51³Ô¹ÏÍø

MRes - Gabapentin use in cats under primary veterinary care in the UK - A VetCompass perspective

Lead RVC Supervisor: Dr Dan O’Neill, Dr Karen Hiestand, Dr Rowena Packer, Prof Dave Brodbelt 

Department: Pathobiology and Population Sciences, Clinical Science and Services   

Background, aims and objectives:

With over 12 million cats estimated to be owned in the UK, cats are now an integral part of many human families. But domestic life can put cats under enormous stress that can be compounded by transportation and veterinary care itself. The concept of ‘cat friendly’ veterinary clinics is now firmly established in the UK. Gabapentin is used in cats to control pain, manage epilepsy and also to reduce anxiety reduction. There is growing veterinary and owner interest in the use of gabapentin as a drug to specifically to lower stress and improve compliance during veterinary visits.  Transportation in general, and especially when linked with veterinary examination, is perceived by many owners and veterinary professionals as a major stressor for cats and can further reduce cat welfare by discouraging access to preventive veterinary care. There are also risks to veterinary staff from stress-precipitated aggression in cats towards veterinary staff.  

VetCompass holds anonymised clinical records on over 10 million cats under veterinary care in the UK. These data have been used as a research resource supporting over 140 peer-reviewed publications to date. This MRes will  evaluate changing gabapentin usage in cats under primary veterinary care in the UK from 2013-2023. There will then be particular focus on short-term use aimed at reducing signs of stress/anxiety to make cats more amenable to veterinary clinical examination during 2023. The student will search the VetCompass cohort of 1.2 million cats in 2023 to identify cats treated with gabapentin and then extract extra clinical information on the reasons for use, dose, side effects and outcomes.  Breed, sex, neuter status, age and bodyweight will be assessed as risk factors for gabapentin use.   

The study will 

  1. Estimate the frequency, cat demographic and veterinary clinic risk factors of gabapentin use in cats in the UK within VetCompass.
  2. Identify the clinical indications, dosage, in-clinic vs home use, and duration of gabapentin use in cats in the UK. 
  3. Evaluate the relative usage of short-term gabapentin use in cats in the UK as an anxiolytic to promote both improved emotional wellbeing of cats and to facilitate delivery of veterinary care,  and to identify desired (e.g., reduced incidence of aggression) and undesired outcomes (e.g. ‘side effects’) from this therapy.   

The VetCompass study data are ready to analyse and ethical approval has been gained. The study will be designed in parallel with a literature review during the first 2 months of the project. Data extraction will be undertaken in months 3-6, followed by data analysis in months 7-8.  The final two months will allow for final write up and manuscript preparation. 

References

  1. O'Neill, D.G., Gunn-Moore, D., Sorrell, S., McAuslan, H., Church, D.B., Pegram, C. and Brodbelt, D.C. (2023) 'Commonly diagnosed disorders in domestic cats in the UK and their associations with sex and age', Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery, 25(2), 1098612X231155016, available: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1098612x231155016. 
  2. Pankratz KE, Ferris KK, Griffith EH, Sherman BL. Use of single-dose oral gabapentin to attenuate fear responses in cage-trap confined community cats: a double-blind, placebo-controlled field trial. Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery. 2018;20(6):535-43. 
  3. van Haaften KA, Forsythe LRE, Stelow EA, Bain MJ. Effects of a single preappointment dose of gabapentin on signs of stress in cats during transportation and veterinary examination. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association. 2017;251(10):1175-81. 
  4. Riemer S, Heritier C, Windschnurer I, Pratsch L, Arhant C, Affenzeller N. A Review on Mitigating Fear and Aggression in Dogs and Cats in a Veterinary Setting. Animals. 2021;11(1):158. 

Requirements

Essential:

  • Must meet our standard MRes entry requirements. 
  • Degree in veterinary medicine, veterinary nursing or a relevant animal or biological sciences degree.

Desirable:

  • Experience of UK companion animal veterinary practice.
  • Experience with feline behaviour and/or welfare.
  • Prior experience of epidemiology, scientific writing or statistical analysis.  

This study will be highly data-centric with much of the data work capable of being done remotely rather than being laboratory based.  

Fees and Funding

This can be taken either full-time or part-time (12months FTE) project commencing ¾±²Ô October 2025, based at RVC's Hawkshead campus. 

This MRes study is partially funded: VetCompass will cover the MRes “51³Ô¹ÏÍø” tuition fees (note – this cover does not apply to overseas tuition fees), a RVC laptop and relevant software and attendance at one UK conference. The MRes student will be expected to meet their living and travel expenses themself. The student will not receive a stipend.  

International applicants are welcome to apply but must be able to fund the difference between "51³Ô¹ÏÍø" and "Overseas" tuition fees. 

Please note that EU/EEA and Swiss national students may no longer be eligible for the “51³Ô¹ÏÍø” rate of tuition fees, dependent on personal circumstances (including immigration status and residence history in the UK) and UK government rules which are currently being developed. For up-to-date information on fees for EU/EEA and Swiss national students following Brexit please see our fees and funding p²¹²µ±ð.&²Ô²ú²õ±è;

How to Apply

For more information on the application process and English Language requirements see How to Apply. 

Deadline: 04/04/2025

Interviews will take place remotely (Teams, Zoom etc) within 4 weeks of the closing date. 

We welcome informal enquiries - these should be directed to Dr Dan O’Neill  doneill@rvc.ac.uk.

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