Prozac Turned Zombie Cat

[jessglanz]

Hi guys. It’s been a while. Since I last posted here I’ve become quite the cat lady. I’ve fostered almost 100 kittens, specializing in ferals and neonatals.

Here’s my problem.. About a year ago Ollie started spraying. (He’s neutered) The first thing we did was take him to the vet to rule out any medical cause. A urinalysis and blood panel later and everything came back clear.

So we’ve spent the last year just trying to modify the behaviour and failing. At this point it’s 100% behavioural. He’s always been a very anxious cat and after observing him extra carefully it’s painfully obvious. So we’ve done the basics. Feliway, Zylkene, calming treats, different litter boxes, different litter, no mark sprays, we even built him a catio so he’d have a safe outdoors space. He didn’t care, he just sprayed out there too.

I finally broke down and went back to my vet about medications. I did my research and had a couple in mind. What I didn’t think of unfortunately is that because Ollie has Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy and is on Atenelol, there was only one medication that he could safely take. Prozac (Fluoxetine). I was so hesitant towards this because the last thing I wanted was for him to turn into a zombie. This cat jumps 6ft up our walls and does backflips off them, I don’t want him to lose that!

TL;DR: We’re 4 days into his new meds and he is a zombie. He doesn’t move. He eats if food is brought to him. His new meds is also a liquid, and a large amount, which has made him terrified of me. My heart is broken. SO. What do I do? Do I take him off of it? Will he come out of this zombie state?

It’s a long weekend here right now (Canada). If I take him off of it, do I have to do it slowly or can I just cut him off since it’s only been 4 days?

Please help. I hate living in a house of pee, but I will live like that over watch him live like this any day. Thanks everyone.

Picture because he’s cute. And looks like an alien.

 

[Willowy]

I've heard from a lot of people that the "zombie-ness" wears off after a week or 2 on the meds. So give it a little longer! You can also ask the vet if he could get by with a smaller dose. Don't stop it cold turkey; that can cause a lot of problems. If you choose to take him off the meds ask the vet how to do it safely.

 

[Wile]

Like W Willowy said, there's often an adjustment period when taking anxiety meds. Some of them make you really drowsy. As his body gets used to the meds the drowsiness will wear off and he will regain energy. 4 days is really nothing. Stick with it, because he will be a happier cat when he doesn't feel anxious all the time.

 

[Samantha1995]

Firstly good on you for looking after so many kittens! Secondly I myself just stopped taking Prozac due to it making me feel so spaced out etc. I couldn’t ever imagine giving Prozac to my cats no.bloody.way. Ever thought about getting a cat psychologist To come in? You can even get what’s called FELIWAY you plug it into the wall and it helps with cats anxiety etc. please don’t put your cat on Prozac it’s not natural and very much harmful. Prozac is known to damage brain tissue. There’s been people that ended up with a tic ( uncontrollable body movement). I hope it all works out xx

 

[Samantha1995]

I've heard from a lot of people that the "zombie-ness" wears off after a week or 2 on the meds. So give it a little longer! You can also ask the vet if he could get by with a smaller dose. Don't stop it cold turkey; that can cause a lot of problems. If you choose to take him off the meds ask the vet how to do it safely.

The withdraw is worst then the side effects. Pretty much people and animals become dependent on the drug. So I definitely agree with you

 

[jessglanz]

Firstly good on you for looking after so many kittens! Secondly I myself just stopped taking Prozac due to it making me feel so spaced out etc. I couldn’t ever imagine giving Prozac to my cats no.bloody.way. Ever thought about getting a cat psychologist To come in? You can even get what’s called FELIWAY you plug it into the wall and it helps with cats anxiety etc. please don’t put your cat on Prozac it’s not natural and very much harmful. Prozac is known to damage brain tissue. There’s been people that ended up with a tic ( uncontrollable body movement). I hope it all works out xx

Hi! Thanks for the reply! I guess I have more of an update now. He’s been on Prozac for 2.5 months now. We started his dose at 1.5mg and we actually ended up reducing it to 0.5mg which is lower than the minimum dose for any weight. He’s been doing great! We are out of the zombieness and he’s not spraying.

Prozac actually has great results with behavioural issues not coming back after 4 months of use, so our plan is to wean him off at 4 months and transition into CBD oil.

Prozac is definitely not for everyone and I’d actually recommend Clomipramine or Amitriptalyne instead if your cat doesn’t have heart issues like Ollie!