Picture a Day: Nov 15
CW: cat getting sick in the car (how do I allude to this without making someone uncomfortable??)
Had to take Pixel to the vet today. Part of the procdure is to give Gabapentin to calm cats down before a stressful event. I was anxious about administering the medicine since it was the first time I was doing this, and I was already anticipating trouble getting him to take it. I dissolve the contents of a capsule into a surprise lunch that I gave him at 2:30. Luckily he didn't detect the medicine at all and happily ate the food and licked up the sauce in which I dissolved the medicine. Usually he's very picky about his food and can tell if something's off, but no issues mixing in the meds this time.
An hour later I had to get things ready for us to leave, so we'd arrive on time for the 4PM appointment. I put the car carrier by the door and upon seeing it, he was on alert. I knew he wasn't under the influence, but it couldn't be helped. I put him in the carrier and strapped it into the backseat and started to drive away, but I returned to the house because I wasn't sure if I'd locked the front door. Pixel threw up (which he has done in the past, because getting in the car super stresses him out). Siiiiiiiiggggggghhhhhhh. I pulled the towel he was sitting on from the carrier and threw it in an inconspicuous place outside the house so I could hurry up and leave so we wouldn't be late, and not long after we got on the road, Pixel threw up again. Into the bare carrier. OMG, Dude, WTH?
We got to the vet and I was going to try to clean him off outside, but I at first couldn't see anything at the front of the carrier, so I thought perhaps he didn't end up vomiting after all. But once we were in the examination room, I checked again saw the wetness near the back of the carrier and his damp back foot. Ugh. I quickly pulled paper towels from the dispenser in the exam room and wiped him and the carrier down, and that's when I noticed he was finally under the influence of the Gabapentin. He was very limp when I was trying to wipe off his feet and tail. If only I'd administered the drug earlier at 2PM!
Anyway, I cleaned up the mess as well as I could, and visited with the vet. Pixel was extremely calm during the whole exam, though he still was trying to get out of the carrier. I was kind of shocked at how amenable he was during the exam and now understand why the vet tells us to give the Gabapentin a couple hours before a stressful event. Next time I will definitely give it earlier and wait until he's good and chilled out before we leave the house. 😛
