Pregabalin before spay raised sedation scores 2.46 points in 54 catsParasight System wins preferred-provider deal with 850-hospital independent practice networkVeterinary economist Matt Salois says practices cannot rely on pricing growth into 2027WSAVA publishes updated dental guidelines with trauma and radiographic sectionsDechra launches Laverdia, the first FDA-approved oral treatment for canine lymphomaA board-certified neurologist presented a seizure protocol built for general practiceGoodVets acquires WellHaven Pet Health, expanding from 75 to 116 hospitals across seven statesGuardianVets reports 34% of after-hours calls convert to primary care appointmentsPregabalin before spay raised sedation scores 2.46 points in 54 catsParasight System wins preferred-provider deal with 850-hospital independent practice networkVeterinary economist Matt Salois says practices cannot rely on pricing growth into 2027WSAVA publishes updated dental guidelines with trauma and radiographic sectionsDechra launches Laverdia, the first FDA-approved oral treatment for canine lymphomaA board-certified neurologist presented a seizure protocol built for general practiceGoodVets acquires WellHaven Pet Health, expanding from 75 to 116 hospitals across seven statesGuardianVets reports 34% of after-hours calls convert to primary care appointments
The Exam RoomBy The VeterinaryPracticeNow Desk4 min readSeptember 30, 2026
Pregabalin before spay raised sedation scores 2.46 points in 54 cats
A randomized controlled trial in Frontiers in Veterinary Science tested whether the drug could layer onto methadone and alfaxalone without adding sedation risk.
A single oral dose of pregabalin given before hospital admission increased sedation scores in cats undergoing ovariohysterectomy. The finding comes from a randomized controlled trial in 54 cats published in Frontiers in Veterinary Science, testing whether pregabalin could be layered onto an existing multimodal protocol.
What the study found
Cats that received 5 mg/kg of oral pregabalin before premedication had higher sedation scores after premedication compared to cats that received placebo capsules. The study states that sedation scores increased in the pregabalin group by 2.46 points on a 12-point scale, with a 95% confidence interval of 1.69 to 3.23. All cats in both groups were premedicated with methadone at 0.2 mg/kg and alfaxalone at 1 mg/kg, both intramuscularly, then induced with propofol at 2 mg/kg and maintained on isoflurane. Pain was assessed at four time points after extubation using the Glasgow Feline Composite Measure Pain Scale short-form and the Feline Grimace Scale. The study states that postoperative pain scores were lower in the pregabalin group but does not report the magnitude of the difference.
How the study was built
This was a randomized, blinded trial conducted at a single veterinary clinic in Catania, Italy. Fifty-four cats were enrolled and randomly assigned to receive either pregabalin or placebo. Cats included in the study weighed more than 1 kg and had an American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status of I. Cats were excluded if they presented with pre-existing painful conditions, systemic diseases (ASA III or higher), a history of organ failure, pharmacological treatment within the previous 14 days, or behavioral issues hindering clinical assessment. Pregabalin capsules were prepared with an analytical balance and customized to body weight. Owners were instructed to give the capsules approximately 60 minutes before hospital arrival, timed to coincide with peak plasma concentrations at 0.5 to 1 hour. Three blinded observers assessed sedation using the Feline Multiparametric Sedation Scale and a Simple Qualitative Scale after premedication. Pain was assessed at 0, 15, 30, and 60 minutes after extubation using two validated scales. Physiological parameters including heart rate, respiratory rate, blood pressure, oxygen saturation, end-tidal CO₂, and temperature were monitored at intervals from premedication through extubation.
The number, and its error bars
Sedation scores in the pregabalin group increased by 2.46 points on a 12-point scale, with a 95% confidence interval of 1.69 to 3.23. The study does not report the magnitude of the pain-score reduction as a point estimate with confidence intervals, stating only that postoperative pain scores were lower in the pregabalin group. The study established intervention thresholds for rescue analgesia on both scales (a score of 5 or higher out of 20 on the CMPS-Feline and 4 or higher out of 10 on the FGS) but does not state how many cats in each group reached those thresholds or required rescue buprenorphine.
What the authors say it cannot tell you
The study does not state limitations in the material provided. The study was conducted at a single clinic with a single surgical team, which constrains how widely the protocol can be assumed to perform. The study does not report adverse effects beyond stating that cats were monitored for ataxia, vomiting, and diarrhea, so a reader cannot assess the safety profile from the information given.
Who paid for it
The study does not state funding sources or conflicts of interest. Pregabalin was identified by brand name as Lyrica 25 mg from Pfizer, but whether Pfizer or any other entity funded the study is not disclosed.
What this means for your practice
VeterinaryPracticeNow's read, not the study's. Everything in this section is our editorial interpretation for practice owners. The study does not claim any of it.
If you run high-volume spay-neuter, this is a protocol change worth piloting. Pregabalin is an oral capsule that owners can give at home or that front-desk staff can administer on arrival, so it slots into existing workflows without adding injectable steps or chair time. The drug layered onto methadone and alfaxalone premedication in this trial, so it does not replace opioids but adds to them. Practices already running multimodal protocols and looking for an edge on postoperative pain without reworking the whole anesthetic plan can test this addition.
The practical test is whether pregabalin reduces the rate at which you reach for rescue analgesia in recovery. The study does not give that number, so a practice considering this would need to track its own rescue rate before and after adoption to measure the return. Pregabalin carries controlled-substance regulations in some jurisdictions, so practices will need to account for the regulatory and inventory overhead that comes with stocking it.
The study was conducted in healthy ASA I cats at a single site, so the protocol's performance in older, sicker, or more anxious patients is unknown. We'd start with the same population the study tested, young, healthy spay patients, and expand only after tracking outcomes in that group.
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