Getting an indoor feral kitty to the vet

[shadowsrescue]

I would definitely call the vet and remind them you need to give her gabapentin before the appointment.

 

[Clocat]

I emailed the vet back--they said they should not have to do a biopsy after all (thank goodness, I was worried about the aftercare for that) and that she can eat and ideally take her gabapentin before her appointment. Whew! Thanks for joining me on this rollercoaster.

 

[shadowsrescue]

That is good news. I hope it will all go smoothly and as planned. Let us know how it all goes.

 

[iPappy]

I emailed the vet back--they said they should not have to do a biopsy after all (thank goodness, I was worried about the aftercare for that) and that she can eat and ideally take her gabapentin before her appointment. Whew! Thanks for joining me on this rollercoaster.

Great news! I hope the appointment goes well for all.

 

[Clocat]

Good news: I got her to the vet this morning. Bad news: it was pretty ugly. Good news: she's recovering very well from her disease with the steroids we're giving her. Bad news: it is, indeed, an autoimmune condition that will most likely need lifelong treatment.

This cat is SO smart. As of a couple days ago, she knew something was up, and would scurry around the room wide-eyed whenever we came in. We had changed nothing other than trying to feed her in her carrier, but that was all the sign she needed. I managed to get about 70 mg of gabapentin in her last night, and 100 mg this morning 3 hours before needing to leave the house, and although she was stumbly and out of it, she still knew better than to eat in the carrier. She was avoiding me in the room even though I knew she was really hungry. So finally, I managed to get her eating and quietly grabbed her while she was focused on the food. That did not go well. She went bananas and tore my arms up pretty badly but I managed to keep ahold of her and get her into the carrier.

The vet said she is doing really well on the meds she's on, and her ear infection has finally cleared up. Her condition is probably going to flare up again throughout her life, and it sounds like for her sake we will need to keep her. Stress can cause a flare. Honestly, I had been hoping it was a simple fungal infection that we could treat and release her, but that is not the case.

She's now back in her room and hiding. I'm worried that whatever trust we've built up in the last two weeks has evaporated thanks to this morning. I'm hoping that the effects of the gabapentin cause her to not remember it too clearly. I'm going to leave her alone for the rest of the afternoon. I've taken the carrier out of her room, since it was an obvious source of stress for her.

Last night, when completely drugged on gabapentin, she bumped my hand with her nose by accident, and it didn't seem to phase her. That is absolutely the closest she's ever willingly gotten to me.

So, some good news, some bad news. Fingers crossed we are not set back too much by this visit. She has to go back in a month for some bloodwork, and I need to start thinking of our strategy for that now.

Thanks for all your advice on this!

 

[Clocat]

Ugh, and just a moment ago she was meowing pitifully at the door in her room, which she has never done before. I went in to give her some more food and she hid from me .

 

[fionasmom]

Great job! What you are describing is not all that unusual for a cat of this type...or even for cats who have been pets for their entire life. Fiona herself was clearly psychic and if I even thought to myself that I had to get ready to take her to the vet she was nowhere to be found.

Putting on a jacket or gloves might be a tip off to the cat that you are up to something, but I do recommend that you cover yourself up the next time.

She may be wary for a few days, but just act as usual and give her some space. She does not know if this is going to repeat itself and once she understands that there will not be many interruptions to her life she will settle down. I have cats, Rikki my flame point boy in particular, who will actually find me in the house and hiss, then turn and walk away, if I have done anything that they do not like. Sometimes more than once if he is angry enough at me.

Is there a treat that she likes that you can offer her, which includes just leaving it in her dish and exiting the room?

You have only been home with her for a short period of time and this behavior is very typical, so don't panic or feel as if you have done anything that has really thrown things off.

 

[Clocat]

Great job! What you are describing is not all that unusual for a cat of this type...or even for cats who have been pets for their entire life. Fiona herself was clearly psychic and if I even thought to myself that I had to get ready to take her to the vet she was nowhere to be found.

Putting on a jacket or gloves might be a tip off to the cat that you are up to something, but I do recommend that you cover yourself up the next time.

She may be wary for a few days, but just act as usual and give her some space. She does not know if this is going to repeat itself and once she understands that there will not be many interruptions to her life she will settle down. I have cats, Rikki my flame point boy in particular, who will actually find me in the house and hiss, then turn and walk away, if I have done anything that they do not like. Sometimes more than once if he is angry enough at me.

Is there a treat that she likes that you can offer her, which includes just leaving it in her dish and exiting the room?

You have only been home with her for a short period of time and this behavior is very typical, so don't panic or feel as if you have done anything that has really thrown things off.

Thank you-- this is very reassuring. As I type this she is meowing, which is hard to hear. I hope we can regain some equilibrium in the coming weeks.

 

[shadowsrescue]

Remember this is all a process and it can take lots and lots of time and patience. Her behavior right now is completely typical. Try to get her routine back to normal. I would also suggest spending lots of time with her. Sit on the floor ( so not to loom over her) and talk with her. Play quiet music for her. Just be in her space. Have you tried any catnip for her?

She may hide for awhile and be a bit wary of you, but in time that will all fade. Keeping her inside is an absolute must. Outside life would be so very dangerous for her.

We are all here to help.

 

[Clocat]

Remember this is all a process and it can take lots and lots of time and patience. Her behavior right now is completely typical. Try to get her routine back to normal. I would also suggest spending lots of time with her. Sit on the floor ( so not to loom over her) and talk with her. Play quiet music for her. Just be in her space. Have you tried any catnip for her?

She may hide for awhile and be a bit wary of you, but in time that will all fade. Keeping her inside is an absolute must. Outside life would be so very dangerous for her.

We are all here to help.

Thank you-- hearing her caterwauling is the worst part of this. Since last November she's spent probably over a month in that room, and with the exception of one peep towards the beginning she hasn't made any noise whatsoever. She hasn't stopped meowing since we got home. I'm thinking about giving her a dose of gabapentin tonight just to calm her down.

 

[shadowsrescue]

Thank you-- hearing her caterwauling is the worst part of this. Since last November she's spent probably over a month in that room, and with the exception of one peep towards the beginning she hasn't made any noise whatsoever. She hasn't stopped meowing since we got home. I'm thinking about giving her a dose of gabapentin tonight just to calm her down.

That might be a good idea. It would help her have a restful night.

 

[Clocat]

Nearly six hours and 50 mg of gabapentin later, and she's continuing to howl. She also has been clawing at the windows and door. All of this is completely new behavior for her. I've been going in the room, sitting and quietly talking to her, but I don't know if I should just be leaving her alone and letting her work it out instead. When I talk to her she closes her eyes, but she still seems to have an elevated respiratory rate. Or those could both be due to the gabapentin. It's very sad to witness her in this state.

 

[fionasmom]

In rare cases gabapentin can backfire and cause excitability. This is not the same thing as an overdose which would probably cause excessive lethargy. if the gabapentin was only meant for extremely short term use, you might not administer it and see if that helps. If your vet told you that in any way it needs to be decreased then she needs to be weaned off of it slightly more slowly.

 

[shadowsrescue]

It has been a hard day for her. Do you have some calming cat music you could play for her? Amazon music has calming cat music as does you tube. She just needs time to settle. I have used a sound machine too.

 

[Clocat]

In rare cases gabapentin can backfire and cause excitability. This is not the same thing as an overdose which would probably cause excessive lethargy. if the gabapentin was only meant for extremely short term use, you might not administer it and see if that helps. If your vet told you that in any way it needs to be decreased then she needs to be weaned off of it slightly more slowly.

Thanks, I really hope that's driving this. It's extremely out of character for her. I'll hold off on giving her any more.

 

[Clocat]

It has been a hard day for her. Do you have some calming cat music you could play for her? Amazon music has calming cat music as does you tube. She just needs time to settle. I have used a sound machine too.

Thanks. I'm worried because this is such new behavior for her, out of all the time we've had her, including three other vet visits. I tried some harp music earlier but it didn't seem to do much. The only time she stops pacing and howling is when I go in and talk to her.

 

[shadowsrescue]

How is she doing today?

 

[Clocat]

How is she doing today?

Thanks for asking... this morning she is quiet. She ate a little food I put down late last night but hasn't eaten today. The room is in disarray from where she was pacing and pawing at things. I'm wondering if this could be attributed to either the gabapentin or the possibility that she might not be spayed after all, despite having what appears to be an ear tip. It was just so extreme. Our former tomcat was meowing under the door at her (both of our current cats were very freaked out). I guess wait and see if this behavior repeats itself, and then evaluate if she needs to go back to the vet.

 

[shadowsrescue]

Give her some time to calm down. It very well could have been the gaba. She just reacted negatively to it. Did the vet ever check to see if she has a spay scar?

Visit her often today if you can. Just sit quietly with her. She may need a few days to decompress.

 

[Clocat]

In addition to everything else, this appears to have caused a flare of her pemphigus, which is the whole reason we have her indoors in the first place. At the vet yesterday they said she had healed remarkably well, including her ears. Today she is constantly scratching, grooming, pawing at her ears, holding them out sideways, etc. I've shared this with the vet, will see what they say. She was supposed to start a lower dose of steroids today. This is a difficult autoimmune disease that is tricky to manage in even a regular housecat. I'm starting to wonder if it's even feasible to think that all of this will work out. Feeling incredibly defeated and sad for her.