Amitriptyline - what to expect

[Kat Luv]

Hi all,

One of my cats was recently put on amitriptyline (transdermal) for severe anxiety and behavioral issues. For a bit of background, she is semi-feral and we've tried every other possible solution (feliway products-all, zylkene, composure treats, several other otc/non-prescript items, and also Prozac.

Technically, the Prozac worked, but she stopped grooming for the most part and essentially turned into a zombie. She was on the lowest dose...we even cut that in half (to 1/4 a pill) and she was still the same (zombie-like). Tapered her off, kept her off anything for about 2 months, and then started Amitriptyline about 2 weeks ago (5mg per day). So far, zero difference. She is nearly impossible to pill, even with a plunger, and she carefully scrutinizes food for any change in flavor, texture, etc. She's still a bit feral/territorial, and it's a nightmare trying to get her into a carrier, drive in the car with her, and do the vet visits.
We have also done multiple rounds of behavioral therapies with her, but the poor therapists have all but given up.

My question is this- has anyone else used Amitriptyline? If so, how long did it take for you to see a difference? I'm guessing it takes time to see a difference, but would think 2 wks would show a tiny bit? Also, do you remember the dosage you were on?

TIA, Kat

 

[Renne]

Hi, I'm sorry to say that I have no experience using antidepressants on cats, but I know about using them on humans. Unlike Prozac, Amitriptyline is a very old antidepressant with many side-effects (for humans) and tends to have a very strong sedative effect, to the point that people mostly sleep or walk like zombies. It's one of the strongest sedative antidepressants, and it's often used to treat schizophrenic patients.

In case of humans, It takes about 3-4 weeks for an antidepressant to kick in. Some antidepressant won't work no matter how long you wait, for many patients it takes a long time to try out various ones until they've found the one that works. But I'm surprised that the sedative effect of Amitriptyline didn't show up at all, since it's so much stronger than in Prozac and should be present even during the first days. Maybe it doesn't work the same way for a cat?

That said, the ones who prescribed you all this were vets, right? Because otherwise, human antidepressants may be unsafe or even lethal for a cat to use. I wouldn't risk it unless prescribed by a vet who vowed that tests were run on cats.

If Prozac is safe, then it was definitely too high of a dosage for your cat. Being zombie-like from Prozac sounds very extreme, it shouldn't happen. Prozac is actually considered to represent an antidepressant without a sedative effect, it's supposed to give you energy rather than make you sleepy, and it's one of the weakest antidepressants overall. I'd say that your cat's reaction was either due to high dosage or that Prozac simply works differently on cats.

Amitriptyline I can't explain, a sedative effect should've been present, the cat should've been physically very sleepy. It's a very strong sedative. Maybe it too works differently on cats.

 

[fionasmom]

Search Results for Query: amitriptyline

These are threads on TCS where amitriptyline is discussed.

 

[Kat Luv]

Thanks guys! Renne All of my cats' scripts come from a very experienced, cats only vet. I have a medical background as well..
SSRIs (Prozac and Lexapro, to name a couple) work a bit differently for anxiety than for depression (depression is often much harder to treat, as it can take months to get the dosage/amt in blood to "optimal". For anxiety, it often works within 2-3 days...

TCAs (like amitriptyline) work a bit differently than SSRIs, and I've never seen how they work for humans for anxiety, nor for cats. She's maybe mildly sedate on it, but in her case this is a good thing. Her anxiety has essentially robbed her of the things cats enjoy, like lying on/near a window sill in the sun, as well as keeping her from adequate sleep....which leads to more agitation, etc.

I just want her to feel better and not like she needs to be fearful 24/7.

 

[Renne]

That's interesting, I didn't know that it's possible to prescribe human antidepressants to a cat. Live and learn. In my country vets are not aware of this yet, but we're always lagging behind, so that makes sense...

That said, what about trying tranquilizers rather than antidepressants?

I hope your lovely cat will be well! I'm happy that she has you to take such good care of her psychological issues. I'm sure you'll find a good medication for her eventually.

 

[downton ali]

My cat is on Amitriptyline. He was prescribed a 10mg dose, which I believe was correct for his weight but made him a tongue hanging out of his mouth zombie. I halved the tablet (with his vet's approval), which he tolerated much better. It took about a month to notice a difference. He became more relaxed, playful and sprayed much, much less.

Also, the taste/smell must be very strong. I hide the tablet in a clear capsule (size 5 from Amazon) and feed it to him from a Churu treat tube. That has worked wonders. He can't smell it. He can't taste it. He gobbles it up along with his favorite treat and is none the wiser! Phew!

 

[Meowmee]

Sybil was on that briefly for peeing issues, but it made her dopey and I don’t think it helped her. So we stopped it. A lot of these meds have different effects in each cat so in time it may help. I more recently had three cats on gabapentin for a few weeks who had fear aggression and it worked for all of them. Normally cats are given it only to go to dvm but Jez was given it for pain and it also helped her anxiety/ aggression so I tried it with the others as well.