Experience with/opinions on acepromazine?

Hi TCSers,

I have another thread related to this topic in behavior (http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=236189) but I thought I'd post here too to see what results I get.

As my previous thread explains, I'll be taking several 6-hour car trips with my cats in the next few months. At least four will be involved -- one there and one back for Thanksgiving, and again for Christmas. Leaving them with a sitter is unfortunately not an option.

My one-year-old, Kramer, hates the car. Predictably, he yowls very loudly the entire time. This upsets my little one, Boots, who is fine in the car by himself, but hearing Kramer yowl for hours stresses him out, so he yowls too.

I am seriously considering getting some acepromazine for Kramer for these trips. If I do, I'll of course experiment with the dosages, starting from the lowest possible up, in the weeks before we leave to see how much he needs to be sedated for 6 hours. We'll also be taking experimental short car trips.

My question to the denizens of TCS: have you used acepromazine for kitty travel? Have your experiences been positive or negative? Is there anyone here who firmly recommends against me using it for Kramer?

Thanks to all of you!!

I transported 2 cats from Kansas City to Denver one time (9 hours) and had ACE on hand in case they needed it. Neither cat liked car rides and would always howl when I took them to the vet.

I didn't give it to them before I left, as sometimes ACE will upset their stomachs. They yowled for the first 30 minutes, then settled down and basically slept the rest of the way. They became bored and I never used the ACE.

I did have them in a large mesh carrier where they could see outside if they wanted to. It seems to me that most carriers restrict what they can see around them, and the mesh one allowed them to stand up and look around if something caught their interest. I think it was the carrier that helped them.

These 2 cats now travel from Denver to northern Wisconsin and back once a year. Their owners bought a large mesh carrier for them and they never have an issue with them.

I think some cats do better if they don't feel so constrained.

This is a very dangerous medicine to use in cats. I would NEVER use this in a cat of mine, and certainly not for travel.

Sedatives should not be used on cats for travel. Cats often react to sedatives in unexpected ways.

Sedatives reduce respiration and heart rate. You don't want a stressed cat in a carrier with reduced respiration and heart rate.

Sedatives can cause agitation in cats.

Sedatives make the cat feel "funny" which can make the cat feel more vulnerable increasing stress.

Cats may moan and cry and feel stress during travel, but eventually it will be over. Sedatives can cause permanent damage, ACE especially.

Okay, thanks to you both for your thoughts. I posted this to find out whether or not acepromazine is kind of like declawing -- one of those things a lot of vets and uninformed people say is okay, but something that you would never do to your cat.

Originally Posted by speakhandsforme

Okay, thanks to you both for your thoughts. I posted this to find out whether or not acepromazine is kind of like declawing -- one of those things a lot of vets and uninformed people say is okay, but something that you would never do to your cat.

Click to expand...

That about sums up, for me, both declawing and ACE. I would never do either.

By the way, I didn't post my own experience with sedating a cat, earlier but I will now. I used to fly every year with my cat Baby . He stayed in the cabin with me in a carrier that fit under the seat. The flights were about 4 hours, but adding in the travel and airport time, he was in the carrier about 7-8 hours each way.

Then he developed asthma. The vet I was using at the time (this was in 1987) said that because of the asthma I should sedate him for the flying, even though I had never done it before and didn't think he needed it, I was 26, and trusted the vet so I did it.

The sedation was a terrible mistake. It changed Baby's personality completely, and permanently. He went from a friendly love every body, easily adaptable cat (why I always took him with me when I flew to Texas every year) to a scaredy cat who hated everyone but me.

I will never sedate a cat with anything, ever again.