Suzie the brat.. Put on Amitriptyline =-(

[kt_luvs_kitties]

Well, Suzie has gotten progressively worse. She is still attacking all of my guests, Rickie, and each of the other kitties. She is just so very miserable, and unfriendly. I just Thank God she does not bite me....

She is urinating all over my house, my clothes, ME. I do have an appointment for her on Monday at 2:00 pm to get another urinalysis and exam from my vet. (even though I am POSITIVE this is a behavorial thing).

I decided, after a major attack on Puff, That something MUST change. I called my vet and he wanted to try Amitriptyline as a last resort. She started the pills yesterday....

This just has to work. I am just being pushed to the brink, and even though she is so hateful, I still cant help to feel sorry for her....

She is perfectly healthy, but just so unhappy..... What do I do? How do I help her? WHY is she like this? UGH! Sometimes being a MULTIPLE cat meowmie can take a toll on us, cant it? :(

Does anyone have any advice, or know anything about this drug? I really wanted to see if anyone knew anything about it, if it really works. Thank you for listening to my rant. I have included a photo to show everyone whom I am speaking of....


http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b8df04b3127cceb40806fb3a4200000026100AbM2LZi3bt2 MA

[Laura's Babies]

Did Boo pass on her "Grouch Wand"? Now that she is setteling in and has turned around you got one acting out just like her! Is it in the air or just that we are getting them at a bad time in their life?

Soon it will be a year since Boo came here to live with me and I had never encountered a cat as mean as she was... Thank God she has turned around and peace is in the house again.. Good luck to you and I hope things turn around for you faster than they did for me. It is so heartbreaking to see them so miserable and not know what to do.

[krazyaboutkatz]

I'm so sorry to hear this.:( I don't know much about this drug but a few other PT'ers have used it on their cats and I think that it helped them. Sometimes though it wears off with time so then you have to try something else. I think the drug of choice now is prozac. My vet wanted me to try this on Storm when he was having peeing and aggression issues but I decided to try clomicalm instead.

Usually clomicalm is used on dogs but another PT'er uses it and it's done wonders for her cats. Storm didn't do too well on it so I decided to try a more holistic approach and he's now on Calm Spirit Teapills which are working out well for him. He's been on them since August. It took about 2 weeks for them to start working. Some of the other drugs take 6-8 weeks before you see results. I sure hope that this will work for Suzie. Good luck.:)

[kb2yjx]

We used Elavil(the trade name)when our Nicholas(RIP)was spraying. He had some GI troubles, so we then switched to the transdermal version of the med. He did need his dose to be increased. Then did very nicely. Also, our vet suggested Feliway. After looking at Suzie, I can see that she is ONE very unhappy girl!!! Poor sweetheart!! There are some cats that just want to be the ONLY cat, and perhaps, she is one of them!! Have you considered an animal communicator? Also, have you looked into Bach Flower Remedies?? I hope that things work out for Suzie....good luck...Sandra

[nepeta]

There's a Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist in Cary NC

sdd http://www.animalbehavior.org/ABSAppliedBehavior/caab-directory (and search for Cary)

[emily_the_spoiled]

I have one of my guys on Prozac for his aggression and I can tell you that it was a wonder drug. He wasn't spraying, but he was constantly attacking one of the other cats. Once he was stablized on a dose you wouldn't recognize him as the same cat I had before.

I know this has to be hard for you. good luck

[Medusa]

I used amitryptilene on my Specs because he was spraying and attacking Boo every day. In the beginning it worked but not for long. Then my vet suggested Buspar. Nothing. So he tried Clomicalm and voila! I have 4 of my cats w/bad manners on it and I've had no spraying incidents or attacks since then. I'd say to give amitryptilene a good try; it may work for you. If not, Clomicalm is wonderful. And Prozac is getting rave reviews for just this very thing. Take heart; better days are coming....... :)

[smokey the elder]

Just like in people, "head meds" work differently in different cats. I hope you can calm down Suzi.

[Catsnclay]

My Yoshi has been on Fluoxetine Liquid for years now, and only every once in a great while will he slip up and pee.

But I always know when it will happen - like last week, we had a house guest for most of the week and I was also out of the house more than often, so that is when he will pee.

Poor guy, he doesn't like change or upset in his life!

We also have the Feliway plugs going 24/7 I think it helps.

Good luck!

[catmandu]

Suzis Probably Had Some Sad Experiences With Other Cats And People And Is Reacting Out Of Fear , Not Being Bad For Its Won Sake.
We Are Sending Prayers That You Can Help Siuzi, Or Find Her A Home Where She Can Be The Only Cat.

[kt_luvs_kitties]

Thank you all for your advice and suggestions, if this does not work out, I will keep trying. She hasnt peed on anything since the day after the pills. *crosses fingers*.

Where do I get the Clomicalm or Calm Spirit Teapills ? They sound like a good option.

I asked my vet about Prozac, and he did not recommend it for use in cats.. He said since no testing had been done on the side effects, he did not want to prescribe it... BUT I do know someone personally who used it and thought it worked fine!

Thank you again@ Kt and kitties

[krazyaboutkatz]

Katie, you can buy the Calm Spirit Teapills by Plum Flower on the internet or maybe a health store might also carry them. I bought mine through my holistic vet but there are many websites that sell them. Here's a link to one of them Calm Spirit Tea Pills (http://www.healingherbsofchina.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=HHOC&Product_Code=3383). I've only seen them sold in bottles of 200 pills but my holistic vet was able to buy a bottle with 1000 pills in it. It's called the economy size. I just keep it in the refrigerator and take out what I need so it'll stay fresh longer. My vet said that if I use much less later on then I could also freeze most of the pills so they won't expire so soon. Then they can last for many years.:)

Storm is 14lbs and he takes 1 pill 2 times a day. I put it in a pill pocket and he thinks he's getting a treat. The pills are about the size of a dried pea so they're very easy to hide in a pill pocket. It took about 2 weeks for me notice an improvement in Storm's aggressive behavior. He started taking them in early Aug. and in Feb. I'll most likely start giving him just 1 pill a day. Later on my holistic vet said that he may only need 1 or 2 pills a week to help him.:) If you decide to try these I hope that they'll work for Suzie. Good luck.:)

[Catty1]

Just a wee bit of caution - ask your vet or PTrs here who know about mixing herbal remedies with 'regular' meds. It can cause a lot of harm in humans, and I'd just want Suzie to be on the safe side.

Glad to hear she hasn't peed! Maybe she will mellow out a little bit. Amitryptiline works pretty quickly(an old and wonderful tricyclic AD), whereas things like Prozac take longer to kick in.

Hugs to Suzie - glad she is doing a bit better!

[Medusa]

Clomicalm has to be prescribed by your vet. It's usually recommended for behavior issues in dogs but it's been used on cats successfully. As I mentioned, I have 4 of mine on it w/no side effects whatsoever. Of course, all animals are different just as people are, so any drug may affect your cats differently. But if the amitryptilene is working for you, hurray!

[Uabassoon]

We put Tuna on Amitriptyline last week for his spraying. They said it takes a few weeks to kick it, but I've already noticed a difference. Every morning I would wake up and Tuna would run right to the front door and spray. He was spraying several times a day all over the house. If he meowed and you didn't pet him or feed him right that second he would run off and spray. Since we've put him on this I've only caught him spraying once, and that was last week. Other than that he still seems to act normal, we were afraid that we would lose his goofy personality but it's still there. The vet gave us Amitriptyline first because it was the least expensive medicine, if it stops working then we'll give prozac a try.