Lorazepam
“This page provides important general information for pet owners whose animals have been prescribed Lorazepam during a consultation by Dr Noor.”
Lorazepam for pets in Perth
(lor-ayz-e-pam)
Description:
This medicine belongs to a group of drugs that can help stop seizures and can also calm or reduce anxiety.
Other Names for this Medication:
- Ativan®
Common Dosage Forms:
- For animals: there is no standard animal-labeled product.
- For people:
- tablets of 0.5 mg, 1 mg, and 2 mg
- a liquid concentrate taken by mouth that contains 2 mg in each mL
This handout does not include every possible detail about this medicine. It is meant to answer common questions, but it does not replace advice from a veterinarian. If you still have questions or need additional details, contact your veterinarian or your pharmacist.
Key Information
- Lorazepam is commonly used to help manage or prevent fear and anxiety in dogs and cats.
- If your pet has a fear of thunderstorms or other predictable events (for example, being left alone), aim to give the dose about 1 hour before the event.
- You may give this medicine either with food or without food. If your pet throws up or seems unwell after getting it on an empty stomach, give the next dose with food or a small treat. If vomiting keeps happening, contact your veterinarian.
- If you notice yellow coloring in the whites of the eyes, the skin, or the gums, contact your veterinarian right away.
- Drowsiness is the side effect seen most often. In some pets, the medicine may change behavior or may have the opposite effect than expected (for example, causing unusually active behavior).
- This medicine can make cats hungrier.
- If your cat stops eating, contact your veterinarian immediately.
How is this medication useful?
- Veterinarians use lorazepam in dogs and cats to help treat seizures and to help prevent or manage anxiety (nervousness) and strong fears (phobias).
- In cats, it may also be used to help increase appetite.
What should I tell my veterinarian to see if this medication can be safely given?
Many different factors can change how this medicine works for your pet. Talk with your veterinarian about the following so you can make the best choices together.
- Some medicines can affect how lorazepam works. Tell your veterinarian and pharmacist about everything your pet receives, including prescription medicines, over-the-counter products, vitamins, supplements, and herbal products. Include how much you give and when you give it.
- Tell your veterinarian about any health problems your pet has now, or has had before.
- If your pet has been treated before for the same problem, tell your veterinarian whether that earlier treatment helped or did not help.
- If your pet is pregnant or nursing, discuss the possible risks of using this medicine.
- Tell your veterinarian and pharmacist about any past medicine reactions your pet has had, including allergy-type reactions, not eating, diarrhea, itching, or hair loss.
How long until I will know if this medication is working, and how long will the effects of this medication last?
- You should usually see an effect within 1 to 2 hours, and your pet’s signs should improve after that.
- This medicine does not last long in the body. It generally stops working within 24 hours. However, the helpful effects may last longer if your pet’s kidneys and/or liver are not working well.
When should this medication not be used or be used very carefully?
No medicine is completely safe for every patient. Your veterinarian will talk with you about any concerns that apply to your pet.
This drug SHOULD NOT be used in patients:
- If your pet has an allergy to lorazepam or to similar medicines (for example, diazepam or clonazepam).
This drug should be used WITH CAUTION in:
If your pet has any of the situations listed below, talk with your veterinarian about weighing possible risks against possible benefits.
- Pets with serious lung or liver problems.
- Pets that are pregnant, or pets that could become pregnant. Medicines like this have caused problems in human babies when taken during pregnancy, and they may also cause problems in animals.
- Pets that are aggressive. Some veterinary behavior specialists worry that medicines like this could make it easier for aggressive pets to act on aggressive behavior; this is debated.
- Pets with liver or kidney disease.
- Pets with glaucoma.
- Pets that are in poor overall condition or not well nourished.
- Older pets.
- Working dogs or assistance dogs, because lorazepam may lower their alertness.
What are the side effects of this medication?
Most pets handle lorazepam well, but side effects are possible.
Common but not serious side effects include:
If you notice the effects listed below, they are not usually an emergency unless they are strong, get worse, or do not go away. If that happens, contact your veterinarian.
- Sleepiness, low energy, poor coordination (such as stumbling or seeming clumsy), and weakness. These are more likely when the medicine is first started or when the dose is raised.
- More drooling than usual.
- More noise-making (vocalizing) than usual.
- Increased appetite, especially in cats.
- In cats, unusual behavior changes (for example, being more affectionate, seeming down, or being irritable).
- In dogs, behavior that is the opposite of what you might expect (for example, acting overly active).
- Medicines like this can make learning harder and can slow training.
- Yellow coloring of the whites of the eyes, skin, or gums (jaundice) (this is rare). Medicines like this have caused liver problems, especially in cats.
- In cats: eating less or not eating, acting depressed, and ongoing vomiting.
If you notice any of these signs, contact your veterinarian immediately.
- If this medicine is used regularly for a long time, it may lead to physical dependence. If it is stopped suddenly, your pet may have severe and unpleasant withdrawal effects. If you are worried about this, or if you want to stop the medicine, speak with your veterinarian.
If my animal gets too much of this medication (an overdose), what should I do?
- Most lorazepam overdoses are not severe, but serious slowing of the brain and nervous system can happen (for example, confusion, heavy sleep, or coma).
- In rare cases, more dangerous effects may occur, especially if your pet also received other medicines that cause sleepiness.
- If you see or suspect an overdose, contact your veterinarian or an animal poison control center right away for guidance.
How should this medication be given?
For the medicine to work as intended, give it exactly the way your veterinarian instructed. Always read the prescription label to confirm you are giving it correctly.
- This medicine can be given with food or without food. If your pet vomits or seems sick after getting it on an empty stomach, try the next dose with food or a small treat. If a cat continues to vomit after receiving this medicine, contact your veterinarian immediately.
- The first time you give this medicine, do not leave your pet alone afterward. Watch for too much sleepiness or tiredness, or for aggressive behavior toward people or other animals.
- Depending on the reason it is being used, your veterinarian may direct you to give it only once in a while when needed, or on a regular schedule every day, up to three times daily.
- In some cases, your veterinarian may prescribe a liquid lorazepam that is placed into the nose during a seizure. Before you ever need to do this, make sure you understand exactly how to give it this way.
- If you are using it for a predictable trigger (for example, thunderstorms or separation anxiety), try to give the dose about 1 hour before the trigger. Giving it earlier helps it be working at its best when the trigger starts.
- If you are using a liquid form, measure it with care. Your veterinarian or pharmacist can provide special measuring spoons or syringes.
- If giving the medicine is difficult, contact your veterinarian or pharmacist for ways to make dosing easier and less stressful. The tablets are small, have no taste, and dissolve quickly in the mouth. You can place a tablet between the cheek and gums, then give a small treat about a minute later so the medicine can be absorbed in the stomach.
- If you want to stop the medicine before the prescribed course is finished, contact your veterinarian first. There may be an important reason to continue until it is gone. If your pet is receiving this medicine every day on a regular schedule, do not stop it without your veterinarian’s guidance, because withdrawal effects can happen.
What should I do if I miss giving a dose of this medication?
- If you forget a dose, give it as soon as you remember. Then wait the usual amount of time between doses that your veterinarian recommended before giving the next one. Do not give two doses at once and do not give extra doses.
How should I store this medication?
- Keep this medicine in the original prescription container, or in an approved pill organizer, at room temperature and out of direct sunlight.
- If your veterinarian or pharmacist prepared a custom-made version (a compounded product) for your pet, follow the storage directions and the expiration date provided for that product.
- Store it where children and pets cannot reach it.
Can handling this medication be hazardous to me, my family, or other animals?
- No special handling steps are needed unless you are allergic to this medicine. Wash your hands after you handle any medicine.
How should I dispose of this medication if I don’t use it all?
- Do not put this medicine into the toilet and do not pour it into a sink drain.
- If your community has a medicine take-back program, use that option.
- If there is no take-back program, combine the medicine with used coffee grounds or cat litter so it is unpleasant to children and animals and not recognizable to someone searching through trash. Put the mixture into a sealable plastic bag to prevent leaks, and place it in the household trash.
- Do not keep leftover medicine for later use, and do not give it to anyone else.
What other information is important for this medication?
- When lorazepam is used for behavior-related problems, it often works best when it is used along with behavior-change training.
- This medicine may be prohibited in some animal competitions. Check the rules before entering a competition while your pet is receiving this medicine.
- If you have more questions about this medicine, contact your veterinarian or pharmacist.
“Disclaimer: The information on this page is provided as general educational material only. Every animal’s health situation is unique, and treatment decisions must be based on a full veterinary assessment. Always follow the specific instructions given during your consultation, and contact the prescribing veterinarian if you have any concerns.”