Cat On Prozac? This Momma Is Unsure :(

lmdisalle · Oct 1, 2018

Hello there-

I have a 2 year old Siamese girl who attacks our family/friends. To my husband and I, she is the BEST companion. She follows us around like a little dog. I love her spunky personality, but she attacks our house guests. I am trying to be pro-active about this behavior BEFORE we start a family. I brought her to the vet, and they suggested a dose of prozac. I made it clear that I do NOT want her on this medication long term. Just a few months max so that I can re-train her to trust house guests.

Getting her used to the pills was HELL. I have to hide them in empty glycerin pills and roll them in butter just to get them down her throat. Pilling her every morning at 6am has not been enjoyable.

We are about a week and a half into her treatment, and I am already so sad about it. My spunky, fun little cat has been so lethargic and totally unlike herself. I feel like a horrible cat momma. I know the vet told me that this would happen until the meds level out, but I can't help but feel like I am doing the wrong thing. (I have even explored kitty marijuana drops as a more natural option.)

Has anyone else found success with cat aggression after trying prozac? Was it worth it after a few weeks? I feel like this has been such an extreme solution to a somewhat minor behavior probelem.

I should add that she has always been an anxious cat. She would have episodes of anxiety and pee on our bed. Feliway diffuser in the bedroom has cured this right away (I can't say enough about that product). I tried a feliway diffuser in the living room where she would encounter guests- no success

Help a kitty momma out!

ArtNJ · Oct 1, 2018

IMHO a cat that only attacks visitors to the home does not have a generalized anxiety issue, and prozac is not appropriate, at least not as the only strategy. Your vet is not good at this stuff if he can't recommend behavior modification strategies to pair with the drugs. There is an episode of My Cat From Hell with a segment on cats attacking strangers -- the cat would get crazy once the doorbell rang. Jackson Galaxy's common sense remedy was recruiting a friend or two to ring the bell, be calm, and give treats, rinse and repeat. Might have been a bit more to it than that, I suggest looking at the episode list to see if you can find it.

It seems that most good vets will only give prozac after behavior modification strategies have already been tried. I don't think it would be insane to pair the two, prozac plus a strategy, but to give prozac without having ever tried a behavior modification strategy is pretty clearly wrong.

lmdisalle · Oct 1, 2018

Thank you so much! I need to trust my instinct that this is not good for my girl. I have a message out to the vet to call me and discuss more behavior modification strategies. I hate drugging her like this

ArtNJ · Oct 1, 2018

Well, it could be that your vet just isn't up on behavior modification. I suppose that doesn't mean he is bad at the health stuff. I don't know how much behavioral stuff they teach in vet school and how much they have to pick up on their own. Fortunately, you have us! I do suggest trying to find that Jackson Galaxy video, but you get the general idea and should be able to shape a logical desensitization program.

Once I watched enough of the episodes of Jackson Galaxy's show, I lost confidence in him. I mean, its like he recommends building cat super-structures in your home for every single problem! Not everyone has massive carpentry skills or an unlimited budget. But for some stuff he does have common sense advice, and this struck me as one of those topics for which he was spot on.

Tobermory · Oct 1, 2018

In addition to the Feliway diffusers, it might be worth giving the Feliway spray a try—if your visitors are willing to have their clothing lightly misted before they come into your house. There’s a cat at the sanctuary where I volunteer that goes ballistic when he smells other cats on people and he attacks. They’ve had to remove him from the general population room and make him the office cat until he gets adopted because he really tears into other cats—and people who smell like cats. A few minutes before anyone enters the office, they lightly mist their pants and shoes. He’ll come up smell but doesn’t attack. I’ve not had any problems with the spray damaging my clothes, but your guests may not appreciate it!

RufusGizmo · Oct 1, 2018

I think there are also other medications that are not as strong as prozac. my older cat needed buspirone, and it did not seem to make him lethargic at all. it also worked (as a side, we had the most difficult time getting a pill down him tried everything, we wrapped the pill in a little bit of imported prosciutto, and that was the only way to get him to take the pill, and believe me we tried everything!) hopefully something else will work though instead of meds for you!

susanm9006 · Oct 1, 2018

The best thing to do with cats who are good with guests is to shut them in a different room until the guests leave. And just because a cat doesn’t do well with strangers doesn’t mean they won’t do well with a baby or child that is part of the household.