Regular medical care is recommended for all life stages of our feline patients. However, we care about your pet’s physical health and their emotional well-being.

The fear that can come from traveling to the vet and undergoing examination can be stressful for not only your cat, but for you as well. Reluctance to get in the carrier, vocalizing during travel, growling, dilated pupils, and laid back ears are all signs that your cat may be experiencing stress, fear, and anxiety. If your cat exhibits these behaviors, we recommend speaking with your veterinarian prior to your cat’s appointment. There are many medications that can be used to create a fear free visit for you and your cat, and if your vet knows about these behaviors, they are able to provide help. Recently, Zoetis began supplying a new oral medication, Bonqat for feline patients that can help to provide a positive veterinary experience for everyone involved.

What is Bonqat?

Bonqat is a wonderful tool we can use to help your cat feel better and we love ensuring our patients and their families have a positive experience. Bonqat is the first and only FDA-approved treatment for alleviation of acute fear, anxiety, and stress that comes with transporting cats to the vet, as well as the veterinary visit itself. This medication is what we refer to as a “pre-visit pharmaceutical”, meaning this is a medication you can give prior to veterinary appointments to decrease stress and anxiety during the visit.

The medication is prescribed to be given orally approximately one and a half hours prior to traveling to the veterinary visit. It is reported that effects can be seen as early as 30 minutes to an hour after administration. It is easy to administer, in the form of a small liquid dose, and is well accepted by a majority of cats. Luckily, for food-motivated felines, the medication is able to be given with a small amount of food (a teaspoon of wet food or about ten kibbles of dry food). Applying the dose to a larger amount of food may delay the effects.

Additionally, this medication is not a sedative. Common client concerns are the worry of their pet being overly sedated. The active ingredient in Bonqat, pregabalin, is a targeted drug that impacts the chemicals and neurotransmitters involved in feline anxiety and fear. This medication is designed to specifically reduce fear, stress, and anxiety in felines – not sedate them.

How does Stress Impact Your Cat?

Fear, stress, and anxiety have more of an impact on our feline friends than we often realize. Prolonged stress can actually cause your cat’s stress system to become dysregulated, which leads to behavioral dysregulation. The effects of stress influence multiple bodily systems such as cardiovascular, endocrine, and immune function. Prolonged stress can also impact your pet’s memory, cognition, emotional well-being, and overall behavior. Decreasing fear, anxiety, and stress allow for more accurate vital signs and test results from the veterinary office. When stress influences the laboratory values for your pet, it can make it difficult to differentiate whether or not values are abnormal due to stress or an underlying condition. We want to prevent stress for many reasons during your veterinary visit, but one of the most important reasons is to illustrate an accurate depiction of your cat’s health.

What do Studies Show?

There have been several studies done on the effectiveness of Bonqat. The results show that placing cats in their carriers was much easier after giving Bonqat, with 54.3% of felines presenting with “good” or “excellent” behavior. During the exam with the vet, 52% of felines presented with “good” or “excellent” behavior. The behaviors that were said to improve were vocalization, panting, resistance, and freezing (“Bonqat®”).

In summary, every cat is unique and any medicine(s) prescribed should be chosen with care and consideration. All pre-visit medications are personalized for your pet. Age, breed, health history, the level of fear, anxiety, and stress, procedures planned, and other medications that your pet may be on are all major parts of the decision. We recommend Bonqat to decrease fear, anxiety, and stress and help to prevent fearful associations with veterinary care.

Work Cited

“Bonqat®.” Zoetis, Zoetis, https://www.zoetisus.com/products/cats/bonqat. Accessed 10 June 2024.