Starting Prozac Tomorrow As A Last Resort. Need Advice Pls?

[patti511]

Hi all...I’m so happy to have you to turn to.
I have 5 cats....all 4 years & under. One neutered male, 4 spayed females. All have lived relatively peacefully together since kittens. I’ve posted before, I’ll just refresh. My 2 year old female (Boopy) is being bullied by 2 other females and my 1 male. My male started fighting with her a year ago, but I thought I had it under control. Water pistols on every floor, a harsh “NO!” when needed. I just figured it would work itself out. WRONG! I went away for a week in July. I had a pet sitter twice a day. When I got back, I noticed all my flower pots were knocked over. Boopy was inappropriately urinating and had scabs all over her. THREE of my cats wanted to kill her :-(. I have tried re-introduction, Feliway plug ins, Royal Canin Calm Food, CBD oil, Jackson Galaxy’s Bully Solution. I have had Boopy separated in another room for 3 months. There is a screen door and I’ve had to put plexi glass on the screen because the three aggressors are trying to rip it open to get to her. (I’m getting anxiety while I’m typing this.) My vet hasn’t had luck finding a home for my baby, and I really don’t want to go that route. I love her and I just want this to work. She’s still urinating inappropriately in the room where she is being kept. I have an exercise wheel in there for her. Today I took it out because she’s pee’ing all over it.
So I went to the vet today and got kitty Prozac. I’m going to put the 3 aggressors on it. Question: the vet says not to put the victim cat on it. What do you guys think? And... has anyone had good results with Prozac?? What can I expect? Please share! I’m starting tomorrow and I’m so nervous. The vet said it’ll be a month before it kicks in. This is my last resort :-/
Thank you so much for any input.

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi! She doesn't need prozac, I agree.

I wish there was something fairly dramatic in addition you could do to give those three something else to think about.
Can you train them to a harness and leash, and take each one of the three for walks? Not only to give them mental stimulaton but also to break up the group.

For her, she needs her confidence restored, with music, sitting on the floor and reading poetry to her, playing with her.
Do you have several litter boxes in there with Cat Attract litter and other types for her to chose from? And puppy pee pads elsewhere on the floor, with nothing otherwise available for her to pee on?

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[patti511]

Thank you, Furball’s mom! My cats are petrified of the outdoors, and it would be impossible to get a harness on my Bengal.
I removed Boopy’s exercise wheel yesterday and it appears she did not pee outside of the box last night. I’ll blacklight the room tonight and make sure. I know she misses that wheel - she would run on it all the time. So sad. I attempted to start the Prozac just now...it’s not going too well, but I have to keep trying. The vet gave me the liquid form, supposedly chicken flavored. I gave them their favorite food and put the dosage in. They knew. It must be bitter. Two of the three cats didn’t finish their food, so I wrapped both bowls up and that’s what they’re getting later.
I have had multiple cats my entire life without any issues. I wish I could send you a video clip of one of my cats trying to bite through the screen door. It’s horrifying. Even the vet said it’s “awful.” I hope the Prozac works. I don’t know what I’m going to do if it doesn’t. I even applied to be on Jackson Galaxy’s My Cat From Hell. He hasn’t gotten back to me. I don’t think he knows what I should do, neither :-(
Thx for the links you sent. I’ll check them out later. I soaked up the urine with baking soda and I sprayed the area with Nature’s Miracle, then blotted and sprayed with 50/50 white vinegar and water.

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi!
Can you try adding tuna or clam juice(low sodium) for the prozac? Adding bonito flakes on top? Cheddar cheese? Fortiflora?

Just to mention, are you sure all the stress didn't give your baby Boopster a urinary tract infection? ...I don't know, maybe not since she then hit the box...
If it were me, I'd try spraying the wheel with a calming product and try giving it back to her...

Have you tried scent swapping? This would be multiple times, but take three soft cloths and gently rub them on her. Then rub one cloth one the bengal, the second cloth on cat #2 and the third cloth on the third cat. And repeat.
Also have blankets or towels that all the cats sleeps on and swap those around.

I have read that people will put a tiny drop of vanilla on fighting cats, between their shoulders and at the base of the tail. If you're not comfortable with this, maybe bathing all of them (I was thinking at first just her but this approach will probably be more effective if all the cats are bathed) --so that they all smell the same.

My thinking is to try to swap and/or eliminate whatever scent it is on her that's got your three into major prey mode with her.

How To Safely Bathe A Cat: The Complete Guide

 

[patti511]

I thought she may have a UTI so I took her to the vet and they did an ultrasound on her bladder. No infection. I’ll try the scent swapping. I put the Prozac on their favorite tuna food. I did not mix it around. I just covered it with the food. Maybe I need to mix it to dilute it. The wheel...every morning and evening I sprayed it down with Nature’s Miracle No More Marking. It didn’t help.
Do you know if Prozac can work short term?? I really don’t want them on this long term. Can they eventually be weaned off? If I could find an excellent home for her, I would re-home her. It’s just so hard and the thought of not knowing what becomes of her is unacceptable to me.
Thx..Patti

 

[patti511]

I have a 9 month old kitten whom she has no issues with. I let the baby in the room every day to play. But I notice that Boopy doesn’t do well with the rough play. She gets nervous and then sits on the other side of the room. I think she’s totally intimidated by other cats since the 3 evil ones beat her up the entire week I was away

 

[KarenKat]

Hi! So sorry your house is not at peace! How stressful for you and all the kitties! When we give liquids to our guys liquid meds we use a large syringe to squirt it into their mouths. I don’t care what the pharmacist says it taste like, the kitties know that it isn’t chicken! It’s a little more unpleasant than them lapping it up, but I think the flavor doesn’t make them hate it as much.

Plus, some cats start not to trust the food if you try and medicate with it.

 

[Furballsmom]

Try adding low sodium tuna or clam juice, or bonito flakes, or cheddar cheese, or fortiflora.

You need to work with her to get her confidence up. Become more directly involved. Play with her, give her music, read to her, play with her some more.

I don't know about the prozac. It takes a month to work so you're in for six-eight weeks, at the least.

Try spraying the wheel with a calming spray, or even nothing, and let her have it back. Are other cats using it? -that could be the problem.

Try the scent swapping and also, this is important too, bathe them and/or use the vanilla.

 

[sperry01]

Hey, I saw this the other night and have been meaning to reply ever since! I have an almost 10yr female (Biscuit) and a just now 9yr old male (Jethro). I've had them both since they were weeks-months old. They used to get along great until I moved home with my parents for about a year and a half. We moved out of my parents house in Jan 2014 and I was really hopeful that we'd be able to get them at peace again but still to this day she hisses and growls at him.

Anyway -- Jethro is a VERY anxious kitty. He is the sweetest thing ever when he is at home with us but his file at the vet is literally red flagged that we cannot drop him off ever unless he is sedated. He is so aggressive at the vet it takes TWO people to hold him down while the vet tries to draw blood or do whatever needs to be done, and that even is not usually enough (he's a big cat to begin with). He used to be fearless and over the last 4 years he is afraid of EVERYTHING and hides under the couch everytime it rains (and it's Florida, so that's basically 6 months straight).

We put him on Prozac back in July 2016 and it seems to have helped. My cats still don't get along, BUT he doesn't just attack her constantly anymore (he's in her space a lot because I think he's lonely, but she's not interested) and it seems to have helped his anxiety a LOT. Getting him an oral med would be terrible, so I asked my vet for the prescription in topical form and had it compounded into a topical. I work at a compounding pharmacy so I made sure that we got the strength so that all we need to apply is 0.25gm per dose to his ear and rub it in. We tried 0.5gm but it was too much cream for us to put on his ears so we had to make it stronger so we could use less. I was actually wondering recently if it was still doing anything, but then last week we forgot to do his meds for 3 days in a row (Biscuit was at the ER vet for days), and he stopped eating and was very depressed. He's been back on it for about a week now and have seen MUCH improvement again.

Your vet should be able to point you in the direction of a compounding pharmacy in your area, or you can use one basically anywhere and they can mail it to you. I would just try to make sure that she writes it so that each dose is 0.25gm so that you have to apply a minimal amount. Ask the pharmacy to package it in a topiclick, and each "click" measures out 0.25gm automatically. The beyond use date for these compounds are usually about 90 days (no preservatives).
It may be more expensive than the liquid that's available commercially, and I don't know what your budget is, but it may be worth the extra cost if you can afford it if they won't take the orals. Cost will vary by pharmacy, but we pay about $45/90 days worth and to me it's worth every penny because while he still hates getting his meds, it's MUCH easier than an oral.


For BULLIED cats -- I have read that Buspar can help them build their confidence. I have no experience with it in cats or how effective it may be and I have no idea what kind of side effects there may be, it was just something that I read a while back when I was trying to find something for my two. This was a couple of years ago, so it may not be recommended now, just remember it being something I read about before and mentally filed it as something to potentially read on at a later date and just never circled back to it.


Long post - sorry about that! But I hope some of this helps

 

[sperry01]

Also, if you do try a topical route, I highly recommend investing in some fingertip gloves or gloves to apply it, especially if you are applying to 3 cats. The medication can be absorbed easily through your fingers and you don't want to be absorbing Prozac that you don't need or else it may cause you to have some side effects

 

[Willowy]

I think it might be worth it to put the victim cat on Prozac too. If she's nervous around the aggressors, they'll pick up on it and it'll trigger their instinct to attack her. Maybe not yet, and maybe not as long-term as the aggressor cats, but when you begin re-introduction it might be good to have her on some kind of anti-anxiety medication.

 

[patti511]

Boopy (the victim) is separated in another room. We took off the door and put a screen door. The bullies were trying to eat their way through the screen (!) so we put up plexiglass.
I’ve been getting the Prozac in them. Whatever food they don’t finish in the morning, I label with their names and give it back to them in the evening. I shred freeze-dried chicken on it. They’ve been eating it.
I will try bathing Boopy maybe tomorrow.
Thank you for sharing, Sperry. And thank you all for your help. She’s separated, she’s safe and she’s cared for. Better than not knowing what becomes of her if I re-home her :-(.
I’m not going to put the wheel back in the room because it was a nightmare getting the urine stench out of the carpeting. I know she will mark on it again. I’ll continue with the Prozac for the bullies. Boopy does have confidence and I try to play with her as much as possible. I also allow my 9 month old kitten in the room so she can interract.
One day at a time, right?? This is so frustrating. A year ago everyone got along relatively well. But since July the bullies draw blood from Boopy with the fighting. Scabs all over her when I got back from vacation.

 

[sargon]

It can take longer than 1 month for prozac to work ( a month is the minimum), but it often does work fairly well. It won't, IMO solve the entire problem, so much as help calm every one down enough that the usual things can actually work again.

It probably won't be needed forever ( except maybe in the most aggressive of the trio), since your cats don't sound like they have a chemical imbalance.

Try giving your separated cat a "safe place", perhaps a cardboard box on a plastic chair, since that may calm the poor girl a bit, and no biggie if she pees on it.

Also, as usual, interactive play can help ( both the aggressors and the target), so try to up that a bit.

My cat is on prozac for aggression and anxiety and it works very well (probably a 90% reduction in aggression and 95% in anxiety, and it reduced some of her obsessive behaviors), but it took 2-3 months to really kick in.

I happen to give her the pills ( 10mg tablets split in 4 for a 2.5 dose) they apparently taste horrible, because I'd been using pill pockets and she got a tiny taste of the prozac and began to literally run around foaming at the mouth.

After that, I got the smallest empty capsules I could find and stick the tablets in those. I actually use a pill gun and then give my cat a small treat (Dr Elsey's salmon dry cat food actually) after. She doesn't seem to mind much, because when she hears em taking out her medicine box (it has the medicine, treats, and the prep supplies I use), she jumps up on a chair to be given her daily "treat".

 

[patti511]

I may have to get the pills and a pill gun. The cat who needs the Prozac the most is catching on and hardly touching her food no matter how I camouflage the drops. Oh boy. The drops must taste awful. I couldn’t measure accurately with the syringe because when cold, the Prozac thickens up. The doctor said 3 drops with the eye dropper that comes with the bottle. My Bengal pretty much eats anything so she’s not a problem. My male eats begrudgingly, in three courses, but my psycho cat takes a few licks and walks away. Three drops apparently drastically changes the taste of their favorite food.
I’m getting frustrated. It’s day 3.

 

[Willowy]

For the next refill, ask for fish flavor. That can usually mask any kind of medication taste! You can also try putting it in a special treat. I use Gerber meat baby food (usually chicken because that's what Rocco likes best but any of the meats will do). Maybe that's strong enough to mask the flavor, especially if it's only a few drops.

 

[sargon]

it might be possible to put the liquid medicine in the capsules ( use animal based ones obviously) and use a pill gun. The liquid would dissolve the capsule, but it might take a couple of minutes, which would be plenty of time to pill the cat ( the gun is just a convenience, btw, you can also just carefully drop the pill in the back of the cat's mouth.)

 

[1 bruce 1]

For the next refill, ask for fish flavor. That can usually mask any kind of medication taste! You can also try putting it in a special treat. I use Gerber meat baby food (usually chicken because that's what Rocco likes best but any of the meats will do). Maybe that's strong enough to mask the flavor, especially if it's only a few drops.

We do this for our guys prednisolone. We have a bottle of the nasty tasting bitter stuff as a back up/emergency, but the daily dose is chicken flavored liquid and he doesn't fight or resist at all.

 

[patti511]

I have a Bengal whom the vet needs to muzzle and call a muscular technician to cut her nails. I don’t think a pill gun would have even a possibility of success

 

[patti511]

I’m losing it. I’ve started the Prozac on 10/17. The liquid is not well accepted (the only other flavor they have is cherry - yuck - didn’t even try). I got the pills. My Bengal doesn’t even know the half pill is in her food. The other two cats will eat their entire bowl of food and leave the half pill. I’ve ordered #5 capsules that haven’t arrived yet, but I highly doubt that I will have success with them. I have a little liquid left and I scruffed them and squirted it down their throats. I’ve done this several times. They foam at the mouth. They hate me. I’m ready to give up on the whole deal here. I’m stressed out of my mind. And my little victim cat has been in a separated room for 3 months now. The vet hasn’t had any luck with finding her a home. The whole point of the Prozac is to try to avoid re-homing her. It takes 4 to 6 weeks to work, but it’s so hard to get it in them. I don’t even know if they’ve gotten their dosage a few times. I put it in their food but I’m not sure if they ingested it. Tonight I bought a rotisserie chicken in which to hide it. No luck at all. I just want to cry right now.

 

[sperry01]

Ugh, I am so sorry to hear it's not going well!! My heart breaks for all of you! Have you thought about trying getting it compounded into a topical to rub into their ears once a day?