long-term gabapentin and osteoarthritis

[bletza]

hi!

I have a 13-ish year old cat named Eris, she was just recently dx'd with osteoarthritis caused by hip dysplasia. she's been on gabapentin for a few weeks now for pain, though unfortunately I'm talking to my vet about trying something else - she gets really bad incoordination from it, and it seems like it's gotten worse instead of better. she's been eating less lately, has anyone seen lack of appetite in their cats on gabapentin? I'm wondering if the dizziness from gabapentin is making her nauseous or just making it harder to eat in general.

so, basically:
1. has anyone dealt with major incoordination as a side effect of gabapentin? she sways while standing, can hardly jump, frequently falls over when looking over her shoulder, but I haven't heard much about this being common, and the vet suggested it might go away as she builds tolerance (she's still on half the dose she was originally prescribed)
2. could lack of appetite stem from the dizziness? she has a bit of food in the morning pre-medication and eats all of it, but turned her nose up at dinner

i'm waiting to hear back from my vet for her suggestions + to see if she wants me to bring her in, but i figured i'd see if anyone else had any advice, since finding information on longterm gabapentin for cats is surprisingly difficult.

thanks!

 

[mani]

I thought gabapentin was more for anxiety. Has the vet prescribed it for more than just arthritic pain? Is she having seizures at all?
I haven't ever had any cats on it so I can't offer any experience, but they do say it can affect co-ordination. Are you giving her her meds with food? That can help prevent any nausea.

My boy has pretty severe arthritis. Initially he did well on monthly synovan injections (draws fluid into the joints to help lubrication) but the condition has deteriorated and now he also has meloxicam (nsaid). Perhaps you could discuss these with your vet?

 

[Twylasmom]

hi!

I have a 13-ish year old cat named Eris, she was just recently dx'd with osteoarthritis caused by hip dysplasia. she's been on gabapentin for a few weeks now for pain, though unfortunately I'm talking to my vet about trying something else - she gets really bad incoordination from it, and it seems like it's gotten worse instead of better. she's been eating less lately, has anyone seen lack of appetite in their cats on gabapentin? I'm wondering if the dizziness from gabapentin is making her nauseous or just making it harder to eat in general.

so, basically:
1. has anyone dealt with major incoordination as a side effect of gabapentin? she sways while standing, can hardly jump, frequently falls over when looking over her shoulder, but I haven't heard much about this being common, and the vet suggested it might go away as she builds tolerance (she's still on half the dose she was originally prescribed)
2. could lack of appetite stem from the dizziness? she has a bit of food in the morning pre-medication and eats all of it, but turned her nose up at dinner

i'm waiting to hear back from my vet for her suggestions + to see if she wants me to bring her in, but i figured i'd see if anyone else had any advice, since finding information on longterm gabapentin for cats is surprisingly difficult.

thanks!

Depending on the dose it could cause incoordination. How large of a dose and how frequently is your cat medicated?

My cat is on a low dose for mild pain and was getting it twice a day, but I noticed she wasn’t eating as much as she should. I scaled back to dosing only at night and her appetite has really improved during the day and she doesn’t seem to be having discomfort.

 

[bletza]

update: she's eating even less now, and seems to be unwilling to open her mouth to eat, instead just pushing food around on the floor. i wonder if there's an unrelated tooth issue going on. she just got a cleaning/extractions less than a year ago, but who knows.

mani It's just prescribed for pain -- the vet suggested it as a first try since it has fewer risks than NSAIDs. This was a vet I used one time because I wanted to get her in for an appointment ASAP though, so I'm going to see what my usual vet says. She's also on monthly Adequan injections, which seem to help a bit, but not nearly enough.

Twylasmom we started at .5ml (liquid), it was way too much so we dropped it to .25, and she's been there since, 2x a day morning and right before bed. her appetite has been decreasing, she only took a few bites this morning (she doesn't have a huge appetite, but this is weird for her). Maybe I could try just giving it to her at night and seeing if that changes anything.

i have an appointment with my usual vet this saturday, so hopefully she'll have some answers!

 

[Tobermory]

My almost 18-year-old Iris has been on gabapentin for months for pain from her advanced arthritis. She's getting 1/2 a capsule (very fun to try to divide it ) with her morning meal (50 mg.) and a whole capsule with her evening meal for a total of 150 mg. daily per my vet's instructions. While it caused her to be a bit sedated and unsteady initially, it doesn't seem to be affecting her now. She's also ravenous all the time and hollers for her meals (and tries to get Mocha's, too). I don't know about appetite and gabapentin, but my understanding is that they adapt to it after awhile and aren't unsteady or lethargic from it. So it sounds as if something else may be going on with Eris since she's been on it for weeks. Of course, every cat reacts differently to medications. It's good you have an appointment coming up.

I've also been giving Iris Cosequin twice a day as well as fish oil.

 

[redcat57]

We use 100 mg of gabapentin before vet visits with our 11.5 years old, 13 pound cat.
They recommend 100 mg the night before and 100 mg morning of appointment.

We also use it if she is having anxiety or as a pain medication. it is easy to mix with food, and she fights being dosed any other way.

It does nothing to impair her appetite!!! I wish!, She should weigh 11 pounds. I swear she gets the munchies. At 100mg she isn't navigating very well, but she can still get to the food dish.

She has resorptive teeth and just had one pulled with her 6 month cleaning.
She is fighting the Buprenex, so I gave her 30mg this morning.
She has slept most of the day, but that is pretty normal.
She hasn't been begging for food, but she mostly eats at night.

 

[NadiaRey]

I wanted to ask too about this. My now 17-year-old (back then 15-year-old) had a lot of symptoms in the onset of his VIF diagnosis at the end on 2019. One of the symptoms was incoordination. The vet at the time insisted it was pain so he gave it (Meloxicam first and later) gabapentin. I kept noticing how much worse he got with the meds and this guy basically ignored me, both times. But yeah, the meds gave him huge woobliness walking.

But you know, he got a similar reaction with anestesia (has had three proceedures these past 3 years), and even cannabis oil. I was ready to think it was some sort of intolerance...
If I'm not too much of a bother, do let me know if this sounds similar to any of your experiences, please. I'm confused as to how he can get these very visible problems and why. Is it neurological?

As for apetitte, no, he never lost apetitte. Honestly, that's a red flag. I'd take your cat off the meds immediately, give her something like homemade chicken or even salmon, and priorize her eating first.

If the dx is arthritis, I'd suggest BetaCort cream first and miconazol cream later. Yes, it's an anti-fungal (BetaCort is both miconazole and corticoid) but for some reason it seems to alleviate neuropathy and arthritis pain, according to articles I read (Pubmed and such). You apply it to the interior of the ears.

I know this post is already some months old so maybe this is already out of date. Do tell us if anything changed, please.