Amitriptyline And Behavioral Urination/spraying

[3katz]

I have as last result and after consultation with vet regarding territorial spraying and urinating by my older male cats (who previously never did this) after death of oldest dominant male cat and introduction of female kitten in household been using amitriptyline daily for the past 1.5 weeks with both adult male cats. My vet was the one that recommended this medication course. Stating that eventually cats can be weaned off. It seems to work but then tonight the one cat went and just blatantly sprayed on the kitchen cupboards after nearly a week with no issues. Both were checked and ruled out with any urinary issues and vet said it was behavioral and recommended this course of treatment. What I am discovering is that for a period of time after I am able to get the pill in them they are zombie like and the one has some excessive drooling immeidately following taking the pill. I am finding it more and more difficult to give them the pills and after tonights relapse of spraying I am wondering if any other recommendations or experiences with this treatment can help me with my frustration. I have spent hundreds of dollars on every literal product from enzymes, holistic essences, feliway sprays and diffusers, additives, toys, collars, cleaning products, etc. and this is where I am at.. still finding issues with the spraying behavior and frustration getting pills in. It is not an option to rehome any cat nor put any cat outside, but I can't have this in the home. Luckily my home is wood from ceiling to floor and clean up is good but saturating wood with urine and then excessive enzymatic cleaning products repeatedly will not be good. HELP!!!!!!!!!

 

[lalagimp]

We've been using Prozac pretty successfully. Stewart and Tommy are on .25mg per day in a Greenies pill pocket. The side effects only lasted the first 2 days and then their personalities bounced right back. They stopped spraying within the first two days, but if we leave the windows open too long it still triggers Stewart and he will still try to spray, but it's way more difficult for him to focus and get it to come out so we usually catch him and "talk him down" lol.
It's a consideration to take Tom off it in the future, but Stewart just has it ingrained. He's funny because over a few years he went from a suckling cat, to a humping cat, to a spraying cat.

 

[arouetta]

Amitriptyline is pretty far down on the list when an antidepressant is needed for a human because there's a lot of side effects, including sedation. Ask the vet to revisit the choice. I have no direct experience but I have heard from other owners that Prozac is far better.

 

[mokapi]

I took amitriptyline as a young teenager and it was awful and did nothing but give me bad side effects. I agree with the others...Prozac is a much better option.

 

[tsalt]

Our cat, Jack, is on amitriptyline--though for stress-related cystitis, not spraying, so I'm not sure how relevant this may be to you. Still: we started off with the pill, which worked for several days until he caught on (even in a pill pocket), and it totally knocked him out into a fuzzy zombie. It was a little disturbing how intense it was. Once we realized that the pill was a no-go, we switched to a transdermal form of the drug. Transdermal (which is smeared in the ear) is less precise, more expensive, and there are some doubts on the efficacy of it--HOWEVER, for Jack it seems to work really well, perhaps because it's a slower, steadier stream of meds getting into his system, however inefficient. I wouldn't depend on this method of giving medication for something really critical, but for him, transdermal amitriptyline has given him that 'nudge' he needs without the dramatic side effects of the pill. (Of course, it's possible that just a lower dose in pill form would do the same, but giving him the pill became extremely difficult and stressful in itself.) Your mileage may vary. Best of luck!

 

[red top rescue]

A good anti-anxiety medication for cats is lorazepam (generic Ativan), 0.25 mg. That dose does not sedate them or make them loopy, it just calms them. Higher doses can sedate if need be. It is not generally considered a veterinary drug but it is in the same class (diazepams) as the ones generally used by vets. The advantage of lorazepam is that it is a tiny pill to start with, and 1/4 tablet is a very small amount, it dissolves in water and has no bad taste. My vet approved this years ago when I had to transport an injured feral every 5 days for a bandage change and he would not eat the vet tranquilizer. I simply crushed the lorazepam and rolled it in a piece of turkey bacon and he would gobble it up. In 45 minutes he was very calm and I could put the top on the carrier he slept in and take him to the vet, where they gave him a shot to knock him out for the bandage changes.