Will the vet give me sedatives over the counter?

[PinkTulips]

we're moving house at the weekend and need to bring our cat but he's barely domesticated. i tamed him from stray and he's still very nervous.

we've never been able to travel with him, the only time i tried him in the box he battered his way out so i've no idea how to get him into the car and keep him there for 1.5 hours.

will the vet give a mild sedative over the counter do you think?

the vet will not be allowed to give medication over the counter for a cat he has not seen, if he has been to the vet in the past year then he may be able to offer something, although im not sure if there is any sedatives taht are that effective.

you might like to try something called feliway, it is a pheremone spray that you can spray in the basket before he goes in it and that may help to calm him down, this is very effective but as you know it is difficult with an almost feral cat. Have a word with your vets and see what they can offer.

he's never been to vets (despite badly needing to) for the same reason.

the thing is although he's half feral he is extremely attached to us (dp especially) and does rely on us for food and shelter, he was very little when his mother started bring him with her for food and i started taming him so he's never had to fend for himself

No, you usually require an appointment in this country. In France you can get over counter - I've got some left over somewhere if interested?!

Which is probably illegal of me to suggest but hey ho!

lol, i would but i need them for sat so probably not enough time for your royal mail to get them here!

i', in ireland so might pop to the vets to see what the story is over here (fingers crossed)

your vet should be sympathetic and offer something but nothing is going to be ideal im afraid. Do ask about the FELIWAY as you dont have to administer it, because if he is semi feral you are going to battle with sedatives. It might be different in ireland regarding prescription medicines but we are bound that we can't even sell some flea products that you can actually buy over the counter in the pharmacist unless we have seen the animal in the past year. Daft! The only other bit of advice i can offer is to make sure that the basket is dark and that he travels on an empty tummy.

will do, his smelly blanket he sleeps on will be in there with him and i'll cover him with a sheet to keep it dark. just hope he's home that morning or we'll have to come back the next day to hunt him down!

thanks for the advice

no

very different in Ireland - over there blacksmiths can use iv sedation on horses, over here must get vet so quite possible vet might let you have some sedatives without seeing cat.

PinkTulips, I went to our vet to get something to calm our dog down for a long car journey and do you know what she recommended?....... Medised, it has the same ingredient in it than the sedatives they give, I tried it and it worked!!

Thought I'd better add, I've already recommended Medised once before tonight for a snuffly baby but it definately does make pets sleepy for car journeys too, on my vets advice HTH.

unfortunately medised isn't available over here (many a night i've longed for it though!)

that's interesting about the blacksmiths.... might be promising then.

i'm sure they'll want to avoid yet another stray in the area which is what will happen if we can't get him in the car so hopefully they'll be cool about it.... it's not lie i want enough to do anything if a human did take it, just enough to calm him a little for an hour or 2

Pink Tulips, what about Benyllin (cough medicine, non drowsy of course), that has the same ingredient in it too, by the way where are you? .

ireland

any luck at the vets?

It's great stuff, that Medised, don't you know anyone who can bring you a bottle or 6?. The cough medicine works too apparently, good luck and hope you get sorted out .

I would of thought the vet eould need to know the weight of the cat so he/she can prescribe the right dose. I wouldn't of thought they would be able to give it if they haven't seen the cat though (although I know different countries regulations can vary HUGELY!). I know you may have already tried this but what about covering the cat basket with a thickish blanket? (Obiously make sure the poor thing can still breathe!) I think the dark is supposed to calm most animals down. Or what about a herbal calmative from the pet shop? Not sure of any brands for felines that actually work but maybe the pet shop could reccommend? I know a lot or the herbal remedies work for horses. Also Magnesium and Vit E is good for calming down spooky, nervous horses but not sure if it's safe for cats or the dose you'ld give. Good luck though. I'll be as stressfull for you worrying about the cat as it will be for the actal cat so maybe you need something too! LOL . Oooh what about Bach rescuse remedy? That's really good...

Excuse the spelling mistakes!

Bach Rescue Remedy - works a treat. Few drops in the your cat's mouth will calm him down. Used it on my dog for her to travel transatlantic. In fact used it on her many times for travel as she was a terrible traveller and car sick too. You can actually buy a spray one now which might be easier for you to squirt into his mouth.

oh fabulous... i have some of that!

if the vets is a bust, which i'm betting it will be, i'll try him on that.

we've arranged for a friend to help out and drive the kids for us so we won't have o deal with frightened angry cat and kids simultaneously so if all else fails i''l just spend the 1.5 hours physically holding the door of the box closed and hope to god the silly thng hasn't injured himself when we get there!

I hope you got things sorted

I just wanted to add, seditives only sedate the body, not the mind. so even if the aniaml seems peacful and calm it is still freaking out in its head!
Most of the vets that I work with wont perscribe it for fireworks/ thunder etc. they use piriton insead which has a 'drowsy' affect.

Jodie x

Please dont give medised to pets - it contains paracetamol which is not safe to give to pets.