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Despite the increasing use of drugs to facilitate feline management in veterinary care, there is still a lack of information on the anxiolytic and sedative effects and their specific physiological impacts. We aimed to compare the sedative, hematological, biochemical and cardiovascular effects of oral single-dose trazodone and gabapentin, alone or in combination, in 8 healthy adult mixed-breed domestic cats on a prospective, randomized, cross-over, and placebo-controlled study. Cats were assigned to receive an oral single dose of trazodone (50 mg) (TG), gabapentin (100 mg) (GG), trazodone (50 mg) and gabapentin (100 mg) (GTG), or placebo (PG). Sedation score, physiological, hematological, biochemical, and cardiovascular variables were assessed at baseline and 120 minutes after drug administration. The mean dose of trazodone was 12.1± 1.1 mg/kg and gabapentin 24.2± 2.3 mg/kg. All data were normally distributed. Blood tests remained within the reference range, but plasma protein increased by 3.78 % in TG. Trazodone alone and associated with gabapentin significantly reduced respiratory rate and systolic blood pressure compared to baseline and placebo. GTG showed a reduction in heart rate and the highest sedation scores. Short-duration excitatory reactions were observed in 37.5 % of the cats in GTG and 12.5 % in TG. Isovolumetric relaxation time (IVRT) increased in GTG and differed statistically from GG. On ECG, no clinically relevant changes were observed. The association of trazodone (50 mg/cat) and gabapentin (100 mg/cat) increases sedation scores compared to gabapentin alone, with a mild impact on HR, RR, BP, and IVRT in cats., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: The aims of this study were to evaluate and compare the effects that dexmedetomidine and methadone, either alone or in combination, have on the ocular variables of healthy adult cats when administered intramuscularly, as well as their reversal with atipamezole., Methods: A randomized crossover blinded study of 10 healthy cats was used to assess the effect of 0.2 mg/kg methadone (MET), 7.5 μg/kg dexmedetomidine (D7), 10 μg/kg dexmedetomidine (D10), 7.5 μg/kg dexmedetomidine and 0.2 mg/kg methadone (DM7) and 10 μg/kg dexmedetomidine and 0.2 mg/kg methadone (DM10) on intraocular pressure (IOP), tear production and pupil diameter (PD). The animals were evaluated for 30 mins. Afterwards, atipamezole was administered and ocular variables were evaluated for 30 mins., Results: D10, DM7 and DM10 significantly decreased mean IOP but MET or D7 did not. Tear production decreased significantly in all treatments, corresponding to 18%, 59%, 63%, 86% and 98% in MET, D7, D10, DM7 and DM10, respectively. PD increased in all treatments, but MET showed the highest PD. Thirty minutes after atipamezole (RT30), IOP returned to baseline with no difference between groups, and there was a significant increase in tear production, but the means were still different from baseline., Conclusions and Relevance: Dexmedetomidine decreases IOP and tear production but increases PD in healthy cats. Atipamezole can partly reverse those alterations. Low-dose dexmedetomidine (7.5 µg/kg) promotes sedation without changing the IOP. All protocols significantly decrease tear production, and Schirmer tear test after sedation is not representative of non-sedated values. Methadone induces quick onset mydriasis without changing the IOP.