Can gabapentin safely calm my cat for nail trims or vet visits?

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.

Gabapentin would help with eye pain. The dose would be so low for a cat that your vet may need to prescribe a compounded liquid version of it as the human capsules would contain way too much. I definitely recommend consulting with your veterinarian about it! Good luck!

Gabapentin will not have any effect on this type of pain, it's a special medication for very specific types of pains, usually chronic neurological pain, it won't have any pain relief effect in this case.

Unfortunately we cannot, by law, recommend that you give any medication to poor Oliver that was not personally prescribed by your own veterinarian. Even with that said, Gabapentin is rarely used in cats because we don't have enough clinical evidence to support using it safely in them for analgesic (pain management) purposes. It sounds like Oliver may have suffered a concussion or even has a musculoskeletal injury around his neck area. You can apply a cold compress on the neck area for 5-10 minutes to help with any suspected swelling for now, and then I recommend getting him seen in the morning by your local vet. Your regular vet may not be open on the weekend; however, there are usually some clinics open (like VCA or Banfield) that can help Oliver get examined, tested for internal injury, and treated appropriately with safe medication specific to his particular injury.

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.

Thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach with your question about your cat. I can't find any interactions between them, but I would give one or the other, not both at the same time. You don't want to over-sedate your cat. I'd use the gabapentin for the road trip. I hope this helps!

It is a human drug and that is the lowest capsule strength available. It is best to ask your vet to have the drug compounded into a liquid or a transdermal gel. You dividing the capsules is not ideal - you are not likely to get a correct dose. Roadrunner Pharmacy can compound it for you. Your vet can call in a prescription and the pharmacy can ship it right to you. ( https://roadrunnerpharmacy.com/product-catalog/ )