Gabapentin tolerance

[writingislove]

Hi all. I'm wondering if anyone has or has had a cat on Gabapentin long term who can talk to me about tolerance. After starting on the medication, did your cat become tolerant to it and need the dosage increased? If so, how long was it before the first dosage increase and how often did you have to increase it as time went on?

Background if helpful: my cat Orville (10) began violently attacking my cat Winston (11) mid-September. They've lived together 10 years with no history of fighting, they've always been friends. The vet did a full blood panel on both cats (nothing concerning) and after consulting with us for 1.5 hours decided to try Orville on Gabapentin for possible arthritis pain and also because of his brief history of seizures in 2014. After one full day on Gaba, the violent attacks stopped completely and the cats got along perfectly for a whole month. However, three days ago the attacks resumed out of the blue and I've noticed the Gaba doesn't seem to chill Orville out quite like it did in the beginning. It's only been a month so it seems really soon for him to have built a tolerance, but I really don't know. My husband has covid so we can't take Orville back to the vet until next week, so I'm hoping for some insight in the meantime.

 

[fionasmom]

I have a GSD who takes 100 mg each day. He is allowed to take two per day but, because of an issue with another sedative which did not clear from his system quickly, the vet advised that I only use one and observe his reaction. In dogs, it is contraindicated if renal insufficiency exists, but my boy is 15 and needs to be helped at this stage of his life. At first he seemed to be in less pain, but I have begun to notice that it seems to have little effect. Gabapentin tolerance in dogs is commonly noted and usually the amount is increased when that happens, if possible.

So this is basically anecdotal on my part and I would not advise you to administer a larger dose without instructions from your vet.

I also have to agree with your observation that Orville has not been on it for that long. My dog has a long history of using this class of medication and before the gabapentin he was a long time tramadol user....so that is quite a different situation.

I hope your husband is getting better.