10mg Amitriptyline - Freakish behavior

[jessica smith]

One of my cats recently developed crystals in his urine as well as blood.   He experienced no behavioral changes, except that he made tiny puddles of red tinted urine outside the litterbox, so of course I rushed him to the vet.   The vet prescribed a dietary change as well as Amitriptyline.

I was assured that 10mg was a low dosage, and it helps sooth the bladder and encourage litterbox usage again.

However, he now acts very strangely.   Previously, he would act like a giant kitten, always pestering his sister and tossing things around on the floor with his front paws, or standing by the door on his hind legs propped up until you looked at him at which point he would hop like a bunny to get away.   When I come home from work, he always meets me at the door, jumps on my right shoulder, and meows loudly until I march to get him some food which he gobbles up.  Pretty routine.   Now he's... weird.   Scary weird.

He'll just stare at me unblinking forever, his eyes are massively dilated (about as far as I've ever seen them), and he leaves his mouth open just a tiny crack.   Coming home he wasn't by the door, then looked at me weird, meowed, and went to eat his food.     This is only day three of the medication though, and reading online I heard it takes a week to even build up in the system.   He's eating and drinking and actually urinating good amounts now.    Food transition just now finished, and more odor but no diarrhea or anything.  I felt up on his abdomen and what not and he doesn't react as if anything hurts.   Eyes seem healthy except the giant pupils.   His breath smells OK and I can put my finger in his mouth with no objection.

And he can't be mad at me because I don't pill him, I just put a bit of natural unsalted butter around the pill and toss it in with his dry food and he gobbles it up inadvertently.

Vets of course say, oh just bring him in they can check, but then I have to take another day off and it seems like such a traumatic experience for him in the car, he yowls the whole trip looking as pathetic as possible and then frightened to come out of his carrier on arrival.  

Think I should stick in there, or is this too weird?   I'm hoping since its an "upper" that he's just feeling a bit high and seeing rainbows, but his expression is so freaky.

 

[red top rescue]

Even though this is a commonly used drug, it can have a lot of side effects (even in humans!), and as sensitive as cats are, I would err on the side of caution.  I'm not a vet, but I HAVE had the experience of a cat being super sensitive to something that doesn't bother other cats at all, so if he seems weird to you and his pupils are dilated, read up about the drug and its side effects and make your own decisions. Did they do an EKG before they put him on it?  He's your cat and you are there with him.  Here is a good link to learn about the side effects of this medication:  http://www.vetinfo.com/side-effects-amitriptyline-cats.html

 

[jessica smith]

Since there is a high chance of your cat developing a cardiac disturbance, an EKG should be done before starting this medication.

Read more: The Side Effects of Amitriptyline in Cats  

I see that, and not that I am aware of, as it doesn't show up on my receipt.   I still haven't gotten a response from the vet, and will just keep a close eye on him and request an appointment on Friday to be safe.  Thank you.

 

[jessica smith]

No option to update my post, but aside from still consistently dilated eyes, and also a tiny bit of his third eyelid visible which is abnormal, they say no eye issues or anything and he's fine with his original urinary crystals which is a relief.   No litterbox issues and poo and everything is normal.    He also stopped with the gaping mouth thousand mile stare and is acting a bit more normal now as well, albeit less playful and somewhat lazy, but not blank stare crazy face motionless like before.   He's also a loudmouth again which is a comforting normal behavior.   So apparently for anyone searching this later, apparently it can take an acclimatizing period, but as soon as the medication is running low we are going to wean him off it and certainly discontinue.  

 

[wasabipea]

The dosage for your kitty is 10 milligrams?

How much does he or she weigh? My vet prescribed the same drug for my kitty for what she assumed was stress related cystitis and she called it an antidepressant not a bladder soothing drug. Maybe the bladder soothing was a result of not being stress out, because she was prone to cystitis.
-
But when my cat was prescribed the drug originally, she was about 16 and only seven and a half pounds. she acted a little strange for about two weeks, she slept all the time and acted like a zombie, I didn't notice dilated pupils. The first time she went through those side effects, I felt so bad I took her off it immediately. The second time I tried, the vet told me to write out the side effect that they would be about 2 weeks. She did make it through the side effects and came out ok - she had the same personality but was much less calm and less nervous.

However she is 18 now, & I am weaning her off of it because there are too many contra indications with other drugs. You have to be very very careful what other medications she takes when she is on this drug, and if anything is prescribed to her make sure that the vet knows that she's taking this. Even supplements.

But the main thing I wanted to say is, in my opinion, 10 milligrams is a HUGE dose... my cat was dosed 1/4 of a 10 mg pill once per day and still suffered similar side effects.

Granted my cat was older and small, but I would definitely talk to your vet about the dose. In my experience, I think that's high... plus I am now choosing to wean her off of it because of other reasons as well, I just don't think it's the healthiest medication for a pet, but that's just my opinion. Sh has other issues going on, nd I don't want her limited regarding treatment options because sh is on this complicated pill.

Plus it is pretty rough on the kidneys, and not recommended for kidney cats., which mine is.

Not trying to scare you, just do your research and maybe a second opinion on the dose couldn't hurt, just my 2 cents.

Many folks say that this drug change their pets' lives for the better, so obviously make your own decision but I would just look into it further, just to have all the facts. But also check out the link that red top provided.

And lastly, if he or she has been on it for a while, it is not recommended to stop it suddenly, wean the kitty off of it if you choose to.

That's my experience with it. Again, if you choose to stay on it, just be very careful about any other medications or supplements that you give kitty cat. Good luck, if you have any other questions don't hesitate to ask, I may or may not be able to help but I can at least give you what I know from my experience. Please don't hesitate to ask or PM me if you don't want to put it out there.

 

[jessica smith]

The dosage for your kitty is 10 milligrams?

How much does he or she weigh? My vet prescribed the same drug for my kitty for what she assumed was stress related cystitis and she called it an antidepressant not a bladder soothing drug. Maybe the bladder soothing was a result of not being stress out, because she was prone to cystitis.
-
But when my cat was prescribed the drug originally, she was about 16 and only seven and a half pounds. she acted a little strange for about two weeks, she slept all the time and acted like a zombie, I didn't notice dilated pupils. The first time she went through those side effects, I felt so bad I took her off it immediately. The second time I tried, the vet told me to write out the side effect that they would be about 2 weeks. She did make it through the side effects and came out ok - she had the same personality but was much less calm and less nervous.

However she is 18 now, & I am weaning her off of it because there are too many contra indications with other drugs. You have to be very very careful what other medications she takes when she is on this drug, and if anything is prescribed to her make sure that the vet knows that she's taking this. Even supplements.

But the main thing I wanted to say is, in my opinion, 10 milligrams is a HUGE dose... my cat was dosed 1/4 of a 10 mg pill once per day and still suffered similar side effects.

Granted my cat was older and small, but I would definitely talk to your vet about the dose. In my experience, I think that's high... plus I am now choosing to wean her off of it because of other reasons as well, I just don't think it's the healthiest medication for a pet, but that's just my opinion. Sh has other issues going on, nd I don't want her limited regarding treatment options because sh is on this complicated pill.

Plus it is pretty rough on the kidneys, and not recommended for kidney cats., which mine is.

Not trying to scare you, just do your research and maybe a second opinion on the dose couldn't hurt, just my 2 cents.

Many folks say that this drug change their pets' lives for the better, so obviously make your own decision but I would just look into it further, just to have all the facts. But also check out the link that red top provided.

And lastly, if he or she has been on it for a while, it is not recommended to stop it suddenly, wean the kitty off of it if you choose to.

That's my experience with it. Again, if you choose to stay on it, just be very careful about any other medications or supplements that you give kitty cat. Good luck, if you have any other questions don't hesitate to ask, I may or may not be able to help but I can at least give you what I know from my experience. Please don't hesitate to ask or PM me if you don't want to put it out there.

Thank you!  Yes, definitely not giving him anything else while on that.

I'm definitely going to wean him off of it very soon and also slowly as suggested, this was purely for recovery of the medical issue.   I think by next week we will start winding down even though that won't use up the entire supply provided, and I'll just use a sharp kitchen knife to cut the pills in half (5mg) for a week, and then 1/4s (2.5mg for a week) and then nothing.   Hopefully they cut well like that, as currently I'm masking the bitter taste by encapsulating it in butter and putting it on top of his food which he wolfs down not seeming to notice.   Supposedly a desirable side effect of the drug is urine retention, and that helps flush out the UTI with bigger pee movements and stops litterbox avoidance issues, which we haven't had.

He's 9.3 lbs and 3 years old (usually hyper, but now more sedate), no other known medical issues to date.  

 

[wasabipea]

My girl was only on it for about two years, & I don't think it did anything for her recurrent UTIs - but it definitely made her calmer.

I only have a moment because I have to run out, but you may want to look into something called D mannose for urinary tract infections. I have read that 50 percent, while someone else told me that 90 percent, of UTIs are e.coli based. D Mannose is a sugar that is derived from cranberries, and well it did not inherit some of the bad qualities of cranberries for cats, its basically a form of sugar. It passes through the kidneys and bladder and acts as a magnet for specifically e.coli, so that the E coli binds to the D mannose and then the cat just pees it out before it can become an infection.

If you buy the NOW brand, it is 100% d-mannose, and my fussy cat has no problem eating her food with it mixed in - a sprinkling of maybe 1/4 capsule or so.

I'm just learning about the d-mannose now, so I may be off a little bit on my facts, but you can google it and I plan to give it to my cat at every feeding seeing as she constantly gets infections and is battling a bad one now.

Gotta run, glad to hear the amil is a short term thing for your kitty. Mine has been a little bit reclusive since I've weaned her off, but she is fine when I go see her - she just spends most of her spare time up in my bedroom now for some reason.

Good luck!