Cat only licks back of legs

[neme64]

What are serotonin enhancers? is that the same as uptakes?

 

[FeebysOwner]

thanks. Going to try 1/4 once a day...I'm not a pill person myself so feel the same way for my cat. due to all the side effects etc....I read catnip may help!!! Isn't Prozac a serotonin uptake?

My bad - left out a key word - natural serotonin enhancers, such as L-tryptophan, melatonin, valerian root, even chamomile tea...Yes, Prozac is a SSRI.

Edit: However, I believe you shouldn't even use any of the more natural serotonin enhancers in tandem with any SSRI.

Also, this: The 8 Best Calming Aids for Cats in 2020 (Btw - that purple collar is mentioned in this article!!)

 

[neme64]

well I have a 10 MG very hard purple pill which vet wants me to only give 1/4 of.. I have a pill cutter and a smasher. Pill cutter is useless. Masher is good but need exact measurement and can a pill be mashed up. I read somewhere not to mash pills with coatings...I wish vets would give better options knowing what the pills were like...May go back to the pharmacist. it needs to be put in his food...Things need to be made easier for cats...

 

[neme64]

I have Feliway. spray.....Thats the purple collar!! A concoction of vitamins she said I could try . I'm a bit afraid to give him this if cannot get right dosage... My mother had ALZ took care of her for 9 years at her home where she died peacefully in my arms......NO meds.Dr said oh she had low TSH, he put on something that made her speedy for a week.. I said I'm taking her off it its not good for her..In the end her TSH was NOT LOW AT ALL...So yes I am vary weary of pills even for my pets...vitamins were recommended..: VitE, Riboflavin, Q10, L carntine.Perhaps if I can fine that in one bottle.. I will try to research more..
I remember my moms cat had yellow fat disease A vet recommended something and it killed the cat.. So I have to feel good on what I get and as natural as can be.. You have been great help..Hopefully something more natural will work out..

 

[Hannah518]

Hello! My 13 cat has suffered from this on and off. When we moved half way across the country for the first time he licked all the hair off his tummy and back legs! Over the years we have given him prozac on and off. It does flare up in times of stress. (His brother had cancer last winter, our foster kitty, moving (although not as much now since he has done it frequently).

Last time we did prozac a couple months ago he keep getting nauseous. I don’t know if it was the meds, but we discontinued it. I started to get the Feliway diffusers and for him and they have seemed to work. I have calming spray. There are also calming chews that he could give or take. He also has separation anxiety since her brother died.

I also give him CBD. He still licks the spots, but not nearly as bad as it was. Plus when he gets lots of attention from us, he’s more distracted and enjoys the love.

I also need to watch myself around him with my own anxiety because cats pick up those emotions. Especially in these times when I feel like I’m all over the place.

We also give him gabapentin every time he sees the vet, a pretty high dose too. Good luck! It’s tough because you just want to help them. I feel my cat is me in feline form.

 

[neme64]

do you feel diffusers work better than just spraying here and there? yes anxiety. since 2017 mom died, brother died, I had to move from my house of 35 years and a screened in porch he adored!!! then move again and now again.. it started way back then and has progressed to this... he needs to be cuddled up around me all the time.... .he feels my anxiety even if I'm talking on the phone...What a sensitive sweet cat!!!!!

 

[Hannah518]

I’m so sorry for all you’ve been through! I have a diffuser for the apartment in addition to the spray I usually hit his favorite spots with. Sometimes I’ll mist myself as well.

 

[neme64]

Well vet said go get prozac which I did .Store gave me 10 Mg coated oblong pill..Now if you cut it in half you now how a 5 mg pill! if you cut that in half you now have two 2.5MG!!!! is that equal to a quarter pill? one 2.5 mg? which my cat is only supposed to get? Otherwise no pill cutter can make a quarter from that...Unbelievable..

 

[neme64]

well called pharmacy...He said if you divide it at the 5mg line then half that that would be a quarter.. 2.5mg == a quarter tab..!!
Oh well just want to be careful

 

[FeebysOwner]

well I have a 10 MG very hard purple pill which vet wants me to only give 1/4 of.. I have a pill cutter and a smasher. Pill cutter is useless. Masher is good but need exact measurement and can a pill be mashed up. I read somewhere not to mash pills with coatings...I wish vets would give better options knowing what the pills were like...May go back to the pharmacist. it needs to be put in his food...Things need to be made easier for cats...well called pharmacy...He said if you divide it at the 5mg line then half that that would be a quarter.. 2.5mg == a quarter tab..!! Oh well just want to be careful

You could ask the pharmacy if compounding the med in a different form/flavor is possible. I know some meds can even be compounded into a transdermal gel, but I have no idea if that is possible with Prozac. It would cost more, but if it can be done, it would likely be worth it.

do you feel diffusers work better than just spraying here and there? yes anxiety. since 2017 mom died, brother died, I had to move from my house of 35 years and a screened in porch he adored!!! then move again and now again.. it started way back then and has progressed to this... he needs to be cuddled up around me all the time.... .he feels my anxiety even if I'm talking on the phone...What a sensitive sweet cat!!!!!

Just be aware that not all calming products work on all cats. So, you might have to experiment with a few different ones...That is a lot of 'stuff' you and he have been through, one thing after another has likely been why things have escalated with him. He (and you) has likely never had a chance to recover from one thing before another situation arose. Easier said than done, especially now, but try to work on your own anxiety - for the sake of both of you!!

 

[neme64]

Thanks!!!!!. Just need to find my own little house with birds, wildlife and peace. Past 3 years have been a nightmare it seems like it just never ends....