Gabapentin medicine

DivaLuna5

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My kitty does have kidney disease so when I do take her to the vet I want to make sure she is still doing good. She is an indoor cat only and it seems like the disease isn’t slowing her down the least. She has lost weight but still eats her prescription food in regular good size amounts.
I have a question about the medicine gabapentin for cats. I gave my cat the medicine prescribed by my vet because she gets very anxious and mean EVERY TIME I would take her to the vet for her yearly check up. Last visit they gave me the gabapentin medicine for her next visit so the vet can look at her and take some blood samples just to make sure she is doing alright. When I gave her the medicine for the first time a few weeks ago, thinking I would be taking her to the vet the following day, she got extremely lethargic and looked like she was paralyzed. She couldn’t move at all. It scared me a lot. The following day I get a call from the vet office indicating the appointment needed to be rescheduled for 2 more weeks for staff availability issues on their end. It took a day and half for the medication to get out of her system. My question is, how safe is the gabapentin for my cat’s body in the long run? I feel like I give her paralysis just for her to get looked at for 10-15 min. It breaks my heart to see her like that.
 

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Jcatbird

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Awww. I am so sorry. I know that was scary. It is always possible for each cat to respond differently. Definitely let the vet know. Maybe she just needs a much reduced dose. I used that on my cat recently and it did make her sleepy but not as you describe. Check with the vet.
 
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DivaLuna5

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Thanks for your reply back Jcatbird. Most definitely will talk to the vet ASAP about this. :)
 

Blithbury23

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My kitty does have kidney disease so when I do take her to the vet I want to make sure she is still doing good. She is an indoor cat only and it seems like the disease isn’t slowing her down the least. She has lost weight but still eats her prescription food in regular good size amounts.
I have a question about the medicine gabapentin for cats. I gave my cat the medicine prescribed by my vet because she gets very anxious and mean EVERY TIME I would take her to the vet for her yearly check up. Last visit they gave me the gabapentin medicine for her next visit so the vet can look at her and take some blood samples just to make sure she is doing alright. When I gave her the medicine for the first time a few weeks ago, thinking I would be taking her to the vet the following day, she got extremely lethargic and looked like she was paralyzed. She couldn’t move at all. It scared me a lot. The following day I get a call from the vet office indicating the appointment needed to be rescheduled for 2 more weeks for staff availability issues on their end. It took a day and half for the medication to get out of her system. My question is, how safe is the gabapentin for my cat’s body in the long run? I feel like I give her paralysis just for her to get looked at for 10-15 min. It breaks my heart to see her like that.
I'm not a vet and I don't know about kidney disease in cats - but I have had experience of trying to get a human off Gabapentin (taken for pain) and it was an awful experience. It had to be done VERY VERY slowly (in GP's drug book it seemed easy, just halve the dose and bingo!). In your shoes I think I'd ask the vet for a different drug to calm her down.....there must be many they can choose from.
 

fionasmom

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If your cat has kidney disease, it is possible that the gabapentin is not clearing from her body as quickly as it might in a cat with normal kidneys. I had an upsetting experience with acepromazine and a dog with kidney issues in which the drug lingered much longer than normal.

You are not giving this on a regular basis, so I agree that you need to let the vet know that your cat had a scary reaction to it and you want to know about using a reduced dose or an alternative solution.
 
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DivaLuna5

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That’s great! Let me know how it goes. I know how stressful that must have been for you. :alright:
Jcatbird…Gave my kitty(Luna) the gabatentin at least 3 1/2 hours before my vet appt yesterday(on the morning of)and she became a little groggy. Once I got her to the vet and they came to take her to get her blood work and vaccines, she somewhat cooperated with them. Told the vet that Luna was NOT cooperative with me giving her the “needle” again it at least got some of it in her system. Vet told me it does happen to some cats that they DO NOT want to be touched or poked with pain for some reason..especially with strangers. The medicine did calm her down a little to get her both her blood work done and vaccines in her.Just some cats do NOT like being handled period by strangers. The gabapentin is the only way they say can put both the cat and the vet techs/veterinarians at ease without hurting either one. In the end, my Luna was okay and she doesn’t have to go back for another year! Glad for that. 👍🏼
 

Jcatbird

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I’m glad you got it over with and no more for a year! If you only got some of it in her system, it sounds like a smaller dose was adequate. One thing I do to help my cats is to take a towel and use it for them to hide under during exams. Some put their heads under so they don’t see the scary things. It really helps and carries the scent of home.
 
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DivaLuna5

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That’s great! Let me know how it goes. I know how stressful that must have been for you. :alright:
Well took my Luna to the vet. I had given her the Gabapentin 3-4 hours before her appointment. She just acted groggy and wobbly. NOTHING like the first time I gave to her a few weeks before. I hated seeing her so weak and really lethargic. Luna was still acting up a little at the vets but they were able to get some blood work from her. I had explained to the vet about my issues with the medicine the very first time I gave it to her. Basically, vet just told me if I feel comfortable giving it to her several hours before her appointment try it. I am just happy my Luna doesn’t have to go there again for another year. :woo:
 
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