Gabapentin question

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Diana&Tom

Diana&Tom

Member Since 2009
My ten-year-old civvie Sapphire is due to have blood tests but last week when the vet tried to get a sample from her she wasn’t having any of it - so they’ve given me Gabapentin to give her an hour before the next visit, next week, to calm her down.
I’ve never used Gabapentin before so my question is - presumably this is common practice, and safe? (the dose I’m to give her is 4 x 25mg). I asked the vet if there were any contraindications and she said no, but I’m a bit paranoid about giving anything. Have had cats for many years but other than giving insulin to my Tom, have never had to give any kind of medication.
Any info/reassurance much appreciated.
 
Hi Diana
I have seen that drug around here a LOT. Havent really seen anything bad about it but then again...I'm not reading every single post. I'd tag someone but really cant remember who is using it .
 
I use it for my civvie who has arthritis. I find Libby sleeps for about 2 hours after a dose. Libby dose is 25mg once every 12 when she is on it. She is 6.5kgs about 14 lbs.

Jones took it too for pain just 25mg twice a day. He seemed to be less drowsy on it but he had so many other issues. Eventually moved him to buprenorphine.

I never notice any issues with other medications that they were on.
 
One of my cats has gotten 175mg extra (up to 300mg from the 125mg dose she was taking for pain at the time) for vet appointments. One gets 100-150mg for vet appointments, another gets 100mg. It's generally very well-tolerated. I used it regularly while at the rescue too (100-200mg), for pain relief/anxiety issues, vet appointments, or cats traveling to their forever homes.

I do have one cat who's sensitive to it, but she's very petite and may have some congenital issues from possibly being malnourished as a kitten.
 
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My tiny cat was falling over on about a third of a 100mg capsule... she's SMALL though, like 5 lbs. CC is bigger and can handle 50mg... but if I needed to drug her for an appointment I'd do 100mg. ONE THING I will tell you is that I would give it at least 2 hours before the appointment. at 1 hour it might not have started working much yet. you are better off giving it 2-3 hours before the appointment.
 
JanetNJ said:
My tiny cat was falling over on about a third of a 100mg capsule... she's SMALL though, like 5 lbs. CC is bigger and can handle 50mg... but if I needed to drug her for an appointment I'd do 100mg. ONE THING I will tell you is that I would give it at least 2 hours before the appointment. at 1 hour it might not have started working much yet. you are better off giving it 2-3 hours before the appointment.
Click to expand...

I second this. I usually give it 2-6 hours before the vet appointment, depending on the cat.

edited to add that my super-sensitive cat is 7 pounds and healthy too, just very small! She's gotten 100mg for vet appointments before, but it really really knocks her out--which unfortunately is usually necessary, she was feral for 9 years and that flight instinct is STRONG!

One additional note: adrenaline WILL override the effects of gabapentin (have learned this the hard way...). Completely. So make sure the cat's environment is calm and quiet before the vet appointment.
 
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Quoting myself from a while back...

One of my civvies, Becca, really, really hates visits to the doctor's office. One time she bloodied both our vet and me, to our respective professional and personal embarrassment. Since then 50mg of gabapentin sprinkled on top of her food two hours before the appointment has made a world of difference. She's not dopey or anything. Just calmer, less scared.
 
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