Gabapentin for extremely anxious cat?

[Edasseri]

Hi everyone, I’m wondering if anyone has given gabapentin to their cat before a vet trip to make them less stressed? Does it work? I have gabapentin given by the vet for pain, they gave me two bottles but I only needed 1 (this was 2 months ago) so I have a bottle left over. I’m going to call them to check if I can use it before the vet visit, but I just wondered if anyone else has used it for this before?

if so, how long before the vet visit would I have to give it? My cat gets so overly stressed at the vets, he pants and drools, fights the vets, runs around the room trying to find places to hide, isn’t himself for a while afterwards etc. it’s a very traumatic experience tbh and I hate seeing him so scared and worked up

If he's had it before, and you know it calms him down then I'd say it's fine. I didn't know you could use it for cats! It's really strong stuff, I get totally zonked out on it. If it's prescribed to him then I'd go for it.

I'd be interested to know how you get on as one of mine is madly anxious about the vet and I've never known what to give him to calm him down. How many mg's do you use?

They gave some alleged anti anxiety meds but they didn't seem to work. It wasn't a medication I recognised for humans.

Yes it's very useful in cats. 2 hours before appointment ideally. Check dose with your vet as some need more than others.
Saying that do you have a mobile vet in your area? There are lots of them around now. That would be much less stressful for your cat.

My cat was recently prescribed it - we had to give one dose 12 hours before and a second doses 2 hours before, it worked a treat. The vet also recommended that we used it to help with grooming our very anti-grooming cat as it would be better than mats and uncut claws!

My cat had it for high stress situations. It works a treat. And doesn't sedate her.

I've never heard of this, but would it or anything similar be suitable for a generally anxious cat? I have a sweet shy rescue girl who gets too worried to come into the house if anything seems amiss (cat-killing coat left on hall floor by DC, cat-killing music playing, cat-killing friends over, you get the picture). Feliway doesn't really do enough and the powder you sprinkle on food gets eaten by the other cat before she dares come and eat it.

My cat is like this too tbh. He is just anxious in general, and going to the vets gets quite an extreme response. It’s very upsetting for me as well seeing him like that and having to watch two or three vets try to restrain him while he wails and thrashes around. It’s truly awful. When he has been on gabapentin before, he was quite dazed and out of it. Wouldn’t want him to be drugged up like that every day long term. So I think something less strong might be better for every day use, I’m not sure what though, sorry! Or maybe just a lower dose of Gabapentin might be ok? I’d speak to your vet and see what they say

Thanks everyone for the replies! Seems like it could do the trick for the vet visit

@DesparatePragmatist I have a similar cat and I'm allergic to Feliway which doesn't help.

I've found a pheromone calming collar works brilliantly for her as the calm goes where she goes.

Obviously a collar is not ideal but the situation was getting desperate and we also know she only goes to the hedge and back.

Hi there I’m prescribed gabapentin for my elderly, anxious cat who hates the vet but needs her nails regularly clipping ( no chance without sedation) . Definitely check your dosage with the vet as mine has altered depending on my cat’s weight . It’s usually a dose late the night before and two hours before your appointment.
I also make sure all stairs or high points for jumping are out of bounds as there could be issues due to drowsiness.

We use Gabapentin and it really helps settle our cat before vet appointments. He is a bit out of it for a day or so afterwards though.

Thank you @Edasseri and @AnnaMagnani ! Certainly don't want her drugged to the nines all the time. Her special vet response is the panic poo, poor girl. I will look into hormone calming collars. Good luck with your stressy cats

How did you get on OP? My Dcat is on it long term, it has been absolutely life changing for him. He is still a bit funny at the vets but doesn’t spend the entire day hiding post visit now.

The appointment was supposed to be this morning at 9:30. I gave him the Gabapentin last night but he wouldn’t touch his food this morning so couldn’t give it to him. So just last nights dose wasn’t enough.

I got his carrier out of the cupboard under the stairs and as soon as he saw it he ran into the cupboard and is hiding right at the back underneath everything. He won’t come out and I can’t get to him. I’ve tried taking things out but there’s too many things in there including heavy stuff that I can’t move. Trying to get to him is making him more and more stressed so I’m having to just leave it. I’m on hold to the vets to tell them I need to cancel but there’s no answer ffs

My cat is now on regular gabapentin to treat FHS.
When he needed to have bloods taken the vet told me to give him the pills two hours before the appointment to calm him.
The easiest way to get him to take the pills is to use pill putty/easy pill - a tiny bit no bigger than a pea- and wrap it around the pill. If necessary attach the putty to a dreamy, but mostly he will eat it in just the putty.

My vets say that the pills are really hard to get hold of and they hardly ever have any in stock. So I give it to him in liquid. Sometimes he eats it in his food, sometimes he refuses. I have squirted it directly into his mouth a few times but I can’t do it on my own I need someone to hold him because it’s a massive struggle and most of it ends up going everywhere or he spits it out. Would be a lot easier if I had it in pill form

Oh no sorry to hear that, yes probably best to leave it rather than stressing him out more.

Will he have things like chicken? Could try putting it on that rather than cat food. They are clever sods aren’t they, our liquid gabapentin is supposedly chicken flavoured but he still knows his food is laced with it.

Yes he loves chicken! That’s what we actually did last night we put it on chicken and he did eat it. But then wouldn’t touch it this morning. Maybe it was because it was cold or he may have just not been hungry

He has come out of the cupboard now but is keeping his distance from me. I hate him being scared of me (although I know he isn’t scared of ME, he is scared I will try to put him in his carrier) Whenever I get up he runs off 😔