Cat had tiny piece of both Ativan & Xanax about 22 hrs ago, still trouble standing/walking?

[movinintime]

I know the effects should all wear off I hope, but I had give my cat these in wet food last nite in a 'flooding in the apt emergency' to move him out of the room overnite. He is back now & was in carrier from last nite til morn but now can't walk right yet. He still drags his back legs. Can I do anything to help him get this meds out any faster? Had no idea how to in this emergency to grab him, as he hissed but I grabbed him last nite w/ a towel after the meds he ate. Now worried he can't shake the ful effects. TY so much for any help. I didn't have Gabapentin so in the rush to asap get him safe in carrier, I gave 2 tiny bowls & each had a tiny dusting of Xanax & the other a tiny bit, Ativan.

 

[LTS3]

Can you call the vet and ask? I don't think there's any way to make the body process medicine faster.

 

[jefferd18]

How old of a cat are we talking about here? If he is a senior citizen the effects of any drug will take longer to get out of his system than say a cat who is five. Why are you giving him two anti-anxiety medicines? Has your vet okay these meds before? Ativan definitely needs the green light from your vet.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

If he isn't fully recovered in the morning, call your vet or take him in. If it should get worse, TAKE HIM TO AN EMERGENCY VET IMMEDIATELY. Hekitty took a full 24 hours or more to recover from anesthesia post-spay, and she was a young cat, just over a year.

 

[movinintime]

This was an emergency need to get him out of apt last nite asap. My g/f was toxic on her meds & had an ambulance here. The apt was flooding too due to a major water break. I couldn't leave the feral alone & take my other cat to motel. So, I had no choice. I had no Gabapentin & only had anti-anxiety meds. I gave him a tiny bowl of a spoonful of Ativan in one & other Xanax. As I went back to talk to paramedics taking my g/f out of apt, I asked them re these. He said no Ativan.

My fault as by time I went into the room he was eating, he dad eaten both spoonfuls of each, the Ativan & the Xanax. So he is about 5-ish yrs & I have no vet in WV yet. Only my AZ vet that he was neutered by months ago, before I trapped & moved him here. I was really needing to get him asap out of apt in a carrier (he scratches/hisses when not medicated & can't be gotten in carrier) thus the emergency use of these meds. I know I made a mistake but he seems just lethargic but did eat & drink water today & then back to sleep. It is now about 24hrs. I hope this helps.

 

[movinintime]

He ate a bit last nite & pooped & peed this early morn. Still lethargic. He was lethargic before but this added it. I'm stupid but had to immmediately grab him, & being really still a wild outdoor cat that I'd never picked up before, I tried to do this. But I will monitor him today as it is Sunday. I don't yet know a vet here in WV, as just moved 2 mos. ago here & we are looking for homes to buy but probably not here locally in this county. So this adds complexity. I can ask a vet or call on Monday, my old AZ vet if it keeps up. TY for your help.

He is walking better tho, as saw him on all 4's going to water bowl, & ate yesterday but still hasn't fully awoke today. Normally by 8am he waits by his door of his room. Not since Fri. morn has he done that. I think it was both meds together which caused this all. He may be bit dehydrated too.

 

[jefferd18]

Hi,

I am so glad to hear that he is doing better.


Please don't do this again, even in a pinch. A dusting of either one of those medications would have affected me and I weigh a lot more than a little cat. It is important that he gets hydration to be able to flush this out of his system. Do you have a syringe that you could fill with water and gently squeeze into the side of his mouth? Ideally, he should get some fluids under his skin, but for right now a syringe will do.

 

[movinintime]

SInce he is not handle-able (hence why those meds) I can't really syringe him. If by Monday he still isn't better -- than to a vet he goes, somehow. I realize what I did but somehow thought the dose was low enough. it was the TWO side by side food bowls each w/a diff dusting of meds that was really over the top.

Ok, he just ate 2 paks of Sheba Perfect Portions, his fav. So he seems better. Is drinkng water every few hrs. Being that he is unhandle-able is why no syringe yet.

 

[neely]

Even if you don't have a vet in WV yet and/or can't get to one you can definitely call an Emergency vet and explain what happened. That would at least give you some peace of mind and they may be able to tell you what other symptoms to watch for just in case he should relapse.

 

[movinintime]

He is sitting up meatloafing, so it seems it is taken almost 40hrs to recover. I won't again do this ever. I learned a lesson & the 2 bowls was utterly stupid. I just needed him to eat one bowl of either, in a hurry. I wasn't sure which he'd eat thus the 2 bowls. Boy was I wrong.

He seems about 80% or so normal, so I think he's home-free.

 

[fionasmom]

Ativan can be used in cats but under the supervision of a vet and there can be reactions to it, some of which are the grogginess and some more serious, like liver complications. It can take a day or so to wear off. Xanax can also be used for cats under the same circumstances; the problem is that they are both benzodiazapenes so the cat got a double whammy. Both drugs are used off label by vets. I have never used either in an animal however.

If you at all suspect that something is not right, or if there is a relapse, call the ER vet in the area. I don't mean to imply that it is okay that the cat took both of those drugs but I am guessing that he is recuperating.

Once you are settled, try to have gabapentin on hand, even just a few, for emergencies. I am sorry that everything fell apart last night and you were faced with handling everything.

 

[movinintime]

TY Fiona. I've been thru tough times before & am just glad we all are alive & ok. I'm monitoring him closely & he seems pretty well back to normal. The prob re Gabapentin is, can a vet give it just to have on hand? Or must it have a direct reason?

My AZ vet gave me 2 pills prior to the trapping of the feral but I didn't need them as it turned out, as he ate roast chicken instead of the bowl I had the Gabapentin in. So it was uneeded yet I wasted it.

 

[fionasmom]

Good question. I fill my dog's tramadol at a human pharmacy and if I try to fill it a couple days early as we start to run out they act as if I am going to try to sell the 2 extra pills on the black market. The vet had to call them the last time and tell them to just sell me the darn refill. However, both/all of my vets have allowed me to have small amounts of meds like acepromazine ( for the dog), and tramadol and gabapentin on hand.....like 5 pills. It is really no different than when vets give owners prescriptions for the fourth of July ahead of time in case the pet needs them. It might help if you establish yourself with a vet though in WV as one that does not know you will probably not hand them out right away.

 

[artiemom]

I was, at one point, giving my cat daily Prozac— due to severe anxiety issues.

 

[pmv]

For the future, if you have a cat that can't be picked up even with training, I'd instead work on clicker training them to go into a carrier on demand. Clicker training can work even on completely feral animals - the same principles are used in many zoos use to handle wild animals, and is a lot safer to the animal compared to sedating.

 

[jefferd18]

For the future, if you have a cat that can't be picked up even with training, I'd instead work on clicker training them to go into a carrier on demand. Clicker training can work even on completely feral animals - the same principles are used in many zoos use to handle wild animals, and is a lot safer to the animal compared to sedating.

Thank you for that information. I have used clicker training for my parrots but never thought about that method when it came to my cats. I will give it a try.

 

[fionasmom]

The woman who runs the local TNR group uses a clicker to train all the ferals when to come for food; consequently, she has more control of how to trap them.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Sounds as if clicker training could be a real boon to you. He'll have some food that will trigger him, you just need to find the one special thing that he'll do backflips for!