Jesus Christ, if you need a medical advice and you don’t trust your doctor, ask another doctor.
My 4.8kg cat is very fractious for vet visits, so the vet originally suggested 100mg gabapentin 2 hours before his appointment. Since that wasn’t enough to relax him adequately, for his next visit, they increased the dosage to 150mg, which still didn’t do the trick. Next, they suggested adding a dose the night before, but it wasn’t until we got to 200mg gabapentin the night before, plus another 200mg the morning of, that he finally mellowed out juuuust enough that they could examine him.
Thanks for telling me this! :) I ended up doing 100 then 100. Less than they said.
Vets say gaba but they mean gabapentin which is different than the herbal supplement GABA. What’s even more reckless is that both are also for humans. They really shouldn’t slang and cause confusion, it’s completely unprofessional. My cat only ever got 100mg but they prescribed once the night before and once 3 hrs before.
I think the vets rely on it too much. But the good thing is that it won’t kill your cat. i felt bad giving mine as much as they prescribed unless it was going to be surgery. Then again they had marked my cat as feisty.
It’s more for the vet staff than your cat. But it tranquilizes them down so they don’t freak out too but still it’s more to make their job easier. IMO if they can’t handle a cat without it being sedated then they shouldn’t be vets but pretty much all vets require it. Like how they put you in a wheel chair in the ER even though you can walk. I was trying to find a vet that didn’t require it but didn’t have luck
200mg of what?
GABA, edited
OP, just to be clear GABA and Gabapentin are two different drugs/molecules…
Its worth clarifying to avoid confusion here, which has been been prescribed
Gabapentin?
Gabapentin is used in cats to manage chronic pain, control seizures, and reduce anxiety, especially during vet visits. The dosage varies, typically ranging from 1.5 to 5 mg per pound for pain relief, 2.5 to 5 mg per pound for seizures, and 20 mg/kg for anxiety before vet visits.
I found that link too. I decided to just give 100mg though they could do 120mg
You haven’t said what your cat was prescribed, so I can only assume it was hammers. Now, I am not a vet but I can say you should never ever give your cat hammers. Even only 200mg.
lol, it was gaba
Gabapentin?
Been on that myself. Would never give it to my cats.
It’s actually a really effective drug to calm cats, among other animals. I always give it to my orange boy because he panics whenever he’s in his transporter. On gabapentin he just chills in there, doesn’t have elevated heart rates and doesn’t cry.
Because of the depression effect? I chose this over being out under
I almost had a knee jerk reaction to when my vet suggested it at my last visit.
For a simple exam+vaccine… My cats have had no prior issues at their annual visits before last may.
I brought my cats together for a change and them handling anxiety differently, I feel, made her more anxious that particular visit. 🫣 she also got excited+frustrated seeing a squirrel in the yard through the window in the exam room too pfft.
Back to gabba; Probably due to my bad personal experience.
It was for nerve/fibro pain. But I ended up being a passively suicidal zombie at 900mg a day at ~210 lbs @.@ bonus depersonalization/derealization.
Tho I did have a “toss in a dark box and pray” type semi feral cat, decades ago that I probably wouldn’t think twice on filling the prescription for.🙀
What did you end up doing for your cat?
That’s really scary. My partner was like that when they were on it too. Very scary!
They want this for anxiety for a cat visiting a vet?
That’s ludicrous.
Starting at that dosage does seem a bit much, but that’s exactly what it took to tame my own cat’s vet anxiety. He was still hissy, but finally just barely manageable.
Never had a problem at another vet but he goes insane at this one. I brought all my cats though…
