Yesterday Cute start fo dental consult day. Paws crossed Jax behaves. One more dose of gaba to administer. Have a wonderful Thursday Sending lots of peace to Elizabeth @Colio and her family.
Are you reading this, Jax? Behave. I hope the gabapentin is working for him and that you get some answers and a plan for next steps at the consult. Sending vines!
I mean I think so...I ended up testing him a few times last night mostly to check on him with gaba on board. He was definitely a bit wobbly...even this morning (so about 9 hours after his first 100mg dose)...I locked him in our upstairs bathroom while I made breakfast as I didn't want him trying to come downstairs to the kitchen (where he usually circles and meows at me to prepare food faster)...he also didn't go pee all night (went this morning) so guessing he slept well . I also got to cut two nails on his front paws this morning without him even trying to bite my hands or the clippers - so small victories. I think it will be interesting to see what he is like with a second dose...he gets it at 10AM eastern then consult is at 12PM.
It really does sound like it is working!! Good call keeping him away from the stairs. I'd be making big plans to do anything else you've been needing to do to him after he gets that next dose. Clip the rest of his nails, maybe give him a creative hairstyle, kiss his belly over and over. The possibilities are endless.
Morning Susanne nice start this morning , I hope the consult goes well. Good idea to try and get the rest of his nail cut while he's drugged up Poor Jax. I hope he surfs safely today. Have a good day ♥
Lyla beat me to the suggestion. I had a cat once that wouldn’t let me brush her tummy or anyone else btw. She would get knocked out and shaved at her annual. Neither her vets nor I knew about drugging in advance. Vetty vines. Repeat to Jax. BEHAVE!
At the dental hospital and the tech just took him in - I was an OCD mama (typical FD mama?) and wrote down a brief history and his meds and am so glad I did as apparently their internet is down (of course!). The tech also wrote no steroids across his chart - yay. At a minimum, gaba made for easier entry into his carrier and a much quieter car ride (and he was quiet while we curbside waited for the tech!). @Butters & Lyla and @tiffmaxee I managed to clip one more toenail once the second dose started to kick in & got to look at his others. Hurray! I actually I usually sneak nail cutting during meals. And he lets me brush him (& is short hair so I don’t shave). Paws crossed he’s being nice inside
We usually do a 2 person nail clipping for each cat. DH holds them sitting on his lap and I cut their nails so glad we started this as kittens, so they know when grooming time is I sneak some belly kisses in each time
Phew, so glad the consult is over! In summary, Jax does need a (at least one) tooth extracted and I have to pay for it with a small car The doctor I saw today is going to be out for a few weeks so Jax isn't scheduled for surgery until 02/02. I could have gotten him in with a different doctor in two weeks but I really liked the woman he saw today. She also gave him a shot of convenia to help with any infection and she said he probably does have pain even if I don't notice it. He did SO GOOD on the gaba. Where's the P for polite? He earned it today My bar is VERY low - meaning if he doesn't have to be sedated, I call it a win The tech brought him out to my car after the doctor examined him and then had to take him back in for convenia (after doc and I chatted) - one hiss each time he was inside and he showed teeth for convenia (silly Jax, that part of the exam was over). I'm over the moon! With that said, I do have gaba questions for anyone with experience for using it on fractious cats. We did 100mg last night and 100mg two hours before his appointment. For surgery day, the doctor was saying to do 200mg 2 hours before surgery (and to skip the nighttime pre dose) - she was okay with me giving it with a teaspoon of food on surgery day. Thoughts? I don't even know who to tag... @tiffmaxee or @Wendy&Neko do you have insight to gaba dosing? I have read this gaba article - which is basically what we did today - I personally have no experience beyond today with Jax and gaba. And for insulin on surgery day, the doctor said I could give a half dose the morning of - specifically we talked about him being on 1.25u currently and she said if I could measure 0.5 unit that would be okay. Maybe I'll play it by ear if I give it or skip.
Sorry, no help on the gaba dosing. We tried Neko a week at 50 mg, then a week at 100mg to help with her arthritis pain. It made her sleepy but not much else. 200mg seems a lot - but what do I know? As for insulin dose day of surgery, definitely go by what he tests that AM. I did half dose or one time a token 0.1 unit dose and Neko almost earned a reduction at the dental vet's just before surgery. Fortunately they monitor closely.
I’ve never used gaba so I can’t help. The good news is once this clears up it can only help with fd. I know you are glad this part is over.
sounded like a lot to me too...I think she saw what I mean that he's feisty and that was with the 100mg pre dose and 100mg morning dose. Maybe I'll call my regular vet and see their thoughts. On 100mg Jax is stumbling around though he was a superb car rider. I haven't researched this myself but the doc also said he can't really overdose on gaba? I need to look into this further and weigh the risks. Will do! And Neko I also feel like that's a move Jax would do Thanks, Wendy.
I think all the anxiety that Jax usually has was passed directly to me Came home and ate lunch. Feeling more human. Glad to have a plan
Glad Jax"s appointment went well. I'm glad he was cooperative. Makes it so much less stressful for him and you too. It's too bad he has to wait so long to have surgery done, but it is what it is I guess. I don't have experience with GABA with cats, but I know it made my 155lb St. Bernard pretty loopy. Nice sneaking in some mail cutting, might as well take advantage of it Jax is looking awesome!! Have a great day, Susanne
I think they use gaba as an alternate sedative? Cosmo got his dose 2 hours ahead of his ultrasound. We gave 100 mg/ml for that. He was pretty sleepy, but not fully sedated.
@THH I feel like you've posted about gaba before - Jax is fractious at the vet but the 100mg predose and 100mg dose 2 hours before his dental consult worked pretty well. The doc said for surgery day to do 200mg 2 hours before (skipping the night time pre-dose) - any experience doing this with your fosters? In case it matters, jax is 14 pounds and doc described him as a "big cat" (but when I see other cats on FDMB, he doesn't seem that big ).
lol, I'm imagining a big St. Bernard stumbling around - I bet that was something! And yes the drugs today seemed to help his numbers...so clearly he must have some pain or something going on...hoping the dental surgery helps. And yeah we have to wait a bit but I think I'm happier seeing today's doc than another one (they are all fancy and board certified so I'm sure he would have been fine...just a nervous nelly). Hope you are having a good new year
Yup, that's what we used it for today (well, 100mg last night and 100mg this morning)...Took Jax's anxiety/fractiousness down 100 levels but I think the doc would like to see if we can get him down a few more levels for surgery day.
Phew, I'm so glad you are through this part and all things considered, it sounds like it went very well. 200mg of gabapentin at once sounds like an awful lot at once. Aren't they anesthetizing him for the dental? They handled him seemingly well today, so I'd lean toward just doing the same thing with the gabapentin since it worked pretty well! Just my meaningless opinion. I'd be cautious based on what I've seen. ECID of course. Butters hasn't ever had more than 100mg at once.
Happy all went well today ! Interesting discussion about Gabapentin ....so different based on each cat and also what it is being used for (pain Mgt vs anxiety vs both ).
Glad to hear it was only a couple of hisses...Luci turns into the growling, howling monster every time she goes to the vet...she's not a very nice girl and really shows off her Jeckel personality? Or is it Hyde? Either way, it's Nasty-Luci at the vet.
Man, how I wish I could have just observed them with him. Darn COVID. I feel like she wouldn't ask me to up his dose if she didn't think he needed it. Hmm I'll mull on it. I'm going to call my vet too and see what they think. Or maybe do a trial run? But it's not the same at home since I'm not a vet
Thanks, Amy! Yes very interesting. I have since come across this article...haven't looked into the author much so take it for what it is but thought it was informative - https://drjeffnichol.com/27-gabapentin-the-underappreciated-anxiolytic/
Oh Luci - that's not very lady like! Jax is also naughty at the vet. All vets (different offices even) say "he brings the heat". It's always SO stressful and generally he has to be sedated so then I hold my breath. He even was a PIA when he was diagnosed with diabetes (and in rough clinical shape! his adrenaline is amazing). You could look into gaba for luci if she's super stressed...helped Jax so much today...hope it helps for future visits!
When Butters was given 100mg, it was because, and I quote she, "swatted at the vet multiple times". So maybe in that case it was a combination of anxiety and pain.
So happy that the dental consult went well and he got a mani-pedi in the process (I need one of those too! ). Hope all goes well in a few weeks when the extraction happens and it brings his BGs down. My civvie Olive jumped and crashed face first into a window when she was about 3 years old (she's 10 now) and broke 8 teeth, all of which needed to be extracted. That's my vet dental story.
I'm telling you, Butters sounds so tame. Jax is full-on Jaguar at the vet (his namesake! his foster when he was a baby had a little boy and named him Jax since he was black like a Jaguar). Fun fact #153 about Jax
lol, SAME. My feet in particular are a disaster. omg. I can't imagine! So glad Olive is okay! My old men kitties somehow have all of their teeth...well Jax will be minus at least one soon
Sorry, I'm just now seeing this tag! 200mg should be fine. My 10# cat Emily has gotten up to 300mg for vet appointments when she was taking 125mg twice daily for pain management. She's been on gabapentin daily for about 6 years now. To clarify my situation, my 6 cats are mine, not fosters. I would love to do medical fostering, but our cats are too complicated medically and behaviorally to tolerate fosters. The rescue I was with had a physical shelter primarily with group rooms. The rescue did use gabapentin a lot when I was overseeing feline medical there. Some cats got 100-200 mg for vet appointments or adoption travel, some were on 100mg twice daily for pain/stress issues.
