Cats on Prozac?

clang54

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Hi andrea
Your welcome.. I was also thinking.. Have you thought of taking your cat a vet that only deals with cats.. in las vegas I go to a vet it is called all about cats.. I got alot of really good advice. Just was thinking. . Hope everything works out for you..
 

6miles

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Well, friends and the curious ones.. since I came here with an issue on same to find some solace in something that would help my kitty

.. my beloved [and in storage cat, ok thats what I call the cat place where she is and they are lovely] kitty is getting a re-set button.  Seems she was a wee bit stressed [from I have no earthly idea] all of the sudden and took it out on my beautiful dining room floors. Hardwood now... a firm and rough ucky BLACK thanks very much  In a home that... has 3 very large dogs [whom she adores and they adore her and have for years].

Uh, nope: she does not have an infection or any illness of any ilk [thanks that was another few hundred]  just 'behavioral' as the vet assured me...she simply start URINATING over and over and OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN IN THE SAME PLACE even though I tried everything and I MEAN EVERYTHING and CAUSING DAMAGE .. to the tune of thousands of dollars...!!!!!!

.. this rescuer [counting number 11 over the past 27 years] is none too happy. So the vet recommended Prozac. I can only hope this is the life saver for me, for her since.. I cannot have a cat causing thousands of dollars of damage to my home. Love her ..however, enough is enough.

Prozac.

P

R

O

Z

A

C

thank you Prozac.
 

nnjy

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My cat gas been on Prozac for a week and is still urinating on my comforter! I hope this will stop soon. He also poops outside the cat box from time to time.
 

sylviatabitha

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Hi, my name is Jennifer and my cat Tabitha has been on Fluoxetine (Prozac) for 4 years now for a spraying and weeing problem.

It does work, Tabitha has one accident a year.

She is much happier cat, plays a lot, is getting better with my visitors.

I find it difficult when I want to go away on holiday, because Tabitha doesn't always go to people which means that she has to go to the cattery, which gets expensive.  If I get someone to feed her whilst I am away on holiday, she needs to go to that person for medication.  I am going to teach my neighbour Cheryl to give Tabitha this medication, because Cheryl is someone that Tabitha likes and always goes to, and she trusts Cheryl.  Cheryl has two cats of her own and is very kind and gentle with animals.  Hopefully if this works out, I will not need to put Tabitha in a cattery.  Any comments.
 

buddysmom100

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One of our three cats, Belle, has been using mostly my bed to pee on for the past few years and if it's not my bed (usually exactly where I sit down), she pees on the floor between the two litter boxes or in the hallway leading into the bathroom. She has destroyed the floor to the point that the urine has rotted the wood and there's a hole now and I've had to change my bedding so much I'm at my wits end. She's about eight years old and we got her when she was very young and she always used the litter box. We got our male cat about five years ago and after he was here for about two years, he started chasing Belle and just trying to corner her anyplace in the house he could. Not long after that was when I sat in my first puddle of cat pee. We are considering re-homing one or both of these cats or even to the point of euthanizing Belle because I don't want someone else to have to deal with the same thing. After several long talks with our vet, she gave her a thorough exam and decided to do a round of antibiotics and suggested we consider a trial of Prozac for her anxiety. Belle had done a bit better after the antibiotics even though none of us saw her in the litter box and after about a week she started peeing on the floor and then my bed again. I called the vet and decided to try the Prozac. One big thing people need to know is not to do the pills. There are severe side effects and risks when using the pill form. What we ended up with was finding a Pharmacy in our area that makes compounded prescriptions and what that is ended up being a cream that we rub inside her ear once a day. We just started it and the vet said it could take up to a week to expect any improvement. I hope this helps you. Good luck!
 

buddysmom100

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Hi Jennifer, I was wondering what form of Prozac you have Tabitha on? Is it the pill form or the compounded RX cream you rub inside her ear? We just started our Belle on the cream and I really hope it helps. I am thrilled to read your message that Tabitha is doing well on Prozac.
 

sylviatabitha

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Hi Buddys Mom,

In answer to your question, I give Tabitha Fluoxetine Dispersable tablets, she has been on them for 4 years.  It took a couple of months for it to work properly, as she kept on spitting them out.  I now crush up the pill and give it to her, much more difficult for her to spit out.  I also coat the crushed pill with marmite, not sure if you have marmite in the US, but you can use butter.  She is much better now, I still get the odd spraying, but it is once a year, also the weeing is once a year.

I just had a thought when reading your thread, I wonder if it is possible that your cat Belle doesn't like your other cat, the problems seem to start happening when you got another cat.  Is is possible to seperate them at times, so they get time on their own, you could also play with them seperately?  Let me know how you get on.  Jennifer
 

susan648

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I have a cat on Prozac (actually, it's a generic for Prozac). The doctors at my vet's office are very well-informed on this drug for cats. While it has not entirely stopped Molly's peeing issues, she has now limited her inappropriate peeing to sometimes and on my front door mat, which is machine washable. I much prefer this to her prior habits of peeing on carpet in various rooms. You have to pick your battles. However, another of my cats was on Prozac and not only did it not help with his peeing problem, but it also made him kind of nasty. He's no longer on it, but he has stopped his inappropriate peeing as long as I do not leave a basket of laundry around.
 

melissat

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My cat has been on Prozac for several months because of her occasionally not peeing in the litter box.  It has helped - just last week, though, she peed in an empty laundry basket (anything that reminds her of a litter box).  The drug has not altered her personality at all - she's actually much more friendly and relaxed when strangers come into our home.  I am hoping the urinating in inappropriate places ceases all together soon.
 

river forest

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Our cat, Isabella, has been on Prozac for a couple of months now. We apply it as a salve to her ear. (Is that what everyone does?) She had always been skittish and not very affectionate and not absolutely reliable about using her litter box. We resisted Prozac at first, in part because we thought it was a pill. But then she started defecating in other places in the house besides her litterbox and we found out about the Prozac in a salve, so we decided to try it. Definite improvement. She reliably urinates and defecates in the litter box now, and as a fringe benefit she has become more affectionate. She'll sit on one of our laps now, if we're watching a movie or on the computer, something which she never did before.

In fact, and this is what moved me to post this, she seems to want her Prozac. When we first started applying it, she would run away to her favorite "hiding place," the top of the stairs to the attic, and I would follow her there to apply the medication. Now, if I'm late medicating her, she goes to the top of the stairs and waits for me and I find her there. I almost wonder if she gets a slight lift from the application and/or somehow "knows" that this daily ritual of the salve makes her feel better. Is that too anthropomorphicizing?
 

mani

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In fact, and this is what moved me to post this, she seems to want her Prozac. When we first started applying it, she would run away to her favorite "hiding place," the top of the stairs to the attic, and I would follow her there to apply the medication. Now, if I'm late medicating her, she goes to the top of the stairs and waits for me and I find her there. I almost wonder if she gets a slight lift from the application and/or somehow "knows" that this daily ritual of the salve makes her feel better. Is that too anthropomorphicizing?
Well it certainly means she doesn't mind it!  She may have just adopted it as a ritual, or she likes the attention (ear rub - goody!), or deep down she knows it helps.

It's great that it does.
 

stephanie42

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i'm glad this thread was bumped - i'm considering asking a vet for prozac for jake and possibly samantha.  their fighting has gotten out of control and is severely impacting our family.  i'm happy to see that so many people have had positive experiences with prozac for cats.  my main concern now is that we don't have a 'regular' vet - i left my last vet last march for numerous reasons.  so i'll be walking into a new vet with three cats and a request for pills... we'll see how that goes lol.
 

seabeam

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I had to put my five year old cat, Jasper, on Prozac after my neighbor kept repeatedly calling about his aggressive bullying behavior toward her cats and even to her when she would try to intervene. At that point it was either Prozac or ship Jasper off to a farm to become a barn cat. He was also spraying around the house.

He has been on it for four months now. I have been using the topical cream on the inside of the ear. He does seem to be less anxious now and more playful than he was before, although he's always been kind of a short-tempered soul and easily over-stimulated. I am not sure if he has stopped spraying in the house but I haven't heard a word from my neighbor since I started his prescription. Prozac has not changed his rather rough-shod personality but it does seem to have reduced his anxiety and surliness, and apparently he has stopped picking fights with the neighbor's cats. I will also find Jasper actually playing with my other cat sometimes, whereas before he would swat and hiss at him and run away. He doesn't squirm anymore when I apply the cream to his ears, although I do have to hold him down, and he is more tolerant even when I have to clean the cream residue off with a wet towel.

I am hoping that after a year, or at least next winter, I can take him off the medication without any regression primarily because of the price. The pharmacist has been unable to get the tablets which only cost me $6/month, The topical cream costs $35/month. I can't afford to medicate him for extended period of time unless the manufacturer starts producing the tablets again. I'm not sure if the cream works better or if it was just that Jasper's blood level was stabilizing by the time I had to switch from the tablets to the cream. He was only on the tablets for a month.

My only concern is that, once I stop medicating him, if I have to put him on it again will the Prozac still work as well? I know that in humans some medications do not work as well or at all the second time around, as if the body has built up a tolerance to it and doesn't respond.
 

palikakitty

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Our Bradshaw was on Prozac for peeing but as he has aged he just stopped inappropriate peeing and we don't give it to him every day. However another cat, PJ, who never peed appropriately, started doing so when people came over so now he's on it and no more problems. He's 17. Yeah--peeing on my comforter while sitting in front of me while my grandaughter sat next to me was the end--he got his first pill and everyday since them.
 

lula1101

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I've had one of my cats on Prozac for 6 years now. She started peeing outside the litter box when she was young and I've since realized that if was partly due to the stress from my first marriage. Since she is a himilayan I had her fully tested for pkd and any other medical issues. That was ruled out so behavior it was. I tried feliway and Buspar and it did nothing. I went to another vet who also was huge on behavior therapy. She put Belle on prozac and we tried behavior modification. We tried weaning her off the prozac after a year and she went right back to peeing outside the litter box. Since then she's been back on prozac (4 years now). She has maybe 1 or2 accidents A year. She's much calmer and content and has actually become more loving and active and involved.
 

MoochNNoodles

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I discussed this with my vet a few months ago regarding an over grooming problem with Noodles.  She said that some cats can be weaned off it; but some are only able to go down to a reduced dosage.  I think something like every other day.  I didn't end up medicating her; so I never researched it farther for our situation.
 

lily79

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I joined today to thank everone for all your replies on this topic. I've been having a hard time getting the prozac into my kitty. It's such a relief to find out you can get it in cream form. My vet must not be aware of this. It is also a relief to hear all of the positive outcomes of using this.

Thanks again!
 

detmut

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I joined today to thank everone for all your replies on this topic. I've been having a hard time getting the prozac into my kitty. It's such a relief to find out you can get it in cream form. My vet must not be aware of this. It is also a relief to hear all of the positive outcomes of using this.

Thanks again!
this may be why:

"Recent studies on the use of transdermal preparations of behavioral drugs such as fluoxetine, amitripyline, and buspirone have found little to no absorption of transdermal preparations versus oral dosing."

http://www.merckmanuals.com/vet/beh...atural_treatment_for_behavioral_problems.html
 

lily79

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seji

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We have a 14 year old male tabby that is on fluoxetine and has been for several years.

It has a calming effect on him. We have tried everything but this is the only thing that keeps him calm enough so that he's not attacking us and our other kitties.  If he does not get his medication, he will literally attack anyone and anything that gets near him. 

We've had him since he was a baby and he was never traumatized.  We worked with behaviorists, changed foods, beds, toys...we tried everything.  Our vet told us that she believes he may have suffered brain damage when he was abandoned by his mother as a 4 week old kitten, which is how I found him. He had a severe upper respiratory infection, anemia and was under weight.  After much nursing, medications and love, he began to flourish.

His behavior change started at about age 3, rather suddenly. No cause could be found. Nothing was subtracted or added to our home, nothing changed and at that time, we also had a 5 year old female and a 4 year old female. They all got along very well until then. There were no external factors driving the behavior, such as a cat in our yard, etc.  We live in the mountains and no cats are allowed outside due to coyotes and bears.

He lives a quiet life now and without the prozac, he probably would not be here. He attacked one of our females one day and when I rescued her, he turned on me sending me to the ER for severe bites and scratches.

The prozac allows him to continue to live with us and he seems pretty happy. It works for us and it saved him from euthanization.
 
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