I have an 8 year old cat, had him since kittenhood. After he recovered from toxoplasmosis 4 years ago, he developed a neurological disorder which requires a neurological medication. Recently he has been extremely reactive about getting his medication. I consulted with my vet on various ways to dispense the medication and ways to console and hold him, but nothing has worked. I also spoke with a pet behaviorist and she was unable to help me. I have rearranged my home to help him, giving him plenty of fun places to be, nothing works.

When I come into a room, he runs underneath furniture. He won't play with me anymore. He disappears all day long. He avoids me like the plague. He appears unhappy.

He's been to the vets for a checkup and everything is fine, but he was extremely over-reactive towards the vet which was another change. Most of this worsened after his dental last month.

The medication is making him constipated and not able to pass furballs, so there is other medication he needs to take to help with this. I have tried all the hairball remedy cat food, laxatone, putting medication in his food, even the stinkiest food and he just won't work with me. He is now suspicious of his canned food and won't eat it now, just the dried crunchies.

I am home all day long and am trying all sorts of ways to encourage him out of his shell............. nothing. He has totally befuddled me and now I am getting very depressed over this. I haven't been able to get near him the past two days and he has gone without his medication. My vet called me yesterday and told me to just stop the medication and see how he is.

Just in a total quandry over what to do.

Would appreciate any suggestions. Thanks

[ECHOES]

Is the medication an injection? Or a pill?
Can it be given in liquid form that would be much easier on him.

Hi Echoes ~ Thank you for your reply The medication comes in either a capsule or a pill. What I do is open up the capsule and dilute it in broth and use a syringe to get it into his mouth. Injections are out of the question with his flight response. I had it compounded with special flavoring and he still fought me. When I could get to him, he would clamp his mouth shut, so I just it flow along his gum lines and most of it ended up on the floor than in him.

Originally Posted by ECHOES

Is the medication an injection? Or a pill?
Can it be given in liquid form that would be much easier on him.

[lizardlady]

You said his behavior changed after his dental. Will he eat his canned food if you don't put medicine in it? Could it be that the medicine hurt his mouth after having his teeth worked on?

Hello lizardlady Good thought. It's been 2 months since his dental, but... I wasn't there during the dental to see if anything went wrong. Got any ideas that a dental might have set off something in his mouth that would make him more sensitive to this medication?

He's never been an easy cat. He doesn't like alot of human interaction and doesn't like to be touched, mainly due to his hyperthesia. Every time I nab him for his medication, I am touching him and setting off his hyperthesia, which scares him. The thinking is that by putting him on gabapentin, it will dampen down the neurological response and help him to live a more "normal" life, which is has. This drug has been very successful with him, until the last two months. In fact, he has become more symptomatic lately and was considering upping his dosage. However, due to no long term studies with this drug (and being off-label), I have no idea how by increasing the drug if it will help him or make him worse.

I'm thinking I will stop giving the gabapentin to him, per advice of my vet, and see how he does. Last time he went off the drug, he had quite a reaction to this disorder. He reacts by racing through home in a state of sudden panic, crashing into walls helter-skelter. I can't sleep with him as several times he has crashed into me when in a sound sleep and bruised some ribs. Last time, before going back on gabapentin, he got tangled up in my sleep apnea mask and that was scary.

I think I need to video tape him and take this in to my vet to show him what my cat is doing while off the gabapentin.

Originally Posted by lizardlady

You said his behavior changed after his dental. Will he eat his canned food if you don't put medicine in it? Could it be that the medicine hurt his mouth after having his teeth worked on?

[ECHOES]

Originally Posted by June_Bug

Hi Echoes ~ Thank you for your reply The medication comes in either a capsule or a pill. What I do is open up the capsule and dilute it in broth and use a syringe to get it into his mouth. Injections are out of the question with his flight response. I had it compounded with special flavoring and he still fought me. When I could get to him, he would clamp his mouth shut, so I just it flow along his gum lines and most of it ended up on the floor than in him.

If it is available in liquid form, as my cat's recent medication was, it is easy to use a syringe (no needle) to measure and squirt into the mouth. My cat liked it so much that he let me give him water that way too. He's well now, but had to be on the medication twice a day for several months.

I hope you get some good suggestions.

Thanks Echoes, I have already had it compounded in liquid form with flavoring via syringe into his mouth and when that didn't work, I took a capsule and opened it up in broth and put it in a syringe and tried that in his mouth.... he just won't let me near him anymore.

Originally Posted by ECHOES

If it is available in liquid form, as my cat's recent medication was, it is easy to use a syringe (no needle) to measure and squirt into the mouth. My cat liked it so much that he let me give him water that way too. He's well now, but had to be on the medication twice a day for several months.

I hope you get some good suggestions.

[Citrine]

I had a kitty that had heart and renal problems. He became so fearful of the tablets he would look at me with sadness and a please no more face. Who knows what these medications do to them in terms of side effects that they cant grumble about.

Animals arent the dumb things people think they are and they can certainly feel pain and discomfort. I reckon after 6mths of this combo my boy had realised that he had something funny happen to him after each time he had a tablet and became fearful of these so called helpers. In fact Im sure of it.

Perhaps try a holistic vet. I prefer them if I can/situ is right.

[Citrine]

The medication is making him constipated and not able to pass furballs, so there is other medication he needs to take to help with this. I have tried all the hairball remedy cat food.

I use and suggest:

Butter
Mackeral in olive oil
A teaspooon of olive oil over his food

EGG YOLK lecithin capsules, half per day. Breaks down the hair. Keep in fridge once opened.

Thanks Citrine (like your nick). Lecithin, will pick up today and give that a try. I also bought some pumpkin yesterday and will try adding that to his canned food, he occasionally likes to eat. Just a tiny sliver or he won't eat it. Where do you get Mackeral in olive oil? Is it a canned food in the grocery store/human or cat food? I tried sardines and he wouldn't go for it, hoping he liked it as it is very oily. Occasionally he will eat some tuna out of a can but that is occasionally. I need to find something for him that he likes to eat every day. He can't have tuna as he's a male cat. It's been two days now since he pooped. I bought a new water fountain in the hopes it would encourage him to drink more but his litter box showed very little activity over the past 24 hours.

On the subject of his hyperthesia, he's starting to become symptomatic again. Last night he raced around my bedroom knocking things over and woke me out of a deep sleep by pouncing on the bed going full speed. He's running away from himself. This morning he is overlicking and biting at himself, his skin crawls, facial ticks, shaking head, and flights of panic all are coming back. Unfortunately gabapentin has a nasty flavor and you are correct, Citrine, I'm sure he's associating that medication with something unpleasant, whether it be flavor or a side effect that comes on right after he gets the medication. Even when I had it flavored, he would barr his teeth and prevent me from getting the liquid in.

Thank you for reading my plea for help with my cat. Will keep you posted and thank you for your suggestions too.

Originally Posted by Citrine

The medication is making him constipated and not able to pass furballs, so there is other medication he needs to take to help with this. I have tried all the hairball remedy cat food.

I use and suggest:

Butter
Mackeral in olive oil
A teaspooon of olive oil over his food

EGG YOLK lecithin capsules, half per day. Breaks down the hair. Keep in fridge once opened.

make sure its canned pumpkin not pumpkin pie filling..i made that mistake once...easy to grab the wrong can...

stumpy

[Missingno]

I hope he gets better soon.

Hi Stumpy ~ Yeup, got it with pure pumpkin, no additives and also the organic version

Originally Posted by stumpy

make sure its canned pumpkin not pumpkin pie filling..i made that mistake once...easy to grab the wrong can...

stumpy

Thank you Missingno back to you I passed along your thoughts to my kitty and he appreciated it

Originally Posted by Missingno

I hope he gets better soon.

[googley]

I know nothing about cats. But it sounds like he is having a really hard time right now. I hope he feels better soon.

Thank you googley, hugs back to you too I'm hoping the absence of gabapentin (neurontin) and withdrawal is not causing the heightened stimulation. He seems more with it, more alert, but not calm like when he was on the gabapentin.

Originally Posted by googley

I know nothing about cats. But it sounds like he is having a really hard time right now. I hope he feels better soon.

[bllauben]

Another treatment for constipation: 1 teaspoon of Miralax twice a day for two days and then once a day until you are confident the cat is going again. Source: the vet tech at the local pet store. Nina was severely constipated. I was told that I can also sprinkle a pinch of the Miralax on her food when I think she will need it. The miralax worked for Nina after 1 day. Nina is 10 years old and about 4 pounds.

Good luck!

[GingerBlue]

Do you have a light of some kind on in the house at night? We use to have a night light in the hallway because we had a kitty that raced through the house at night and crash into things. The night light helped him a lot.

I hope your kitty feels better soon.

Bllauben ~ Hello, nice to meet you and thank you for your suggestion I have been giving my cat 1 tsp daily of Miralax over the past year. His stools are soft not hard, he just can't move his fecals out of him. This morning he ran around the apartment and was scooting on the carpet trying to get his stools out and finally scooted across my bed and left a trail of fecal matter there along with on the floor, no problem can always wash it, I'm just worried about him. Not sure if it's the hairballs that is causing this difficulty, his age or the feline muscular hyperthesia or something else. I do brush him everyday to get as much hair off him as possible. I had considered having him shaved (he is a shorthair) but thinking it's might be more serious than just the hairballs. I am at the point of taking him in to the vets, as all my home remedies are not working.

Today, he is on day 3 of no gabapentin and he is becoming much more symptomatic. I'm thinking that I am going to give this to him once or twice a week instead of daily. He was approachable yesterday but on guard and watching my hands. I am thinking that once or twice a week is better than none if it keeps him calm and somewhat symptom free. I just have to find the right moment to nab him and then it's a fight to get the medication in him as he clamps his mouth shut.

I'm soo glad Miralax is working on your Nina That's a success story. At least she is cooperating. My kitty isn't which makes it extremely difficult. I wish he would eat canned food, then I would sprinkle the Miralax on that. I tried over the past three days to sprinkle it on his crunchies but he decided to not eat his food as a result.

I just feel like I am running out of options for him. He needs medication and yet fights me when I try to get him help. It's becoming a no-win situation for him and not to mention causing me to have more frequent mood swings.

Originally Posted by bllauben

Another treatment for constipation: 1 teaspoon of Miralax twice a day for two days and then once a day until you are confident the cat is going again. Source: the vet tech at the local pet store. Nina was severely constipated. I was told that I can also sprinkle a pinch of the Miralax on her food when I think she will need it. The miralax worked for Nina after 1 day. Nina is 10 years old and about 4 pounds.

Good luck!

Did it stop the crashing at night?

Originally Posted by GingerBlue

Do you have a light of some kind on in the house at night? We use to have a night light in the hallway because we had a kitty that raced through the house at night and crash into things. The night light helped him a lot.

I hope your kitty feels better soon.

[Perna]

I would stop the medication and working so hard to try to herd a cat :-) I have two 10 year old cats and one of mine is like yours, under the furniture when you most want to get her to the vets or something. I had the at-home vet come but she could only look at the "friendly" one (who I had to hold and he's strong as an ox and was not cooperative; he does not like being constrained); a waste of a lot of money.

It is very depressing; I worry if one of mine gets sick because I can't get them near a carrier/to the vets. My "friendly" one has an extreme fear of water (want him to leave an area, turn on a water faucet) because he had to be sedated to be bathed; I didn't realize that until the damage was done.

I think if you quit "chasing" your cat and leave it alone it might become a little more comfortable and eventually "forgive" you? I would work on that. It is very sad to have these companion animals that run from us rather than enjoy us. My two are fine on their terms; like to be "near" me (my female who was half-wild as a kitten "lets" us pet her but often will settle just a couple inches away from where we can reach and/or attack us if we pet her when she doesn't want to be petted).

Success !!!!! I was able to get two 1ml syringes of Miralax and Laxatone down him. He thought he was going to get treats and let his guard down Later on today will try to do the gabapentin too but may be pushing my luck.

He didn't seem to mind the mixture of laxatone and miralax, which really surprised me (necessity is the mother of invention) but the gabapentin is bitter tasting. Perhaps I'll have tuna fish for lunch today and mix the juice with the gabapentin in the syringe and see if that works. Then if that works, I'll just plan on having canned tunafish on the days he gets the gabapentin. I'll switch from water packed tuna to oil packed tuna, I like that taste better anyway, lol.

It helps to talk this out here. I appreciate everyone's input and support. Will keep you posted

[bllauben]

Originally Posted by June_Bug

Bllauben ~ Hello, nice to meet you and thank you for your suggestion I have been giving my cat 1 tsp daily of Miralax over the past year. His stools are soft not hard, he just can't move his fecals out of him. This morning he ran around the apartment and was scooting on the carpet trying to get his stools out and finally scooted across my bed and left a trail of fecal matter there along with on the floor, no problem can always wash it, I'm just worried about him. Not sure if it's the hairballs that is causing this difficulty, his age or the feline muscular hyperthesia or something else. I do brush him everyday to get as much hair off him as possible. I had considered having him shaved (he is a shorthair) but thinking it's might be more serious than just the hairballs. I am at the point of taking him in to the vets, as all my home remedies are not working.

Today, he is on day 3 of no gabapentin and he is becoming much more symptomatic. I'm thinking that I am going to give this to him once or twice a week instead of daily. He was approachable yesterday but on guard and watching my hands. I am thinking that once or twice a week is better than none if it keeps him calm and somewhat symptom free. I just have to find the right moment to nab him and then it's a fight to get the medication in him as he clamps his mouth shut.

I'm soo glad Miralax is working on your Nina That's a success story. At least she is cooperating. My kitty isn't which makes it extremely difficult. I wish he would eat canned food, then I would sprinkle the Miralax on that. I tried over the past three days to sprinkle it on his crunchies but he decided to not eat his food as a result.

I just feel like I am running out of options for him. He needs medication and yet fights me when I try to get him help. It's becoming a no-win situation for him and not to mention causing me to have more frequent mood swings.

The ONLY thing that worked for me was mixing it in a tablespoon of tuna. Nina had a hunch something was up. She sniffed the tuna and could not tell that I had put anything in there. She ate it. Tuna has a strong smell. If your cat is a fish cat (some are and some aren't), try just a bite of tuna.

Nina was doing that butt dragging too. Then I would look at her. She would howl and walk away, butt towards the ground, hips wide apart like she had to go.

Yeah, I can understand difficult pets. I've treated dogs, cats and two tortoises for various illnesses. I am confident that there's nothing I cannot handle right now. Gotta love pets.

If you can, talk to your vet about injectable medications if the tuna idea does not work. They are really easy to give (speaking from experience). Though, with a cat, you would need someone to hold the cat down in a bath towel. Then all you would do is grab the nape of the neck, stick the needle in it (making sure that the needle does not poke out of the other side) and inject the medication.

It does sound like your cat is wisen up to you. My best advice to you is call different vets. Ask opinons. Find a vet that is willing to work with you. They are difficult to find (most vets I know are "by the book, no other way").

Good luck. My gals will keep their paws crossed for you.

--Beth

((( Beth appreciation hugs ))) Thank you for your support, empathy and understanding with what I am going through and sharing your own very similar experiences. I'll let you know how the tuna experiment goes with the gabapentin. I have been trying to get him interested in exercise (play - chasing things) today, hoping that will help stimulate him. Oh, and the new water fountain, I took the top off and that is where the water bubbles up and that attracted him to drink from that area and it makes a water noise which interests him. He has this fascination with water and will only drink if I turn on the faucet and put fresh water in his dish. He will sit and make noises, lol, until I come and change his water, which is several times a day.

Originally Posted by bllauben

The ONLY thing that worked for me was mixing it in a tablespoon of tuna. Nina had a hunch something was up. She sniffed the tuna and could not tell that I had put anything in there. She ate it. Tuna has a strong smell. If your cat is a fish cat (some are and some aren't), try just a bite of tuna.

Nina was doing that butt dragging too. Then I would look at her. She would howl and walk away, butt towards the ground, hips wide apart like she had to go.

Yeah, I can understand difficult pets. I've treated dogs, cats and two tortoises for various illnesses. I am confident that there's nothing I cannot handle right now. Gotta love pets.

If you can, talk to your vet about injectable medications if the tuna idea does not work. They are really easy to give (speaking from experience). Though, with a cat, you would need someone to hold the cat down in a bath towel. Then all you would do is grab the nape of the neck, stick the needle in it (making sure that the needle does not poke out of the other side) and inject the medication.

It does sound like your cat is wisen up to you. My best advice to you is call different vets. Ask opinons. Find a vet that is willing to work with you. They are difficult to find (most vets I know are "by the book, no other way").

Good luck. My gals will keep their paws crossed for you.

--Beth

[bllauben]

Originally Posted by June_Bug

((( Beth appreciation hugs ))) Thank you for your support, empathy and understanding with what I am going through and sharing your own very similar experiences. I'll let you know how the tuna experiment goes with the gabapentin. I have been trying to get him interested in exercise (play - chasing things) today, hoping that will help stimulate him. Oh, and the new water fountain, I took the top off and that is where the water bubbles up and that attracted him to drink from that area and it makes a water noise which interests him. He has this fascination with water and will only drink if I turn on the faucet and put fresh water in his dish. He will sit and make noises, lol, until I come and change his water, which is several times a day.

Thank you! Hugs to you too! Yeah, it can be difficult. Cats are stubborn. Sometimes they just do not know what is best for them. That's where we have to be even more stubborn than they are and give it to them, even if it means that they give us the "silent" treatment for a few hours.

For exercise, I never met a pet that could resist a laser light toy. Even when Nina first came to live with us, she HATED to play. She would follow the light. Now when I break out the toy, I have a chorus of three cats meowing at my feet.

Another thought: Pounce and Whiskas make cat nip treats. What cat does not like cat nip? Your kitty won't get all "funny" off of them. My cats just love the smell of them.

I would not be chasing the cat down. I would allow the cat come to you. But in order for that to happen, you need to have something that is highly valuable to him: treats, a new toy (like a laser toy), cat nip, a brush, etc. He needs to know you have it. The idea here is to try to find something more valuable to him than hiding is. Cats are smart and greedy. They will trade a lesser valued item/idea for a higher valued one. I think this would be a great way to give the medication. Most cats I know love tuna more than anything (except my Mooch--it's chicken for her) and they barely notice medicine mixed in.

Good luck!

--Beth and the gang.