How to prepare my anxious cat for blood work without anesthesia?

Hello, thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Yes, 100mg is a normal dosage for an average sized adult cat. You can open the capsule and mix the powder with a small amount of canned food. Only use enough canned food to mask the powder. If you mix it with a large amount of canned food and she doesn't eat it all, she won't get the full dose. Be sure to give it at least 2-3 hours prior to the appointment. I often recommend people give a dose at home on a day that you can be with him as a trial run so you can see how the drug affects him. You may find that it seems like it is doing nothing for him or you may see that he is too sedate or maybe it is just right. But you can take note to see how long it takes to affect him after he ingests it - some cats take 2-3 hours to get sedate and others only need 30 minutes to an hour. This way you can get the timing right for dosing him for his appointment. You don't have to do this but it may be a good idea as "test run". Hope this helps. Best wishes.

Actually now the recommend medication is gabapentin. Ask your veterinarian for some and give it before the visit. With this the cats are just mellow, easy to handle and not as drugged as with the other medications. Diazepam is not used much in cats now due to it causing liver problems. Apromazine can make them sedate but doesn’t reduce the aggression. I personally don’t find Xanax effective. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for your cat.

It's definitely recommended to have a blood work done at her age before any procedure that requires anesthesia, it's absolutely fine to have it done the same day. the amount of blood drawn for the blood test is absolutely insignificant.

Plane rides can definitely be stressful for cats. There are several different sedatives that would be appropriate for a healthy young cat. Gabapentin is my favorite, but you'll have to talk with your vet to see what they are comfortable with. Acepromazine is a sedative that was commonly used previously, but is not longer recommend because we understand better that is it slows down the body, but not the mind - not so helpful for scary situations. Good luck!

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Poor Milo! Most of the time they do just fine! It is best for his health to have the diseased tooth taken care of. You can ask your Vet to prescribe a sedative to you to give to transport him to the Vet. Anesthesia is always risky but complications are rare and we do everything possible to eliminate risk. Monitoring is done during anesthesia and blood-work should be done prior I wish Milo the best

Hello. This may work, all you can do is try. Use the dose recommended by your veterinarian, & if this does not do the trick, then consider having her professionally groomed or sedated & shaved by your veterinarian. Thanks for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Hello! Talk to your veterinarian about what time she will need to stop eating the day prior to anesthesia. She may need an earlier dinner the night before her dental cleaning. Anesthesia requires an empty stomach to prevent aspiration, which can lead to pneumonia or death. I hope this is helpful. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.