Aggressive Cat, Vet Prescribed Prozac

[pearl99]

I see this is an old thread, but- Doublemom, you found my solution! I have a semi-feral cat and a new cat (Milo, the sink cat in the picture) who, like you, could not get introduced- like you tried everything under the sun for the past 8 months! Milo is the aggressive one. I am also using Prozac on Milo per my vet recommendation. He is impossible to pill.
The #5 empty capsules work like a dream- I cut the pill in half and it fits into the capsule, put down a half teaspoon of canned food with the capsule in it and he gobbles it. He's a total chowhound so he always eats.
The pills are very bitter so he wouldn't take them crushed.
It has been 5 weeks, and I've restarted the introduction for the 10th time
Milo is much calmer overall, I'm introducing very very slowly. This morning, Waffles (my semi-feral shy cat who has been scared of Milo) today went up for a nose greeting through the door open 2 inches. Progress! Then Waffles hissed- but Milo was totally calm and showed no reaction, which is progress!
Good luck to us both!

 

[Karens07]

So how did this go for you? I have 2 sister cats that I’ve had for 6 yrs. We moved into a smaller space and have been here almost 8 months. They started fighting about 2 months ago, and I mean really going at it! Like someone else said Jackson Galaxy would be proud of all the time n money I’ve spent trying to reintroduce them. 2 months!! 2 months goes by and they finally were able to be in the room together, only after 4 days, they went right back st it again! Last resort before rehoming one-Prozac. I’m giving it to both, even though one is more aggressive, my vet said to give it to both. They’ve only been on it 3 days, but it seems every loud noise freaks them out. I’m doing the compound in the ear flap. Are your cats better?? I need some hope.....

 

[Mickpest]

So how did this go for you? I have 2 sister cats that I’ve had for 6 yrs. We moved into a smaller space and have been here almost 8 months. They started fighting about 2 months ago, and I mean really going at it! Like someone else said Jackson Galaxy would be proud of all the time n money I’ve spent trying to reintroduce them. 2 months!! 2 months goes by and they finally were able to be in the room together, only after 4 days, they went right back st it again! Last resort before rehoming one-Prozac. I’m giving it to both, even though one is more aggressive, my vet said to give it to both. They’ve only been on it 3 days, but it seems every loud noise freaks them out. I’m doing the compound in the ear flap. Are your cats better?? I need some hope.....

Hello! Yes, please don't be impatient with the prozac. My guy is still on it, about one year later, but we plan on weaning him off soon! Did the vet put them on a starting dose where there is room to increase over time if necessary? My guy is at maximum, with .1 ml in the morning and .05 ml at night. I can't remember exactly, but it seems that I started out at the lowest dose, and then increased, but don't believe the vet let me increase until he had been on it for a couple of weeks. Don't take this as fact though, as I really don't remember. My point is that 3 days is not enough time for anything. The cats are still getting used to being on the medication. Prozac is an antidepressant, not a tranquilizer, so don't plan on it having a sedative affect 24/7, even though with some cats it can affect them that way. I am a big believer in this drug after what we went through to get these two together. There were many, many, MANY times I really thought we were going to have to take Mickey back, and he is still here! Do they still have arguements? Absolutely. But, they are shorter in duration, not as severe and they get over them quickly. When they are getting along well they sleep together, groom each other, etc..., and will even share a human! Hang in there and stay in touch with your vet for tweaking meds.

 

[Karens07]

Tha

Hello! Yes, please don't be impatient with the prozac. My guy is still on it, about one year later, but we plan on weaning him off soon! Did the vet put them on a starting dose where there is room to increase over time if necessary? My guy is at maximum, with .1 ml in the morning and .05 ml at night. I can't remember exactly, but it seems that I started out at the lowest dose, and then increased, but don't believe the vet let me increase until he had been on it for a couple of weeks. Don't take this as fact though, as I really don't remember. My point is that 3 days is not enough time for anything. The cats are still getting used to being on the medication. Prozac is an antidepressant, not a tranquilizer, so don't plan on it having a sedative affect 24/7, even though with some cats it can affect them that way. I am a big believer in this drug after what we went through to get these two together. There were many, many, MANY times I really thought we were going to have to take Mickey back, and he is still here! Do they still have arguements? Absolutely. But, they are shorter in duration, not as severe and they get over them quickly. When they are getting along well they sleep together, groom each other, etc..., and will even share a human! Hang in there and stay in touch with your vet for tweaking meds.

Thank you so much for responding! This has had to be, the most frustrating thing I’ve ever been through!! So they do go back to laying together and grooming one another?? That’s just great! Haven’t seen that in months. They are on .1 ml in the am. Thanks again!!

 

[Karens07]

Hey y’all. So, my cats have been on the Prozac about a week, and it seems to make them a little wiggy. They’re acting different, and not really in a better way! Anybody else notice that in thief cats and does it go away??

 

[vsvpflex]

We have been using fluoxetine (Prozac) on our cat for 6 months now to help get he and our resident cat to be able to live under the same roof, and it is working!! He only would do pills briefly, so we now use the compounded cream form that we simply apply to the skin area of his ear flap. We tried everything before going this route, and this is the only thing that has worked! It has worked so well that they play and sleep together now. Truly a miracle for us!!

In a similar situation to you. In week 3 of Prozac for intercat aggression. If the initial aggression was 100%, now it’s probably 25% which is a great improvement. How long did it take for you to see full benefits of the med?