Cat coughed after syringe medicine. Possible medicine aspiration?

[Dimple]

Hey all, this just happened like 10 mins ago. Was administering some liquid gabapentin through a syringe, and she struggled a bit and I shot the liquid a bit too fast. She coughed a bit afterwards, not awfully but it was the first time I've heard her cough. Maybe did like 8 coughs? Only lasted about 10 seconds. She ate and drank normally afterwards and is playing/active right now.

A lot of articles I'm reading online says medicine aspiration can lead to aspiration pneumonia, is this something that I can wait to call the vet tomorrow when they are open or does this constitute an emergency visit to am ER? Sorry if it's a silly question, I tend to get overly anxious about her health and online results are pretty intense.

 

[silent meowlook]

Hi

It isn't possible for me to say if it is ok to wait till tomorrow or not. I am not a vet and I am not with your cat.

What I can say, is that if it was my cat, I would feel better that she ate and drank and is acting normal. I personally, as long as she was no longer coughing, I would wait.

Is this liquid gabapentin the kind that is made for humans or is it compounded for cats? I once tried the one made for humans. i just touched my finger to it and tasted it. (I am not recommending anyone do this) It was the most disgusting tasting thing I have ever tasted. I was drooling the rest of my shift.

If your cat is showing any signs of respiratory distress, then I would most definitely get her to an ER.

 

[Rysiek]

Hi

It isn't possible for me to say if it is ok to wait till tomorrow or not. I am not a vet and I am not with your cat.

What I can say, is that if it was my cat, I would feel better that she ate and drank and is acting normal. I personally, as long as she was no longer coughing, I would wait.

Is this liquid gabapentin the kind that is made for humans or is it compounded for cats? I once tried the one made for humans. i just touched my finger to it and tasted it. (I am not recommending anyone do this) It was the most disgusting tasting thing I have ever tasted. I was drooling the rest of my shift.

If your cat is showing any signs of respiratory distress, then I would most definitely get her to an ER.

Hope you cat is better now. It is tricky with the syringe, I tend to go from the side of my cat's mouth...yesterday he got almost sick, but it lasted for a short time...

We have now chicken flavoured gabapentin and it seems better...
There are different flavours...

 

[artiemom]

I have done that several times, because Geoffrey gets meds twice or three times a day. I feel horrible afterwards. As long as he is eating, drinking ok, not continually coughing, or even sneezing, I let it go, but watch him like a hawk for any signs.

One time, when he started his chemo, he did end up with an aspiration-- was it pneumonia, or bronchitis, I do not know. He was coughing, sneezing, and felt warm, food was off. His voice had laryngitis. The Vet gave him some antibiotics, which cleared it up.

You will know when and if he is sick. Just keep an eye on him.

I swear, this will happen to all kitties who have to take meds. Just keep a watchful eye on him, but do not panic. Your baby will easily pick up on your emotions. If you really feel uncertain, then call the Vet.. They can give you advice as to symptoms to watch for.. and if you need to take him in.

To avoid this in the future, try giving liquid from the side of the mouth, and slowly push the syringe down. Sometimes the syringe sticks.
I try to open and close it before I draw up the meds. If it is still hard to do, I draw up a test dose of water, push it all out, and then draw up the med.... Something I learned from my work...
It takes a bit of experimenting to get it right.

Take a deep breathe and try to relax... ((hugs))

 

[Dimple]

Thank you everyone, really appreciate the response and helping me to stay calm.

The gabapentin I got from the vet specifically for her, I'm not sure if that means it's compounded? She's thankfully acting completely normal and breathing perfectly fine (measured her resting breath rate too)

Thank you for that tip Artiemom, the syringe did get stuck and I ended up pressing too hard which shot the medicine out. I'll remember to use that water drawing trick from now on. I really felt horrible afterwards and freaked a bit, but thankfully managed to stay calm after observing her behaving normally!

 

[heatherwillard0614]

Do you know if your cat will take pills? If not are you more comfortable pilling your cat as opposed to giving liquid medicine?

If so you could ask your vet for the capsules or compounded tablets. I asked for the compounded tablets as I am more comfortable with pilling her if I have to but she usually takes her pills.

 

[Dimple]

The only pill I've given her is credelio, it's fairly small so I haven't had much issue with it. I've not tried giving a larger pill, I was reading some of them you need a tool?

Before last night I hadn't had any incidents with liquid administration, I think I was just unlucky with the stuck syringe and her moving her head around I'll ask my vet about a capsule option though!

 

[heatherwillard0614]

The only pill I've given her is credelio, it's fairly small so I haven't had much issue with it. I've not tried giving a larger pill, I was reading some of them you need a tool?

Before last night I hadn't had any incidents with liquid administration, I think I was just unlucky with the stuck syringe and her moving her head around I'll ask my vet about a capsule option though!

You don't need the pill dispenser thing that you are talking about.. some people feel more comfortable using it but I've never used one to pill my cat.

What mg is your cat on? I'm not sure the size of the gabapentin capsule. The tablet isn't too big. My cat is on 50 mg. The lowest dose for the capsule is 100mg


Here is a good video to help with some tips and tricks

I will say doing the parfait technique that she does is great for my cat for liquid meds

 

[Dimple]

I was giving her 0.4 ml, at 80mg/ml so roughly 35 ish mg I guess?
I was actually planning to have last night be her last dose, she was on it to help her keep calm while her leg was recovering in crate rest, but I'm at the very tail end of that and her leg looks recovered.

Thanks so much for that link! Some really good tricks there, the parfait trick seems like it would work really well with gross tasting medicine.

 

[heatherwillard0614]

I was giving her 0.4 ml, at 80mg/ml so roughly 35 ish mg I guess?
I was actually planning to have last night be her last dose, she was on it to help her keep calm while her leg was recovering in crate rest, but I'm at the very tail end of that and her leg looks recovered.

Thanks so much for that link! Some really good tricks there, the parfait trick seems like it would work really well with gross tasting medicine.

You're more than welcome.. I really like her videos. She has a bunch of really informative videos with tips and tricks to make things a lot easier.
Since she is nearing the end of her medicine I wouldn't worry about getting it compounded. But in the future you can talk to the vet about possibilities if you want. Or if she takes the liquid easier for you. You know what you are comfortable doing with your kitty and you know what she is more comfortable with so I would go by what you and your baby feel most comfortable with to make meds a little easier on both of you.
As artiemom mentioned above it is a good thing to check the plunger is working right every time for liquid meds. I always draw up water to check it plunges correctly before administering liquid meds just to make sure it doesn't stick.
I'm glad her leg is healing well