Exploring Traditional & Natural Alternatives Of Treatment

What is Cerenia?
Cerenia is an antiemetic—a fancy word for a medication that helps combat nausea and vomiting. It’s often used to tackle motion sickness, as well as those queasy side effects from opioid pain meds, anesthesia, or even chemotherapy. This drug can also come to the rescue in severe cases of gastroenteritis, especially when dehydration is a concern for your pet.
Cerenia & Drug Interactions
Cerenia is highly protein-bound, so you’ll want to be cautious when using it alongside other highly protein-bound drugs. Its compatibility with many commonly used medications—like NSAIDs (for pain and inflammation), cardiac drugs, anticonvulsants, or behavioral meds—hasn’t been fully studied in dogs or cats. If your pet needs more than one medication, keeping a close eye on how they respond is key.
That said, studies have shown Cerenia works effectively when paired with chemotherapy drugs and opioids, making it a valuable tool for managing nausea in these cases. As always, teamwork with your vet is the best way to keep everything in balance!
How Does Cernia Work For Vomiting?
Vomiting is a pretty intricate process, managed by the emetic center—a hub of brainstem nuclei that take in sensory signals from all over the body, as well as chemical signals from the blood and cerebrospinal fluid. Enter maropitant citrate (Cerenia), a neurokinin 1 (NK1) receptor antagonist. It works by blocking substance P, a neuropeptide found in abundance within the emetic center. Since substance P is the main messenger that triggers vomiting, Cerenia’s ability to block it offers a broad-spectrum solution for both central (brain) and peripheral (body) causes of nausea.
But here’s the thing: Cerenia is essentially stepping in and impacting both the central and peripheral nervous systems to do its job. If there’s an option to support the body in a gentler, more natural way before reaching for a synthetic drug, you can bet that’s the route I’m taking first!
Vomiting: Symptoms vs. Root Cause
Pharmaceutical drugs can be effective at stopping symptoms, but they're terrible at addressing the root cause or supporting the body’s natural processes.
Is your pet vomiting? It’s time to ask the big questions:
WHY is your pet vomiting?
HOW MUCH are they vomiting?
WHAT are they vomiting?
Is their body using vomiting as a way to clear out something harmful, like a toxin or bad food choice, or is there something deeper going on? Our centralized medical industrial complex has trained us to think all symptoms are bad and need to be stopped immediately. But often, symptoms are the body’s way of waving a flag and saying, “Hey, pay attention!”
If my dog scarfed down something toxic or some trash-can “gooey deliciousness,” I’d actually want them to vomit to get it out of their system. But after a few rounds of the heaves, I’d also start planning my next steps because I don’t want them to get dehydrated—especially if we’re dealing with the dreaded combo of vomiting and diarrhea. That’s when a vet or ER visit jumps higher on my list. Thankfully, I haven’t had to face both issues at once (knock on wood!).
Real Life Experiences & Tested Remedies For Vomiting
Let me take you back many years with my then one-year-old Doberman, Riggs. That day is seared into my memory—I was still working out of my clinic. Riggs woke up with vomiting like I’d never seen before. Breakfast was out of the question, and he couldn’t even keep water down. It was unreal what kept coming out of him!
As a concerned pet parent, my mind immediately went to the dreaded possibilities: Did he eat something he shouldn’t have? Could it be an obstruction? Let’s face it—you can’t catch every little thing your pup gets into. I had clients to see, so off to the clinic we went. First up? X-rays and bloodwork. Thankfully, both came back unremarkable—big sigh of relief there.
Riggs stayed at the clinic while I finished my appointments. I don’t remember if he was given fluids, but in hindsight, it would’ve been a smart move to replace what he’d lost from all that vomiting. Then came the typical offerings: antibiotics for the “just in case” mystery bacterial infection and Cerenia to stop the vomiting. And what did I do? I politely declined both. My vet wasn’t surprised—it’s just how I roll. Riggs and I had our own plan.
Nux Vomica (Homeopathic Alternative)
If I’d thought about it, I would’ve given Riggs a couple of doses of Nux Vomica on the way to work that morning, (but hey, hindsight is 20/20)! Riggs turned the back seat of my car into a full-blown vomit disaster zone. It was messy. Really messy.
Once we got home, I did give him a few doses of Nux Vomica, the homeopathic remedy, and let him rest. No dinner for Riggs that night, and probably no breakfast the next morning either. But the vomiting stopped, and by the next day, while he wasn’t 100%, he was drinking water and keeping it down. By Monday morning, he was back to his usual happy, chaotic puppy self.
Aconitum (Homeopathic Alternative)
Back then, I was a total newbie to homeopathy (and honestly, I still feel like a novice sometimes!) But now, homeopathy is my first go-to when something seems off with one of my animals—before I consider anything else and after a few more years of experience, I know
Take vomiting as an example, especially when it’s a sudden onset. My first move these days would be reaching for Aconitum. You can find it in pellet form online or at your local natural food store, or in liquid form from Adored Beast (in their product called "Your Go 2"). I always keep both on hand—pellets for travel and bottles of Your Go 2 stashed around the house.
Cerenia, As An Appetit Stimulant?
Back to another faucet of Cernia: For years, veterinarians have used Cerenia not just to stop vomiting but also as an appetite stimulant. Now, technically, it’s not an appetite stimulant—it’s an anti-nausea medication. But because it helps curb nausea, it can sometimes encourage a dog to eat. Here’s the kicker, though: the number one side effect of Cerenia is decreased appetite. So, is it really worth using a drug to get your pet to eat? Will it even work? And most importantly, does your pet need to eat right now?
Take Riggs’ situation as an example. After his bout of vomiting, there was absolutely no reason for him to eat for 24-36 hours. His body needed that time to reset and recover. But if your pet is going through chemo and really needs those calories, reaching for Cerenia might feel like the right call—and that’s okay too.
The idea behind using Cerenia for appetite issues is that dogs who won’t eat are often feeling nauseous, even if they’re not actually vomiting. By easing that nausea, it might just help them return to their food bowl.
An Alternative For Nausea
If you’re looking for a natural option, homeopathy has some great choices! For example, motion sickness from traveling—like carsickness—is the issue, Tabacum 30 every 1-3 hours can do the trick. Even if nausea shows up for no obvious reason, Tabacum in its homeopathic form is a first line consideration.
In Summary
Before diving into my research on Cerenia, I had a much more negative opinion of it. Now, I’d put it in my “maybe” category—depending on the situation. For something like motion sickness? Nope. I’d try every natural option under the sun first.
That said, Cerenia has been around for years, with a reputation for minimal side effects. There are times and places where it is worth considering, perhaps after natural alternatives have been unsuccessful.
Personally, my view is that sometimes the issues we face as pet parents can be messy, and for me, it’s worth it to support the body’s natural processes instead of suppressing them. Every single pharmaceutical drug suppresses the body’s innate healing mechanisms. So, the next time you’re deciding how to help your pet, keep this in mind: sometimes the messy route is the one that truly leads to healing.
At the end of the day, it’s about weighing your options and choosing what’s best for your pet’s specific needs. Whether it’s natural remedies or more conventional routes, having a plan is what matters most! 🐾
I hope this article gives you some helpful and informative insights—it’s always a win to walk into the vet’s office armed with knowledge!

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Citations
Diemunsch P, Grelot L. Potential of substance P antagonists as antiemetics. [Review] [60 refs]. Drugs. 2000;60:533-46.