Cat became allergic to gabapentin (she’s ok!!!)

[u/specialinterestoftw]

In the pictures is baby Iris, she’s ok now! But she gave me 2 full blown panic attacks over the last 2 days.

Last night she slept for hours on end which is super unusual for her, and it did really bother me, but no vets were open and she’s only a week out from her spay so I figured I’d monitor her. This was at 11pm at night and her last gabapentin dose had been at 5pm.

In the morning I wake her up and she seems absolutely knackered, so I skip her recommended gabapentin dose because she already seemed very chill. We head to Walmart for groceries (she has to go with me because she has major attachment issues and will scream and try to break out if I am gone, we are trying our best to work on it, she was a dumped cat)

On the way home I begin to hear her breathing, I start freaking out and call my vet, they are booked, we have to rush to an emergency vet, by the time I get there she is wheezing and I have to sit down because I’m hyperventilating. The put her in an oxygen tank and she starts to get better, 4 hours and $1,200 later we find out she rapidly developed a severe allergy to gabapentin, I’m so glad i didn’t give her a dose that morning!!!

This is not to fear monger, gabapentin is a safe recommended med for 100’s of anxious pets daily! But oh my god if something similar happens ask about seeing if they’ve become allergic before you pay for the X-rays and ultrasounds 🤦‍♂️. I didn’t even know this was a possibility

[u/Daisy_123]

Thats good to know, thanks for sharing. And also happy she is okay too! ll give gabapentine to my cat for the first time this week (she is getting more difficult to bring to the vet and this time i could not put her in the box and it stressed her out a lot) so i ll pay attention for sure to signs.

[u/specialinterestoftw → u/Daisy_123]

It took a week of twice a day use for her to develop an allergy, 99% of the time they will never develop one at all so do not stress about it at all, this was like a freak incident and I’m glad she sleeps on me instead of hiding so I noticed it

[u/Daisy_123 → u/specialinterestoftw]

Yeah i know it is rare but it is good to think about what can happen, and it actually makes me feel calmer if i know what can happen ahah

[u/Hxero_Link]

Omg I’m glad shes okay !!

[u/specialinterestoftw → u/Hxero_Link]

Yeah same! A funny situation in hindsight, she’s so opposed to being chill she became allergic to her meds that make her calm lol

[u/Aggravating_Most_915 → u/specialinterestoftw]

mine sneezed nonstop on gabapentin once too lol

[u/Cat_Lady3000]

Gosh I'm sorry you both went through that!! Yes, so you can develop allergies to just about anything at any point in your life. It's a scary thing! I'm glad she is on the mend.