Biggest Challenge With Bringing In My Feral, And Gabapentin.

[Teri122]

Hi all. I started reading this site, and have posted a few times, when I captured my feral cat last Feb. I have know her since 2007, and knew it was time she come in and join the boys who had lived outside with her in the past. They became touchable, then huggable when outside, but Tabitha was born feral, and while she definitely learned to trust, and even like me, I could never touch her. The transition to inside was not fast, but she did well mainly because of her best friend Oliver. We still can't touch her, other than a very very cautious pet on her side or paw, but she freely roams the house and spends her time in our company.
Here is the problem we have encountered - the panic when she is sick. A few months ago she was obviously constipated, stopped eating and was vomiting. I got her to the vet by blocking her when she slept behind a sofa, grabbing her as she hissed, bit, panicked, etc. It was not pretty and was overall horrible for all of us . She was fine after the appointment (they sedated her with a shot at the vet), and didn't take long to trust us again. then out of the blue She stopped eating again. I assumed it was constipation again, but this time they said her liver enzymes were elevated, and her liver was enlarged on an x-ray. It was the same kind of ugly capture to get her in the carrier again. I started her on Pred, and again she was great for a month. The past few days she has been looking like she doesn't feel well off and on. With any other cat, if they refuse to eat or are nauseas I can easily medicate them, but with her, there is nothing I can get in her if she will not eat a pill on her own .So I do kind of jump on giving her nausea meds, or appetite stimulant, sometimes when it might not be needed, because I don't want to miss getting it into her if it actually is needed. I guess that part was just kind of venting my sadness about not being able to help my girl the way I would like to . I want to take her back to the vet for some follow-up blood tests and Xrays . I don't know that anyone can really help with anything there . But I do have a question about medicating to get to the vet . How many of you have used gabapentin to be able to handle your feral. Tabitha is just little, only 7 pounds, but I HATE the way we have gotten her - basically blocking and grabbing with oven gloves. Its horrible, but I know she will not go into a carrier/box of any kind on her own . Has gabapentin been successful in sedating them enough to do this easier? Can they generally do lab work with just that on board? Can they sedate them more after having gabapentin....???
If anyone has experience with this I would appreciate any suggestions.
Thanks for reading .
Sorry for being long . I am just kind of stressing...

 

[tabbytom]

Teri122 , we are sorry to here that Tabitha is not feeling well

I do not have an answer for you but I'm sure there'll be someone who has experience in this area will be able to answer your questions so please in there.

We hope Tabitha gets well soon

 

[Teri122]

Thank you, me too!
She is just so sweet

 

[shadowsrescue]

I have used gabapentin twice for a feral cat now living in my house who I have had to take to the vet twice. It has worked so well.

I use 100 mg and dose the night before. It makes the cat very groggy so they do need to be contained in a safe room. My cat was very woozy and wobbly on his feet. The first time I gave it to him about 3 hours later, I was able to scoop him up and actually hold him. He was like a limp noodle. I then gave another dose the next morning about 4 hours before the appointment. I was able to just pick him up and put him in the carrier. I assumed he would need sedation at the vet, but he did not. He did so very well.

The key with gabapentin is timing. It often will take 3-4 hours to get fully into the system and make the cat manageable.

 

[Avery]

Hi Teri 122. I have had some experience with gabapentin with my cats. I also have learned more about using it and got some great advice from Shadowsrescue who posted a message above. Here are my experiences...

Tomorrow, I will be taking Rosie, a 15-year-old kitty, to the vets for a check-up and bloodwork and I will give her half a capsule sprinkled in a little bit of food. She is small (about 7 pounds), but very feisty and it has been hard for the techs to take blood. She isn't totally knocked out, but the gabapentin works well to calm her down a bit so they can do their job! When she comes home, she is slightly wobbly on her feet, but nothing dangerous and she usually just goes to sleep.

About three months ago, I caught and brought inside a semi-feral cat, Ruby, who I had spayed and been feeding for three years and Lucky, who we initially thought was feral, but must have been a scared stray, who I had been feeding for one year. I fed them treats outside in carriers and on vet day, just closed the doors to the carriers. At the vets, Ruby was terrified, climbed the walls and hid and they eventually got a hold of her and sedated her to take blood. Once the vet had seen her and weighed her, she could prescribe gabapentin for the follow up visits. Since I brought them inside, Ruby and Lucky have been kept in a safe room, a spare bedroom.

For the first follow up, for a distemper booster, I opened the 100 mg capsule of gabapentin and mixed it in tuna water with a few small pieces of tuna. Ruby ate it all up. I waited about 45 minutes and was able to lure her into her carrier with treats, which is the way I caught her in the first place. When we got to the vets, she was very drowsy and they just reached into the carrier to give her the shot. Very nice and easy.

The second visit for more bloodwork (which was after I kept the cats isolated for 60 days to be sure they didn't have FIV or FeLV) Ruby wasn't interested in the tuna and I mixed the capsule into some food. The vet said to wait two hours, but Ruby was still very much awake and I couldn't get her in the carrier. I ended up canceling the appointment.

On the second try, a week or two later, I coated the whole capsule in butter and wrapped a teeny piece of ham around it and she ate it up! This was great and I knew she got the whole thing! I followed the advice of Shadowsrescue who gives one gabapentin the night before and one the morning of the vet visit. Unfortunately, Ruby still would not go into her carrier and I ended up doing what you want to avoid: chasing her around the room and trapping her in a cardboard box and gently dumping her in the carrier. It was AWFUL for her and for me and for poor Lucky who witnessed the whole thing, but I was intent on not canceling that appointment.

Although my vet said to wait 2 hours after the gabapentin, I should have waited longer as Shadowsrescue says. Once she was at the vets, she was pretty dopey and they had no problem taking blood. I think if I had waited longer, maybe 3 or 4 hours, it would have been easier to put her in the carrier. Once we were home, I left her in the carrier with the door open and she slept in there for about half an hour. She was only a bit wobbly when she came out but she jumped up on the cat tree with no trouble.

So although it didn't work perfectly for me with Ruby, I definitely recommend trying gabapentin. It is also possible that Ruby is extra-immune to being knocked out! She took a long time for the sedation to work the very first vet visit and they had to give her more than the usual amount. I hope that Ruby will stay well and I won't need to take her back for another year, but I will definitely use gabapentin again when necessary.

Good luck with Tabitha. Let us know how it goes.

 

[Teri122]

Thank you so much! I feel a bit better hearing from both of you .
I made an appointment for 11 on Saturday. The vet will call me tomorrow with a dose and I guess I will gave to pick up the med tomorrow. I don't know if it is according to weight or not . I am concerned about getting it in her . I can't imagine her eating a capsule like Ruby did so I hope it doesn't really taste much so I can hide powder in food. She eats pills up well when I coat them in a little pill pocket or bread ball then make a little meatball with that inside, and she eats her meals with miralax mixed in, so there may be a chance of it working . I appreciate hearing your experiences. The thought of giving something at home that effects them like that is what scares me (even though that is what I want...)

 

[Teri122]

My little Tabitha ..she is a beautiful mahogany color, and when she was out in the sunlight her coat became auburn . She has no tail, and looks like a tiny bear cub from behind.

 

[shadowsrescue]

I have put the capsule in a pill pocket and also Tomlyn Pill masker. I also have flattened a piece of plain cooked chicken and wrapped it around the capsule. The capsule I used was pretty small.
Good luck and let us know how it goes.

 

[Avery]

I totally understand being nervous about giving the gabapentin. I was afraid the dose would be too much for Ruby (who is a bit over 9 pounds) but it was fine. And I was very surprised that she ate the capsule -- twice! I guess the butter and ham were too delicious to notice the capsule! I had two capsules ready in case she turned her nose up at the ham/butter one and was prepared to open up the second one to mix in chicken baby food, which she loves. The capsule is a bit hard to separate, but it comes apart with a little tugging and twisting.

Awww... Tabitha is very pretty. Good luck on Saturday!

 

[Teri122]

Thank you. I may give a ciproheptadine Friday nite to help her be more hungry and want to eat the capsule more on Saturday morning . She has been eating pills with no trouble when they are doctored up, and I did get come gabapentin capsules today from a friend in preparation. They look doable, if she is hungry .

 

[JamesCalifornia]

On the second try, a week or two later, I coated the whole capsule in butter and wrapped a teeny piece of ham around it and she ate it up!

~ Congratulations !

 

[Teri122]

Well the vet cancelled my appointment that was to be for today. They said they can't anesthetize a cat on a Saturday . My plan was that with the gabapentin on board she would not need any more, but I was upset with the vet so I just let it go .
I talked to the local emergency vet clinic, they have a doctor I like who does ultrasounds who works tomorrow. Unfortunately Tabitha is refusing her dinner tonight, and if she does tomorrow morning there is no way of getting the med in her.
What does any of you do with your cats that you can't handle when they get sick? My others I can give whatever meds they need (nausea, appetite stimulant, etc) easily pilling them, but what can be done when you can't even touch them??
She lived outside for at least 10 years, now I wanted her to have a lot more years in the comfort of a home, on carpets, soft heated beds, never being alone again... Now I just feel helpless.

 

[shadowsrescue]

You really have to get creative with different foods. Try tuna, baby food, chicken, pill pockets, cooked fish, canned salmon, etc.... The pill is pretty small and not too hard to wrap around tuna, chicken, pill pocket or even sprinkled into baby food. Try your best to find something that she usually does not refuse.

I had one of my recent feral boys in the house for only a few months. He had a terrible UTI. I had no idea how to get him into a carrier. Yet he was not feeling well at all. I was able to put a towel over him and scoop him into the carrier.

Are you giving the gabapentin just once or twice? I really feel that giving it once the night before and once the morning of the appointment is the way to go. Another feral I took into the vet twice with this method. He was a limp noodle both times. The extra assurance of two doses really helped.

Try to stay positive and calm. She certainly picks up on your fear. Deep breaths...

 

[Teri122]

Well she now stopped eating. She was fine eating for breakfast yesterday, then would not eat dinner or all evening, and won't eat but a lick of anything now. So I am going to just have to grab her I guess. And just over the last 2 nites she let me really pet her along her side, she even was falling asleep while I did it last nite. This will ruin that trust. plus I an very worried about what the ultrasound will show now.

 

[shadowsrescue]

Sending you good vibes that all will be well. Please let us know how the vet visit goes. She will once again trust you. Tell her over and over that you have to do this to keep her healthy. Talk to her and explain what is going on. You just never know what she understands!
You are both in my thoughts today.

 

[Avery]

Just a few thoughts. That is really great that she let you pet her! One of my previous cats loved blue cheese dressing and I could mash a pill or empty a capsule and mix it into a few globs of that dressing and the bowl was licked clean.

I also worry about what I'd do if my semi-feral cat got sick. I think the butter and ham trick might work for gabapentin or ongoing medicine, but if I needed to take her for any kind of emergency vet visit it would have to be grab-and-go, which would be very upsetting. That said, based on my previous experience, my cat did get over that pretty quickly.

Shadowsrescue always has great ideas and advice. She has mentioned before about getting a vet to come to the house. Do you have any mobile vets in your area? My biggest wish is that a vet or vet tech moves in next door to me!

 

[Teri122]

Avery, yes I want a vet next door also!
I have been giving Tabitha pred for the past month and she has eaten that right up no problem .The Gabas are bigger, but I feel if she was eating well she may have eaten that too. She is only 7 lbs though and has a little mouth, so that still is kind of big as compared to giving it to my monster boys. Unfortunately, for whatever reason, she is refusing all food today other than some fussy cat crunchie - she did eat a fair amount of them .
I also believe that explaining things to the cats is important.
I do agree that she recovered well from the previous grabbing episodes, but now that I can pet her in her bed it seems worse. This is after not being able to touch her for 10 years outside (even though she would run up to me), and trying since she came inside last February. Petting like I just did is HUGE.
No mobile vets in the area that I know of, but she would still need to be caught and sedated for any kind of exams.

 

[shadowsrescue]

I used a mobile vet for 3 feral cats that I brought inside the house before I moved. I had all 3 cats in a bedroom and was able to get each into a carrier before the mobile vet arrived. We then took them into a bathroom that was right outside the room. The most feral of all completely freaked out, but with the help of the mobile vet and vet tech, we were able to get the cat and he was quickly sedated. It was much easier than transporting to a vet clinic.

The other two did much better. The vet wrapped them in a towel and was able to do an exam, vaccines, blood work and flea treatment without sedation.

It was still stressful, but much easier than a car ride with vet visit. I was surprised to learn there were multiple mobile vets in my area. You might do a google search.

 

[Teri122]

Tabitha spent the nite at the emergency vet. They did the ultrasound and fine needle aspirates of her liver. A month ago I had her at the vet because she stopped eating and was vomited a couple times .Liver enzymes sky high, x-ray showed enlarged liver, suspicious for a mass . brought her home, on pred for a month she did great. So I wanted labs repeated to see if at least they improved. Vet says, "since we already know she has a liver tumor what's the point?" We are never going to see that vet again. Cut to yesterday - ER vet does ultrasound, no mass!!! They feel cholangiohepatitis. US was sent to radiologist, waiting on that official report and cytology results .
Most immediate problem - they freaking put a wrap on her leg when they took the IV out and sent her home like that!!! I was at work, boyfriend picked her up, they said "take it off in half an hour" WTF. Since yesterday was a total, unsedated grab to get in the carrier, she won't let me within 5 feet of her now. How in the world am I going to get that off? They all knew her feral history and I am really really upset! How long can this stay on, she is not messing with it at all, just walking kind of funny . Any ideas??? Now do I have to knock her out to remove a bandage? Today I really just want to work on her getting food and calories since she did not eat for 24 hours at the vet, and getting the oral antibiotics started.
Help!?

 

[Avery]

Good grief. Can you call the emergency clinic now to ask about this? I am no expert, but I think if it isn't super tight around her leg and if it isn't bothering her, it is probably fine to just leave it alone for now and concentrate on the food.

Once when the techs took blood from one of my cats' legs, they wrapped a bandage around it and I didn't notice it until we got home. It was kind of a thick cloth-like thing held together with some kind of tape. This was a feisty cat who didn't like to be touched if she wasn't in the mood so she wouldn't let me near her. She did walk kind of funny but she didn't like the feel of the bandage and she just eventually pulled it off with her teeth. It did take a while and I was dying to just grab it, but she wouldn't let me. If it does seem to bother her, you could always try the gabapentin and see if you can pull it off.

Here is where that vet next door would come in handy....