“Chill Pill” for a Bite Risk Cat

[RebeccaStudent]

Hi all!

I wanted to reach out and see if anyone has had luck with a safe herbal sedative for cats?

I rescued my forever friend as a kitten from a shelter when no one else had the time to properly socialize him with his high anxiety. It’s taken 3 years but he is now semi-sociable with others and attached to my hip.

The real trouble starts when he needs to be picked up and ultimately be seen by a vet. His level of anxiety is the type that causes a cat to hyperventilate and due to his past experience with the feral trapping and his time at the shelter, pilling is not possible (at least not without multiple hands, did I mention he is the size of a Maine Coon?) He reverts to being feral and will do anything to escape, and almost has broken out of his carrier in the past.

In the interest of protecting everyone involved in his care, I am hoping I can find something I could tincture and slip into a smelly tube treat to make things more bearable. Any suggestions are appreciated!

[mantheymw@hotmail.comStudent]

Hi Rebecca,

I was really hoping someone would respond to this with a great idea. I have a similar situation with an asthmatic cat. The vet as prescribed oral medication 2x per day plus an inhailer. I really am not sure how my husband and I are going to make that happen. I’m replying to see if this bumps your posting up (due to the new activity)?? I’m still hoping to benefit if you can get a quality response to your question. I wish I had more to offer you!

[RebeccaStudentTopic Author]

Thanks for the bump up! Hopefully we can both find a solution without the potential dangers that come with pioneering a solution.

I have tried general anxiety formulas and a calming pheromone diffuser, but they only help with thunder storms and commotion during gatherings at the house. Being picked up and ultimately the carrier are still a hard no. For some background info, I have tried for years to “re-wire” the associations my cat has with hands, gloves, carriers, and blankets through positive experience strategies and he still flies away if my hand reaches anywhere above eye level. It’s a learned response and he seems to recognize this, because he will approach me and rub against my hand moments later.

According to the vet we miraculously caught him to see (we used a pillow case out of desperation and that trick has only worked once), his high anxiety is the root cause of last year’s UTI and urinary crystals, which is ultimately why I need to find out how to crate him swiftly if he should ever develop a blockage.

[Dr. Patrick JonesHomestead Instructor]

For a cat, skullcap and chamomile combined will give some calming/sedation. The problem is twofold. First, if he gets REALLY scared, there aren’t many herbs that can overcome that at safe doses. Second, if he needs anesthesia from the vet (and he likely will to be handled) sedating herbs can really complicate things and increase the risk of anesthesia.

So, unfortunately the safest thing for kitty is to get him boxed up and let the vet manage all the sedation/anesthesia when you get there.

One thing you could do that would help a lot would be to de-sensitize him to the trap/carrier. Fix it so it can’t close and put it near his food bowl. After a few days of him being bored by that, put some treats or toys or his food bowl in the trap. Once he’s bored going in and out of it all day, you be able to use it to catch him if needed.

Don't use herbs or combine herbs with medications or use them during lactation or pregnancy without talking with your healthcare provider.

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