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Is gabapentin safe to add to my cat's buprenorphine pain meds?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Cat | Domestic Shorthair | Male | neutered | 11 lbs

Checking dosage for pain in M cat recently cleared bladder obstruction. Currently taking 0.25 mL buprenorphine (0.3mg/mL) every 8 hrs. Told to ADD 1mL (50mg/mL) gabapentin every 12 Hrs. Just want to make sure this is ok. Not clear if the tech who gave the gabapentin was aware of the buprenorphine. Cat is 4.8 kg.

1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Dr. Melanie, BVSc MS

Veterinarian

Published on January 12th, 2020

Thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach with your question about Boo. The dose for cats can be up to 1mg/kg. 1mg/kg equals 0.001mg/l, or 1mg/ml. Based on this, he could have up to 4.8ml, so this is within the dose. I hope this helps!

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1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

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My cat was given Buprenex for relief from bladder inflammation. After his second dose he is going MUCH better. Does he have to take all of the meds?. Didn't know if it was like an antibiotic.
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Due to a mix up in labels by the pharmacy, I gave my cat 1 ml of buprenorphine instead of .15 - .2 ml. The buprenorphine is a .3 mg/ml suspension and my cat is 9 lbs. Is he in any danger of overdose.
This represents a pretty substantial overdose. Corbett got about 2.5 times more than the highest published dose for pain relief. However, it's thought that buprenorphine has a high index of safety, and even large overdoses don't usually cause serious effects. I'm assuming you gave it on the gums ("transmucousally") as that's how it's typically prescribed for pain relief at home in cats. Because of that method of administration, there's no way to remove the drug from his system by inducing vomiting. There is a reversal agent that is somewhat effective, but may have to be given in multiple doses due to the way buprenorphine works. The drug is naloxone, and your veterinarian should have this drug. Because the signs of overdose can be concerning (vocalization, ataxia, hypersalivation, decreased body temperature, and lethargy) my best recommendation would be for you to take Corbett back to your veterinarian for administration of this drug, so that the overdosage can be averted.
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I have a gabapentin prescription for my one-year-old cat for 100mg to sedate him on a long car ride. I recently got a four-month-old kitten. Can I give him the same medication?
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DR. MELANIE if poss: Thank you! They gave me Buprenorphine to give kitty for the next couple of days . A friend who's kitty recently had a dental said her vet tries to avoid opiates because they are very strong . Why do you think ? Also, I never sa
Hi Laila! I would give the Buprenorphine as directed by your vet. Your vet is the only who can determine which are the best and safest pain medications for Kitty. Given that she peed and pooped last night, I wouldn't be too worried about her just yet not going. Keep an eye on her, if if she hasn't peed in 24 hours, she continues to go to the litter box and nothing comes out, she strains to urinate, or she cries when she urinates, then I would be concerned and have her seen by the vet. I hope this helps :-)
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Hello Dr. Looking for some clarity on human gabapentin in cats. My previous veterinarian told me (since I have a prescription myself) to just give my healthy 2 year old cat a 100mg of my gabapentin before future vet visits for her travel anxiety. He
Hello, thank you for using Boop by Petco. Yes, 100mg is a normal dosage for an average sized adult cat. You can open the capsule and mix the powder with a small amount of canned food. Only use enough canned food to mask the powder. If you mix it with a large amount of canned food and she doesn't eat it all, she won't get the full dose. Be sure to give it at least 2-3 hours prior to the appointment. I often recommend people give a dose at home on a day that you can be with him as a trial run so you can see how the drug affects him. You may find that it seems like it is doing nothing for him or you may see that he is too sedate or maybe it is just right. But you can take note to see how long it takes to affect him after he ingests it - some cats take 2-3 hours to get sedate and others only need 30 minutes to an hour. This way you can get the timing right for dosing him for his appointment. You don't have to do this but it may be a good idea as "test run". Hope this helps. Best wish
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