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How to give a cat activated charcoal | VETgirl Veterinary CE Videos

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In today’s VETgirl online veterinary CE video, we demonstrate how to administer activated charcoal to a cat. After all, we know that it’s extremely difficult to syringe a cat charcoal, especially when multiple doses are required. Tubing a cat (in other words, administering charcoal via an orogastric tube) can be easily performed in cats.

This 2-year-old cat had ingested a toxic amount of cholecalciferol (which is greater than 0.1 mg/kg). This can result in severe hypercalcemia and secondary acute kidney injury. As cholecalciferol undergoes enterohepatic recirculation, the use of multiple doses of activated charcoal is warranted.

In this cat, we used low dose dexmeditomidine to induce emesis (e.g., 7 mcg/kg, IM once). After the cat vomited, an intravenous catheter was placed and one dose of maropitant (1 mg/kg, IV) was given to prevent emesis. We used an empty syringe case as a temporary “mouth gag” to prevent the cat from biting down on the orogastric tube (which in this case was a 10 French red rubber catheter). We placed the orogastric tube directly into the center of the syringe case, and flushed a small amount of water into the tube (to ensure that the tube was not in the trachea). Often times, you’ll see the cat licking and swallowing as they sense the water going down their esophagus. I also “bolused” air directly into the tube via a 60 ml syringe while simultaneously ausculting the cat’s stomach region to listen for bubbling in the stomach; once these two methods were used to confirm correct placement of the orogastric tube, 60 mls of activated charcoal was administered quickly through the tube. NOTE: Remember how hard it is to intubate cats; thankfully due to their laryngospasm, the likelihood of accidentally placing a 10 French red rubber down their airway is rare; that said, always confirm correct placement of the tube!

So, when it comes to administering activated charcoal to cats, fear not! It’s easier to tube a cat charcoal than it is to syringe it to them. When in doubt, make sure to appropriately decontaminate your veterinary poisoned patients. If needed, contact the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center for life-saving advice 24/7 when needed.

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