Background: Gabapentin effectively reduces feline transport and examination anxiety when administered before travel. However, its efficacy as a rescue sedative in a hospital setting remains unstudied.
Objectives: To determine if oral gabapentin administered post-admission improves stress behaviors during routine examination. Animals: 30 client-owned adult cats with no history of disease.
Methods: In this double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, parallel-design trial, cats underwent an initial physical examination followed by oral administration of 100 mg gabapentin or placebo capsule. Ninety minutes later, a second physical examination and blood draw were performed. Five stress behaviors (struggling, vocalization, aggression, hypersalivation, mouth breathing) were scored (0-4: 0, absent; 4, marked) during examination before and 90 minutes after administration and summated. Total scores were compared using the Wilcoxon signed rank test. Serum gabapentin concentrations were measured.
Results: Median gabapentin dose was 21.7 mg/kg (range, 14.3–28.1 mg/kg), resulting in a median serum concentration of 16.4 µg/mL (range, 1.3–24.5 mcg/mL). No gabapentin was detected in the cats that received placebo. The total score was lower approximately 90 minutes after receiving gabapentin (Post: median, 0 [ range, 0-8]) compared to the score obtained prior to gabapentin (Baseline: 2 [0-9]; P < 0.001). This improvement was primarily driven by reduced struggle during the exam. Conclusions and Clinical Importance: A 100 mg oral dose of gabapentin provides mild improvement in stress behaviors during handling within 90 minutes of administration. Oral gabapentin serves as a viable in-hospital rescue sedative, potentially facilitating procedures for stressed cats that did not receive pre-appointment medication.
