Cat not affectionate after anxiety meds?

[catluver33]

Okay, just making sure it was brought up, but you already know about the potential consequences.

Yeah. We went in for a blood test originally to entirely rule out something physical but with his anxiety state, no visual confirmation, and physical exam seeming fine, he said he thinks it’s an emotional issue, not physical and also that taking blood would upset him more/likely not be a good idea

 

[catluver33]

It’s late I’m stressing over this, so I do have to try to sleep some. I’ll update in the morning. He does seem fine other than being kinda sleepy and avoidant (for him. which just means sitting in plain sight near me) Still purrs when picked up and when petted, but hasn’t sought me out like he normally does.

 

[cmshap]

I'm not sure what else I can add here, except if you really trust your vet, follow all direction and med scripts. I've gone through many medical problems, as has my cat, and finding doctors and vets I trust was the most important thing.

Just like human doctors, if you trust your vet, follow their advice and direction.

It’s late I’m stressing over this, so I do have to try to sleep some. I’ll update in the morning. He does seem fine other than being kinda sleepy and avoidant (for him. which just means sitting in plain sight near me) Still purrs when picked up and when petted, but hasn’t sought me out like he normally does.

I wouldn't get too worried if he isn't showing distress or serious problems. But that's just my initial reaction. Let us know how he is tomorrow.

 

[catluver33]

Morning update: He seems more…normal? this morning

Not to his regular self yet but definitely more so than yesterday. He woke me up again by headbutting but only had his regular talkative meows, no distressed ones, and didn’t bite or hit me to wake me up. He also decided he would lay by me again for part of the night (though ultimately went back to laying at my feet). He had gabapentin before bed and last morning (not yet today but I will give again before I leave as it seems to be stopping the distress)

Food supplements is purina pro plan vet supplements calming care

 

[silent meowlook]

Do you have any links to reference sources about this? I'm genuinely curious and love going down these rabbit holes of science... lol.
Edit: I mean about the overuse in vet medicine.

I am going by some recent seminars I attended and personal observations. But here is an article on anti anxiety meds for cats.
Medicine to ease the feline mind

What I have seen working in vet hospitals is that vets start using things due to word of mouth from colleagues. Colleagues that have had recent visits from suppliers of these drugs. Sometimes this knowledge they gain is great, ie. Gabapentin prior to vet visits to reduce anxiety.Terrific, it works great for that. Then cut to 4 or 5 years later and vets are prescribing it for post op pain instead of opiates. Not great. They do this because there is not the same amount of cost or paperwork withGabapentin that there is with buprenorphine or hydro morphine or fentanyl. But Gabapentin by itself does not offer enough pain relief for a spay or other surgery, even if minor. If it is used with another medication, great.

There have been no studies that I can find supporting the use of Gabapentin for anxiety other than event anxiety for a vet visit. And it does work great for that.

 

[Kflowers]

One vet did an ultrasound of one of our cats and said there was kitty litter in her stomach. Nothing else wrong. It did pass, but we switched her from clay to wheat litter.

 

[KittyFriday]

There have been no studies that I can find supporting the use of Gabapentin for anxiety other than event anxiety for a vet visit. And it does work great for that.

Piggybacking off of this - and full disclosure, I don't have experience with anxiety medications for cats, just dogs/people - but to me if your cat has serious, daily anxiety it would be better to see about talking to a vet behaviorist and looking at daily medications like an SSRI (I know prozac is popular; my dog takes paxil). Situational meds like Gabapentin, Trazodone, Xanax, etc. can be really good in certain situations, like vet visits, but as the user above pointed out earlier in the thread, if given regularly they can start to lose effectiveness and you'll have to keep upping the dosage until you hit a wall. And they don't really treat anxiety the way SSRIs are designed to, they just kind of soothe it for the purposes of the stressful event.

I'm glad your kitty is feeling better and hopefully that continues. That's just my two cents. Vets are invaluable but in my experience, they often don't know a whole lot about psychiatric medications, so if you can afford a vet behaviorist it would probably give you better insight.