We do everything to help our feline friends, so it’s heartbreaking when a medication that’s meant to help ends up being life-threatening.
Ingredients like eprinomectin [epp-rin-oh-MEC-tin], ivermectin [eye-ver-MEC-tin], selamectin [sell-ah-MEC-tin] and cisapride [SIS-ah-pride] are found in popular medications, including parasiticides. They’re safe and effective in most cats but can cause serious adverse effects in cats with a mutation in the MDR1 gene. These cats can’t prevent drugs like these — and maybe others — from entering the brain and causing severe, sometimes fatal, neurotoxic reactions.
Researchers estimate that up to 4% of cats — about 4 million just in the U.S. — have at least one copy of the MDR1 mutation. That’s why they recommend that all cats be tested to ensure their medications won’t hurt them.a