Gabapentin for cat?

F+V

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I was also advised by our vet to give it 2 hours before, and the effect will peak at 3 hours and then takes 5-6 hours to wear off.
What was your tablet dosage? Our vet gave us a 1/2 tablet for 7kg body weight and a 1/4 for 4.5kg.

And is it ok to give it twice a day for a long stressful day such as a long drive?
 

gabicards

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I've given it to my cat before traveling. I live abroad and try to spend a few months in my home country every year - he travels with me, and it's usually a 20 hour trip (including getting to and from the airport). It makes him sleepier, though you can really only tell the difference if you know him.

In France, the vets just give you the pills. In Brazil, his vet gives me a prescription so that I can have it compounded, and they even let you choose the flavor lol. We've tried the one that is a cream you put inside the ears, and I hated it - it left his ears with an appearance of dirty which didn't really go away, so I've sticked to the pills.

The dosage and usage, interestingly enough, vary between both countries as well. His brazilian vet stays within the 50mg range, whereas a few different vets in France have already told me they're comfortable prescribing up to 300mg. I give Topaz 100mg every 12 hours (I think? I need to review this as it's been a full year now). The French vets tell me to give the pill a few hours before, but his Brazilian vet says to start a few days before the trip.

Anyway, their consensus is that it can be used for events that you expect to be stressful for them, what varies is the dosage and how often you can/should use it.
 

Jasmine2

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Hi. So the only reason for the vet is routine bloodwork? No problems? I’m not a vet but have worked for many, so it is very unusual for me to say this. Are you sure it is worth all the stress of the visit?

Gabapentin works well in stressed out cats as a preventative. It won’t work once they are stressed. Usually it is given at night and then 2 to 3 hours before the vet visit. Things still have to be done to avoid upsetting the cat. No waiting in the waiting room for an exam room to open up. Wait in your car until the exam room is open and then go right in. Don’t have your cat taken out of the carrier until the vet is ready to exam. Skip the temperature taking and do the weight last. Try to have them do all procedures in the room with you.

Gabapentin is fairly safe but caution should be used in cats with impaired kidney function.
Hi My vet is asking me to give it to my cat for a blood test. 12 ml in the night before and 12 ml twi hours before the visit. I suspect my cat has kidney issue as he is drinking.. Do you think 12 ml is ok dose and not too much? He was 4.6 kg in weight but recently has lost some weight.
 

daftcat75

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Hi My vet is asking me to give it to my cat for a blood test. 12 ml in the night before and 12 ml twi hours before the visit. I suspect my cat has kidney issue as he is drinking.. Do you think 12 ml is ok dose and not too much? He was 4.6 kg in weight but recently has lost some weight.
12? Twelve?! What’s the concentration in mg/mL? In any case, that sounds much too large. Please recheck with the vet. Maybe that is supposed to be 1 - 2 mL? Which is still odd for being a wide range rather than a specific dose. Or 1.2 ("one point two" or "one and two tenths")? 12 (twelve) doesn’t sound right. Please recheck with the vet.
 
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Lari

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Hi My vet is asking me to give it to my cat for a blood test. 12 ml in the night before and 12 ml twi hours before the visit. I suspect my cat has kidney issue as he is drinking.. Do you think 12 ml is ok dose and not too much? He was 4.6 kg in weight but recently has lost some weight.
We always get ours in prefilled syringes. They're making you measure yourself?

12 sounds way too much. Our gabapentin syringes are small and never completely full.
 

fionasmom

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Please recheck with your vet! This dosage has to be correct and if you are uncertain about the syringes, the vet needs to clarify how to use them.

I have had gabapentin in various forms, but do use liquid for which I fill the syringes...however, it has never been 12 of anything.
 

silent meowlook

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Somewhere on the bottle it should have the mg/ml. It would probably look like:

Gabapentin 50mg/ml. 15ml.

See if you can find that. Also what size syringe did the give you? Probably a 3cc. I think the dose is probably 1.2mls. And someone made a mistake.
 

Jasmine2

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I phoned the vet surgery and the receptionest said its 2 ml. Not sure how much per mg. I have been giving zylkene to the cat since the last three days. Full 75 mg dose of one capsule made him very sleepy. So i give half dose.
 

daftcat75

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I phoned the vet surgery and the receptionest said its 2 ml. Not sure how much per mg. I have been giving zylkene to the cat since the last three days. Full 75 mg dose of one capsule made him very sleepy. So i give half dose.
The formulation is usually 50mg/ml. 2 ml does not sound excessive. That's 100mg. It might make him sleepy. But if he has to take it regularly, he'll get used to it. Oh I see it. It's just for a blood test. Then yeah. Making him sleepy is the point. He'll put up less of a fight at the vet's office.
 
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