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

[patti511]

Someone told me they had luck with amitriptyline. Have you had any experience with that? Fluoxetine seems not to be working at all.

 

[patti511]

...and it’s not only my Bengal. It’s my Khao Manee and Bombay as well. I have 3 cats on fluoxetine.

 

[Kivaandkona]

Hello. I'm sorry your struggling with your cat's behaviors. You've gotten good advice but I'd like to add one comment from my experience... I though medication like Prozac would change Kona and she'd be sweet and calm and docile. In reality, I learned that adding Prozac or a similar medication will not change a behavior in each animal alone. But it will allow the animal to be more open to behavior modification.
I adopted an aggressive cat who bullies and attacks my other cat. After months of lots of reading and at home trial and error, I found a wonderful behavioral therapist who is now working with us. Our treatment includes both cats, their environment and even me and my interaction with the girls. We did start Kona on Prozac and although shes more relaxed, she is still aggressive. However, the medication has helped her focus a bit better... and that's when the training starts. Because she wants to please me, I've started to clicker train her. So far so good! But each animal is different and will react in the way that's appropriate for them. I realize now from experience that Prozac isnt a magic pill that will make Kona not aggressive. But it has helped as part of an overall plan. We have a lot of work to do but following our plan and sticking to a schedule has been really beneficial for us .
I hope in some way.... that can help you.

 

[patti511]

Thank you for sharing! I have 3 cats attacking 1. The situation is overwhelming. It started as one on one bullying, which I handled with water pistols), but when I returned from a vacation in July, THREE were attacking her. Scabs all over her. She was inappropriately urinating because they would not let her use a litter box.
She has been confined to a sunny room since July and I keep searching for answers. Vigorous play time is hard for three cats. I need to separate each one into a different room and play individually. This would take about 2 hrs every day to get them to the point of exhaustion. Frankly, it’s hard for me to do this daily. I was hoping the Prozac would relax them enough so I could let my victim cat out of the room. I tried taking her out last night, but immediately one of the bullies attacked. I’m thinking maybe bathing them all would help, but it’s been so cold and they’ve never had baths, so I’m sure it won’t be easy. And I don’t believe it’s scent that is causing the problem. They despise her on sight alone. I’m really at a loss. I put an ad on a site last night to rehome her and I was crying. I deleted the ad. This is awful. So frustrating.

 

[Kivaandkona]

I am so, so sorry. It's just awful and the stress of it all can be overwhelming, I'm sure. I've had many days of tears trying to manage... it's not easy. I did learn that the aggression is probably not scent driven. Cats are weird... the aggression can start seemingly out of the blue- probably due to a misunderstanding that we are not even aware of. And unlike dogs, cats can take MUCH longer to adjust and modify their behavior. Do the cats have "their own" things? Here's what I mean.... I thought my home was very cat friendly. Kona's therapist assessed our environment and said while the house is cat friendly, it really needs to be cat-tastic. I had a cat tower downstairs in a window. Because that was a point of aggression for the girls, I got a larger cat tower that has 2 different levels on it so each cat has her own perch and they don't have to argue over who gets that spot. I have a large picture window in the living room. Both girls love to sit in the sun. However I only had one big bed in the window. Now I have two smaller beds. Each girl has her own spot. No more arguing in the front window. I've always had multiple litter boxes on different levels of the home. Kona would attack Kiva coming out of any of the litter boxes. I've added 1 more litter box strategically placed so that Kiva can access a litter box from literally anywhere… no corners and no dark spots for Kona to hide in to attack. Here are some other things that might help...
I'd switch out your cats. Put the aggressors in a room during the day and let your little one roam free. I would take 1 cat out of the room at a time and introduce to the little cat. Let them both roam for awhile together ( a few minutes each time but build on to that time) and keep a close eye on them. Consider using positive reinforcement. Find a treat that your cats absolutely love. Bonita flakes might be a good option. When the cat seems to be getting aggressive towards your other little one, get the aggressor's attention (a clicker works for Kona) and give the aggressor a treat when she comes to you and leaves the little one alone. Continue doing this for a while (like a few weeks) so that the aggressor sees that it's better to leave the little one alone. This will also help your little one build-up her confidence. I'd bet you she has a major confidence problem at this point. Try doing this individually with each of the cats. And it's going to take a long time! After that you might want to try introducing two at the same time. We're talking this could take weeks.
If your cats sleep with you at night, consider moving a litter box and water into your bedroom and take your little cat into the bedroom with you to sleep at night. That way the other cats can safely roam the house at night. I use a product called Doc and Phoebe's. It's 5 little mice that hold dry food. I hide them around the house and Kona hunts for them at night. It keeps her busy and uses up a lot of her energy while also hunting the way cats are use to.
I have a very tall gate at the top of my stairs. During the day, Kona stays upstairs while I'm at work. Kiva has the roam of the whole house during those times. At night when I get home from work, I let Kona down and we all interact together. When I go to bed, I take Kona upstairs with me and close the gate. Kona and I visit for a few hours and she enjoys lots of love. Once I'm ready for bed, I put Kona downstairs and bring Kiva upstairs. Kiva sleeps soundly without fear of attack and Kona has the roam of the house all night. I'd love it if they could both sleep with me at night. But I know that it's safest right now to continue doing the routine were using. It works for us for now.
I hope something in here can help you. I understand the stress. Hang in there!

 

[patti511]

Thank you SO much for your interest in my problem and for sharing. (And for reading this
I have 5 (indoor only cats). Cat #1 is the only male. He actually loved being the only cat when I got him. I had a small old dog who has since passed, but they were fine. I don’t know why, but I had to get cat #2 when #1 was 8 months old. He dominated her by biting her neck and mounting her (all my cats are neutered and spayed). He got rough at times, but he was asserting his alpha place in my house. They would sleep together and they were fine after a few months. This is where I believe I messed up: I had one PetMate jumbo litter box. I was so proud of myself for having only one. I cleaned it twice a day and they both used it.
Stupid me...I saw a cat in Thailand on line whom I fell in love with and arranged for her to be shipped here. She went into heat early and #1 (although neutered) had his way with her several times before I spayed her. He asserted his dominance and they were fine, no fighting. I still had 1 jumbo litter box, cleaned twice daily. Everything was so peaceful and fun in my house that four months later I had to get #4. The first week, #3 “played” with #4 and scratched her cornea. The vet gave me an ointment that didn’t work and her eye got infected. I had to take her to a specialist who put her on 4 different meds, 13 times a day and still didn’t know if she’d lose the eye. I took off work and followed all directions and her eye healed. Looking back now, I’m not too sure #3 was actually playing. She may have been totally jealous of #4. All four cats were basically ok together (just a little spat occasionally). I still had one jumbo litter box. All used it. It was always cleaned twice a day. I thought that was ok. #2 and #3 would sleep together. Sometimes #1 would sleep with them, as well. No one ever slept with #4. It was like she had no friends. Then #4 turned a year old and #1 constantly chased her, growled at her, hissed at her and it escalated into cornering her and swiping at her. I was constantly breaking up fights with water pistols. They were all under 4 years old and I figured they’d establish their hierarchy and it would work itself out. #2 and #3 were not involved in the fights with #4. I had two cat trees and window shelves on every window. I have a small 4 story home. There was plenty of room for 4?cats. There were no real issues. I got #5 as a friend for #4. She is now 10 months old and everyone seems to get along with her, but I’m concerned she’s reaching maturity. #3 is starting to chase her down. I think #3 is running for “Alpha Cat” in my house.
In July, I went away for a week. I had a woman come twice a day to care for them. I noticed #4 was losing weight and I made sure to tell the woman to make sure she eats. I feed my cats canned meals twice a day. No dry food is left out. At this point I wasn’t overly concerned about #1 and #4 fighting. It seemed intermittent and controlled by the water guns. When I returned after a week, #4 was covered in scabs. All my flower pots were knocked over. Many “scuffles” happened when I was gone.
#1, 2 & 3 were stalking viciously attacking #4. #4 urinated bloody urine in my bathroom sink. I took her to the vet. They did an ultrasound and found nothing wrong. They attributed the inappropriate urinating and blood to stress. I put them all on Royal Canin prescription Calm food, bought calming collars, two Feliways, and vigorously played with them. Nothing. Nothing helped. I separated my house into two halves - one for #1, 2 & 3 and the other half for #4 & 5. I bought 2 more cat trees and 3 more litter boxes.
Then I switched their spaces. #4 started urinating on my kitchen counter. Twice I found urine in the same spot. I bought Natures Miracle “No More Marking.” I decided to give #4 her own room with an excercise wheel, sunny window shelf, and her own water fountain. I separated the room with a screen door so they could all still smell each other. I also have a Feliway in the room. #4 started urinating on the exercise wheel. The carpet beneath the wheel was saturated so I removed the wheel. I cleaned the rug with Nature’s Miracle foam carpet cleaner for urine odors. That was a whole other nightmare because #4 got so sick. She’s better now.
I put #5 in with #4 every day for a few hours. They get along.
I contacted a pet behaviorist who told me mostly everything I was already doing.
I contacted my vet today and he said I should double the dosage for the Prozac to 10 mg a day. That sounds like so much.
Well, that’s the whole story. Thank you for reading. Thank you for any and all input. I really appreciate it more than you know.