sprays) on cats: it caused methaemoglobinaemia with respiratory distress and collapse within 20 minutes of a skin application. That cat recovered with supportive care and intravenous methylene blue.
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