My cat screams during travel. Can I give him human anxiety pills?

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!

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.

A 10 hour trip might be very long for your cat, especially if he does not like riding in the car. Your vet could prescribe a medication to help keep him calm during the trip. I don't recommend giving him any medicines unless your vet recommends it, especially since he has asthma. You could also use some Feliway spray to help alleviate stress and anxiety. http://www.feliway.com/us/#redirected

Hi there. Yes, there are definitely medications that can help with chronic anxiety in cats, and she would likely also benefit from other changes in her environment to help make her more comfortable. Ideally, I would strongly recommend getting in touch with a veterinary behaviorist who can evaluate her in person and help you put together a detailed treatment plan for her, including medication if he/she feels that it would be helpful in Sunny's case. You can search for one in your area here: www.dacvb.org If this isn't possible, then you can certainly work with your regular veterinarian if he/she is comfortable treating behavioral issues in cats. You will indeed need to have her seen for an exam in order to start any prescription medication - so you'll need to bring her into the clinic, or you can see if there are any vets in your area who offer housecall services. You can ask your veterinarian about using a calming supplement such as Anxitane or Zylkene before the visit to help make her a bit more comfortable, if needed.

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.

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.

I'm not sure, you would need to ask the specific veterinarian in question what his/her concerns are. Alprazolam is fairly commonly used for travel anxiety in cats, but there are also other meds that can work well. It may be a question of personal preference for your veterinarian, based on his/her experience.