Has anyone tried Prozac for their cat every other day. .Grey was on Prozac a couple years ago and did great on it except the less eating . .HE is only 7lbs to start so he doesnt need to lose weight. He started back with the urination and acting very anxious and also separation anxiety. So his vet suggested he go back on it. I have him on 2.5mg but it must be too much because he is sleeping and not really eating much. .Last night I tried to cut the pill even smaller but he is still not eating much. I am thinking on trying every other day but not sure if that will work. Has anyone ever used Prozac every other day or at a lower dose then 2.5 mg and has it still worked.. Any suggestions on how you used prozac for your cat and how many milligrams worked for you .. Thank you.
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Prozac For Cats And Dosages Given
- Thread starter janrose
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I left this overnight, hoping that someone with experience would find it, but...here I am today. I didn't want you to think that no one cares! I've been digging around articles online for about 44 minutes now, trying to find an answer for your question, and I've come up blank. My hope now is that, since it seems one answer here triggers other, SOMEONE in our community will have the answers that you need! Best of luck with your kitty. Hugs, Darlin, if nothing else, you are not alone.
If I remember correctly, both of our boys were through the first round of side effects within about 48 hrs and back to their usual selves. They are each on 2.5 daily, but they are 12 and 13 lbs. From what I read they could go up to 5 mg if it wasn't being effective. You could try less or every other day; whatever you feel safe is for your kitty. I'm not sure why he's on it, but if it's not presenting constant symptoms, you could try Bachs Rescue Remedy Pet as needed on a freeze dried treat. With the boys- it's spraying. I might be able to take Tommy off as he's been on it for a year and he seems ok, but Stewart has to stay on it for sure. When we have the windows open too long he's still trying to spray though the medication makes it really difficult.
I've never had a cat on Prozac, but I have been on it myself. What I can tell you is that dosage is highly individual, much more so than with other types of meds, so anecdotal evidence from other owners is less helpful.
With any psych med, you want to start with the lowest possible dose. If your boy is sleeping all the time, you may want to call you vet and ask about starting on a lower dosage. I'm not a vet, or any other kind of medical professional (I just have 15 years of personal experience with psychiatric medications
), but my instinct is that dosing every other day is NOT a good move with this type of medication. My understanding is that it needs to be a consistent daily dose.
Meds like this take 6 weeks to get up to full therapeutic levels in the bloodstream, so you won't see the full effect until then. You may start to see some difference after the first week or two though. Side effects MAY wear off or lessen after the six week period too, though that isn't always the case.
Lastly, I strongly caution you against altering the dose on your own - it can easily cause more problems. Only make ANY dosage alterations after consulting your vet. These meds are NOT like pain meds or other more routinely used medications, and MUST be treated with great respect.
Anti-anxiety Medication For Cats
With any psych med, you want to start with the lowest possible dose. If your boy is sleeping all the time, you may want to call you vet and ask about starting on a lower dosage. I'm not a vet, or any other kind of medical professional (I just have 15 years of personal experience with psychiatric medications
), but my instinct is that dosing every other day is NOT a good move with this type of medication. My understanding is that it needs to be a consistent daily dose.Meds like this take 6 weeks to get up to full therapeutic levels in the bloodstream, so you won't see the full effect until then. You may start to see some difference after the first week or two though. Side effects MAY wear off or lessen after the six week period too, though that isn't always the case.
Lastly, I strongly caution you against altering the dose on your own - it can easily cause more problems. Only make ANY dosage alterations after consulting your vet. These meds are NOT like pain meds or other more routinely used medications, and MUST be treated with great respect.
Anti-anxiety Medication For Cats
I know this is an old thread, but I recently had this issue with my cat.
She was prescribed 2.5mg 1/day for anxiety. At first I gave her the medication in the morning before I went to work. This resulted in her sleeping most of the day, not really being available to be social, and not eating meals.
I then started giving her the prozac at night as part of my bedtime routine. This worked much better for us. She slept all night, and had an appetite by breakfast.
If you were giving your cat prozac in the morning, you might try switching to bedtime and see if her appetite and activity levels improve.
PS Prozac is evidently a really bitter pill, so I had big problems trying to slip 1/4 of a pill by her, no matter what it was buried in. I solved this by buying some of those empty gelcaps you might see at a vitamin store, the smallest ones you an find, and put the pills in there. After she couldn't taste them, then she took her pill with some treats (I used dehydrated chicken) in my cupped palm.
Hope this helps someone.
She was prescribed 2.5mg 1/day for anxiety. At first I gave her the medication in the morning before I went to work. This resulted in her sleeping most of the day, not really being available to be social, and not eating meals.
I then started giving her the prozac at night as part of my bedtime routine. This worked much better for us. She slept all night, and had an appetite by breakfast.
If you were giving your cat prozac in the morning, you might try switching to bedtime and see if her appetite and activity levels improve.
PS Prozac is evidently a really bitter pill, so I had big problems trying to slip 1/4 of a pill by her, no matter what it was buried in. I solved this by buying some of those empty gelcaps you might see at a vitamin store, the smallest ones you an find, and put the pills in there. After she couldn't taste them, then she took her pill with some treats (I used dehydrated chicken) in my cupped palm.
Hope this helps someone.
Yes, I had my bengal Timmer on Prozac. He passed away two weeks ago and I've thrown out the prozac so I can't tell you exactly the mg. but it was a very low dose that I gave him. A human pill cut in quarters. My vet told me it probably wasn't doing anything but I felt it was. It does take a bit of time to build up in the system, which you probably know already.
He had a lot of anxiety with separation and was too vocal at night. Things settled down with the prozac to where he was a little more mellow but still himself.
I also used that same dose on my female who was spraying. That really helped her chill out and after I think 9-10 months I weaned her off it.
He had a lot of anxiety with separation and was too vocal at night. Things settled down with the prozac to where he was a little more mellow but still himself.
I also used that same dose on my female who was spraying. That really helped her chill out and after I think 9-10 months I weaned her off it.
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My 12.5 lb. Egyptian Mau male takes 0.633 mg in a compounded chewable twice a day for anxiety and aggression. The vet started him on 4.0 mg and he was “cat-a tonic.” Know that fluoxetine slows down the cat’s gut and can cause constipation and suppressed appetite. My cat does well on Royal Canin Rx Digestive dry food and gets 1/8 tsp of Miralax mixed with a few drops of water and added to his wet food as needed. There is less need for it now that he is on the Royal Canin. Seven pounds is a small cat and 2.5 mg sounds quite a big dose, but vets tend to overmedicate in my opinion. My cat is good for twelve hours and is normally active as compared to his sister, with little to no aggression. That’s how I gauge his dosage. Hope this helps!
