I Have More Trust Issues Than This Feral..

[shadowsrescue]

My cat that was on Prozac, had blocked and had pu surgery before going on Prozac. Urinary retention is a little unknown side effect of most of the kitty calming prescription meds. He had been on it for about 3 months, when his pee clumps turned absolutely huge. He was only urinating once every 24+ hours. I had no idea it was so bad until I put cameras on all the litter boxes. He ended up blocking again and staying in the ER for 5 days.

What dosage are you using for Prozac and Gaba? My boy was only on 2.5 mg of Prozac. We tried 5 mg, but he was like a zombie.

I have found the Gaba is much better as it really keeps him even keeled. The trick is finding the right dosage. I also am able to get it from Wedgewood compounding pharmacy into micro tabs. They are nice and small and easily work in a pill pocket. The liquid is the worst. My cats all foam at the mouth from the liquid even when I had it flavored.

Please keep us posted on how things are going.

 

[rubysmama]

rubysmama I did not see your post until just now! We have been doing pretty well until the last couple months (see above)! I've checked in here a few times but haven't posted just to check up on you precious people. How have you been??

Oh, Buffster7 , I'm so sorry that happened to you, and them. Sending healing vibes that it starts to heal more quickly.


I have no experience with Prozac or Gabapentin with cats, so can't offer any help there.

Things are good with Ruby and me. Thanks for asking.

 

[Buffster7]

My two cats get very aggressive when they see a strange cat outside the kitchen sliders. It's like some primordial instinct gets triggered, and they turn on each other. This seems to have happened to you, and you were in the mix. I've seen mine in a hissing, growling ball, fur literally flying, rolling through the kitchen, the dining room, into the living room. I wouldn't dare step in to separate them or I would end up like you. It's like they've lost all their senses. The only thing I've done is to shout at them - KITTIES! - but anything you say would do it. That seems to bring them around, and they stop fighting, looking around like they've recovered from a bad dream.

They get along just fine at other times, and soon recover to their normal companionship. I don't think you need to separate yours. Now that the feral cat is gone, they shouldn't get triggered. You might consider getting an Ssscat to put outside to keep the feral away.

Yes! It was insane. Finn had will also attack when he thinks he's defending his brother. One time I picked Charlie up and my socked feet slipped on the floors, I started to fall and Charlie got scared and growled. Finn thought I was hurting Charlie and attacked me then - I had to kick him off my leg and hide in the other room until he calmed down. Then last month, I caught Charlie spraying the wall after the neighbor's cat was screaming at the door. I jumped toward him saying, "Charlie NO!" and scared Finn, who then attacked me - again, thinking he was defending Charlie, I think? Otherwise Finn is loving and sweet to me at all times other than when he's losing his mind! He's so sensitive and very reactive.

Edited to add: I didn't kick Finn - when I said kick him off my leg I meant kick my leg to shake him off. However, this last attack I did actually have to block/kick as he launched himself at me. I met him mid-launch with raised leg and he was not deterred - sprung at me again and latched onto the back of my leg. Lest you think I'm a monster - it's just sheer chaos when it breaks out.

 

[Buffster7]

My cat that was on Prozac, had blocked and had pu surgery before going on Prozac. Urinary retention is a little unknown side effect of most of the kitty calming prescription meds. He had been on it for about 3 months, when his pee clumps turned absolutely huge. He was only urinating once every 24+ hours. I had no idea it was so bad until I put cameras on all the litter boxes. He ended up blocking again and staying in the ER for 5 days.

What dosage are you using for Prozac and Gaba? My boy was only on 2.5 mg of Prozac. We tried 5 mg, but he was like a zombie.

I have found the Gaba is much better as it really keeps him even keeled. The trick is finding the right dosage. I also am able to get it from Wedgewood compounding pharmacy into micro tabs. They are nice and small and easily work in a pill pocket. The liquid is the worst. My cats all foam at the mouth from the liquid even when I had it flavored.

Please keep us posted on how things are going.

I've started him on the 5 mg cream-on-the-ear. I started him on oral med until the compounded cream arrived, and so he's been on Prozac for about a week so far and I can't tell any difference in his behavior. He's also on Prazosin for his urinary issues - I believe it's some sort of dilator for the urethra to keep things flowing smoothly? He had a severe UTI a few months ago and I'd been weaning him off of it slowly. Back to daily now bc I'm afraid of the retention.

He's on 100mg Gabapentin 2x daily. I've only given it to him 1x daily now since I'm not integrating them yet. Do you know if Gabapentin builds up in their system with time, or is it strictly dose dependent? I started him at 50mg to test his tolerance and it didn't do a thing. 100mg calmed him down for a few hours but didn't sedate him. Within about 5 hours he's back to being his hyper-alert state.

I'm also concerned about so many meds...Prazosin, Gabapentin, and Fluoxetine..OMG, I'm typically anti-med for myself and don't take pharmaceuticals and here I am medicating my cat out the yin yang. I've been wracking my brain on how to proceed since this happened. Re-homing is not an option for me as if this happened with anyone else, I couldn't be sure that they wouldn't harm him, kick him out, or worse. And there's that subconscious belief that no one will love him and take care of him as well as I do. And the thought of him feeling abandoned by me just crushes me. Yet living like this - as I type this, he's squalling in the bedroom after being out all day - giving Charlie a chance to be out now - I can't live like this, with the boys separated and trying to spend time with each of them separately. I can't relax and I don't look forward to coming home at the end of the day, now. So I will do whatever I need to do to work toward a reintegration and am praying for success.

Yesterday I allowed them a visual of each other - I held Finn and walked into my room where my mother was with Charlie. They sniffed each other and Charlie licked Finn's face, so there's no animosity. Charlie wants to be friends. It's Finn that's so territorial and who's hyper vigilant prey drive is so strong. If he will just chill the heck out, it could work. I could tell Charlie was on high alert with Finn even though he tried to be nice. I want him to have a nice break and truly relax again. Maybe I'll give them both some Gabapentin when I start the real re-introductions. I'm desperate.

 

[shadowsrescue]

The Prozac takes a full 6 weeks to notice any change. I started noticing a change at about the 4 week mark. Yet that was on a cat who was spraying. My aggressive cat was only slightly dumbed down by prozac. My cat is on 75 mg Gaba 2x a day. He started on 50 but after 3 months we upped it to 75. It did take him about a month for it to level out in his body. Now it keeps him quite even keeled. Yet he still remains separated from most of the other cats. For now the gaba keeps him even so he won't tend to have urinary issues. I do know that both meds need to be weaned off since they do build up in the body. I have also given Cisco Prazosin when he is having urinary issues. But it didn't do much.

Just keep notes on day to day changes. It helps to note if there is progress.

 

[walli]

Oh wow! You’re lucky you didn’t go to the hospital. I’m trying to introduce Joey to the Feral’s, but I have to block his view from them because he is aggressive. I’m considering trying gabapentin and he only gets a peephole to look out at right now.
we got him a little mobile catio but it’s too soon.
I’m interested if the gabaoentin works.
I had Joey on Prozac for a short while I didn’t like the way he was acting he looked miserable Plus he started getting what shadow was talking about. Good tip shadow rescue on the pill instead of the liquid.

 

[Buffster7]

Oh wow! You’re lucky you didn’t go to the hospital. I’m trying to introduce Joey to the Feral’s, but I have to block his view from them because he is aggressive. I’m considering trying gabapentin and he only gets a peephole to look out at right now.
we got him a little mobile catio but it’s too soon.
I’m interested if the gabaoentin works.
I had Joey on Prozac for a short while I didn’t like the way he was acting he looked miserable Plus he started getting what shadow was talking about. Good tip shadow rescue on the pill instead of the liquid.

Do you mean he started getting the urinary retention on the Prozac? How long did it take to reach that point? So far his urinary output is still happening. He had a big pee clump in his box when I got home from work today. I wonder what the mechanism is with the urinary retention...what causes it? If I start to notice reduced output, how long did it take your boys for it to resolve?

 

[Buffster7]

The Prozac takes a full 6 weeks to notice any change. I started noticing a change at about the 4 week mark. Yet that was on a cat who was spraying. My aggressive cat was only slightly dumbed down by prozac. My cat is on 75 mg Gaba 2x a day. He started on 50 but after 3 months we upped it to 75. It did take him about a month for it to level out in his body. Now it keeps him quite even keeled. Yet he still remains separated from most of the other cats. For now the gaba keeps him even so he won't tend to have urinary issues. I do know that both meds need to be weaned off since they do build up in the body. I have also given Cisco Prazosin when he is having urinary issues. But it didn't do much.

Just keep notes on day to day changes. It helps to note if there is progress.

How much does your guy on gabapentin weigh, shadowsrescue ?

 

[shadowsrescue]

How much does your guy on gabapentin weigh, shadowsrescue shadowsrescue

He weighs between 13-13.5 lbs. He is a big boy. My vet wanted him on 5 mg of Prozac but he just couldn't handle that much. I far prefer the gaba to the prozac. Yet each cat is different on how they respond to meds.

 

[shadowsrescue]

As far as urinary retention, my biggest clue was huge pee clumps. He wouldn't go for 24+ hours then the pee clump would be absolute huge. He also was straining in the litter box and it took him a long time to pee. When I finally noticed there was a major problem he was in the litter box for over 5 minutes. I had 5 other cats at the time so I had no idea who was doing what. It wasn't until I added cameras and was able to tell. It did take Cisco about 3 months being on Prozac until the pee clumps started getting large. He then lasted another 2 months before he fully blocked. I felt terrible that I had no idea.

 

[Buffster7]

As far as urinary retention, my biggest clue was huge pee clumps. He wouldn't go for 24+ hours then the pee clump would be absolute huge. He also was straining in the litter box and it took him a long time to pee. When I finally noticed there was a major problem he was in the litter box for over 5 minutes. I had 5 other cats at the time so I had no idea who was doing what. It wasn't until I added cameras and was able to tell. It did take Cisco about 3 months being on Prozac until the pee clumps started getting large. He then lasted another 2 months before he fully blocked. I felt terrible that I had no idea.

That's so helpful, thank you. I'll be monitoring closely. I'd like to stay on the Prozac for a couple months while I work on reintroductions if possible, then wean him down and off of it. I expect Gabapentin to be long-term for both cats. I need to see if my vet will call through for Charlie as well - it helped with his arthritic pain and I think it'll help with his anxiety as well. He gets jumpy with Finn so he startles easily and darts away...which puts Finn right into predator mode.

Something strange happened with Charlie tonight. I've had him in a donut around the neck so he wouldn't lick at a wound on his chest that he sustained when Finn attacked him. He also had a wound on the back of his neck which had scabbed over nicely. I took the donut off tonight to allow him to bathe himself. Next thing I know he is panting and has wild eyes - skin is rippling - looking just like a cat with paresthesia. Then I noticed blood on his neck and I saw he had scratched his wound back open. It looks worse now than it's ever looked. The problem is, the donut around the neck will rub on this. I'm not sure what to do. I'm afraid if I leave the donut off, he'll continue to scratch it. If I leave the donut on, will it irritate it? The donut is on right now and I calms him down. It's almost as thought he donut has become a security for him. I noticed last time I took it off he got a little wild-eyed and crazy acting as well, but not like this. I sprayed silver on this wound - what do you think?

Edited to add: Just ordered him a Thundershirt. Seeing the way he calmed down when I put the donut back on made me wonder if a Thundershirt wouldn't help some of his anxiety..

 

[shadowsrescue]

I am really not sure about Charlie's neck. It does look nice and pink, but infection could set in if he scratches it. I would call the vet this morning and ask their advice.

 

[Buffster7]

Today is the first day I'm trialing them out together. Gabapentin on board. I also put a Thundershirt on Finn and of course Charlie still has the donut around his neck. The Thundershirt is keeping Finn humble. I may take the shirt off when I put him back in "his" room and put it on when he comes out - more incentive for him to enjoy "his" room. I'm hopeful. Finn is not chill enough without the shirt to leave out together yet and Charlie still appears afraid of him when he moves toward him. But this is the first contact they've had.

June 3, 2023

 

[walli]

Today is the first day I'm trialing them out together. Gabapentin on board. I also put a Thundershirt on Finn and of course Charlie still has the donut around his neck. The Thundershirt is keeping Finn humble. I may take the shirt off when I put him back in "his" room and put it on when he comes out - more incentive for him to enjoy "his" room. I'm hopeful. Finn is not chill enough without the shirt to leave out together yet and Charlie still appears afraid of him when he moves toward him. But this is the first contact they've had.

June 3, 2023

Yeah Shadowresue gave me the heads up about the big pee balls, as soon as I saw one I took him off the prozac.
I did not like how he was acting, too zombiesh I'm going to take Joey to the Vet and see about getting him Gabapentin.
when my husband went to the hospital he was in there for 4 days with IV antibiotics, you might want to have a large piece of cardboard handy so you can put that between you and Finn or between Finn and Charlie.
I bought a pair of Cat proof gloves, I will post where I got them from as soon as I remember! hee hee