A med not considered sedative, is there such a thing??

kkh

kkh

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My baby-cat gets over-stressed when I bring her to my vet. She needed to be sedated to get a check-up for the last 2 visits as she was extremely stressed out, neither vet or any of her assistants could handle my cat without sedation


She gets freaked out just for a 10 to 15 minutes car-ride. My relocation is coming up in about 2 months and I am concerning if she'd be OK for the long haul air travel in a crate. I haven't discussed this with my vet yet, but her assistant told me that there is a prescribed med(or supplement?) available to calm her down. According to the assistant, this med is not sedative as "sedation means she'd be completely out on it but this med does not cause that, she'd be 100% awake but just calm"...Isn't it still considered sedative?


What would this be anyways, prozac for cats? Is it safe?
 
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larke

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There are various things the cat might be given, but speak to the vet about them, not the tech.
 
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emmylou

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You might try Feliway, which is a pheromone spray you can buy at pet stores. It uses the same scent cats secrete when they rub their faces against things, so it's supposed to make them calm and happy. You could also try putting an old T-shirt that smells like you in the carrier.

My one experience with sedating a cat for air travel was bad. The only thing the medication (veterinary Xanax, which is supposed to calm rather than sedate) relaxed was his bowels. He was just as angry and agitated, only he was also wobbly. I never would have tried it, except my cat was a desperate case: he meows for eight straight hours, and claws and chews his way out of the soft carrier.

I decided it was best for him to travel safely in a hard carrier in the cargo hold. In any case, you absolutely do not want to medicate a cat that it is going to be unobserved in a cargo hold.
 
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larke

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I flew my 3 cats (and 1 rabbit) over 2,000 mi. 10 years ago having given them a pill from the vet (the bunny got nothing, and was fine). It was perfect - all just slept in their carriers, awoke pretty much on the car ride home from the airport and were their normal selves from then on. Twenty+ years earlier we did a similar thing with other cats for a long car ride and again had no trouble at all. Just my experience.
 
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kkh

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Originally Posted by emmylou

You might try Feliway, which is a pheromone spray you can buy at pet stores. It uses the same scent cats secrete when they rub their faces against things, so it's supposed to make them calm and happy. You could also try putting an old T-shirt that smells like you in the carrier.

My one experience with sedating a cat for air travel was bad. The only thing the medication (veterinary Xanax, which is supposed to calm rather than sedate) relaxed was his bowels. He was just as angry and agitated, only he was also wobbly. I never would have tried it, except my cat was a desperate case: he meows for eight straight hours, and claws and chews his way out of the soft carrier.

I decided it was best for him to travel safely in a hard carrier in the cargo hold. In any case, you absolutely do not want to medicate a cat that it is going to be unobserved in a cargo hold.
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My baby will be in a cargo area, therefore, absolutely no way for anybody to observe her during flights. That's my biggest concern, and the reason I am not in for giving any kind of prescribed med for her upon travel. Airlines do not accept "sedated" animals anyways but that's pretty much all is said when checking their regulations.

IMO, medication for her, even if that's not considered sedation, is still risky & dangerous. I really want to avoid that just as much as I can
 
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kkh

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Originally Posted by laureen227

besides the Feliway [which i know you've been using] you might see how she responds to Rescue Remedy, or one of the other Bach flower essences...
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I'd definitely give that a try, just to see how she'd be like on that.
I'll give it a try when I bring her to a vet next
 
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kkh

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Originally Posted by laureen227

besides the Feliway [which i know you've been using] you might see how she responds to Rescue Remedy, or one of the other Bach flower essences...
Click to expand...
Seems there are 2 kinds - regular & alcohol free(specifically stated "for pets"). Which one would you recommend?
 
laureen227

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Originally Posted by KKH

Seems there are 2 kinds - regular & alcohol free(specifically stated "for pets"). Which one would you recommend?
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alcohol free - i think cats [in particular] are quite sensitive to alcohol.
 
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kkh

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I'll get the one on-line & try on her. Hope it'd calm her down, thank you again
 
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