My cat has travel diarrhea. How can I safely sedate her for a move?

Gabapentin can cause sedation in some cats but not all. You can try a dose that your vet prescribed to see if it helps with a short car trip around the block. If it doesn't work, I would talk to your vet about a different medication, possibly alprazolam and also use Cerenia, which prevents nausea often associated with motion sickness in these kitties.

It is safe to give these medications together and they are often prescribed for sedation. The sedation typically lasts 12-24 hours. You could ask your vet about trying the medications before you travel to make sure the level of sedation seems appropriate; that way you could discuss a dose adjustment with your vet if needed.

I'm sorry to hear that Prince is having this problem. I would recommend contacting your veterinarian to discuss the problem. They may ask you to bring in a fecal sample for them to evaluate since Prince is difficult to examine in the office. Your vet may be able to prescribe a prescription bland diet which may help resolve the diarrhea if the fecal sample is normal. Or they may recommend a sedative for Prince, so you can bring him in without getting so worked up. We have started using a medication called Gabapentin for this which seems to work very well to calm anxious cats without completely sedating them. So that might be an option for Prince. Good luck! I hope that was helpful and gives you some ideas. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

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!

Thank you for submitting your question regarding PJ. You can consider a diet change. If she is a high anxiety kitty, I like Royal Canin Veterinary Diets Calm. It is an anti-anxiety food. You could also add a probiotic such as Fortiflora or Proviable to help with her digestive health. If all of these changes do not help, then I would recommend further testing. There is a parasite known as Tritrichomonas in cats that will cause soft stool. She may also require a blood panel specific to GI disorders. It measures two pancreatic values as well as cobalamin and folate levels. I hope this information helps!

Hello, thank you for using PetCoach. I'm sorry but we are unable to prescribe medications without examining the patient in person. You will have to call your regular veterinarian. What I can recommend is that you try using Feliway spray and other natural calming medications like Zylkene first. Try it now before you are due to travel. Start giving the Zylkene twice daily. Then take a day where you want to test her. Spray the Flyway spray in the carrier and in the car, wait 15 minutes and then take her for a short drive. If not helping then you need to talk to your vet. ( https://worldtails.securevetsource.com/itemView/view/198943_Home.pml?productId=115875 ) ( https://worldtails.securevetsource.com/itemView/view/198943_Home.pml?productId=117326 ) Hope this helps. Best wishes.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Diarrhea and inappentence can be observed with conditions such as colitis, gastroenteritis, dietary indiscretion, intestinal parasites, among many other possibilities. I think that it is possible that her diarrhea could also be due to stress from the recent move or even a recent change in diet. I recommend that you have Bobbie evaluated by your veterinarian for further assessment and treatment. They may choose to check for parasites and to start medications for diarrhea depending on the results. Good luck! Hoping for a speedy recovery!