Clomicalm

[jenluckenbach]

OK, anyone who uses this or has used this please tell me your experiences.

What dosage? How many times a day? Did/does it work to stop territorial spraying?

Lately I have caught both Mickey and Jim peeing/spraying around the house. Both are on Amitriptylin at this time. Mickey once a day, Jim twice a day. I guess it is not working.

NOTE: In all fairness, Jim IS having a UTI right now as shown by a recent urinalysis. And this could be PART of his problem. He is starting a 10 day round of Baytril.

So, I asked the vet about Clomicalm. She said she had not heard of it for use in cats, but DID look it up in a book, and it states usage for inappropriate peeing in cats. So we are going to order some and try it.

BUT! She also said that she STOPPED giving it to dog patients as it was shown to cause thyroid problems (low thyroid). So of course, this causes a bit of concern.....will it harm the cats in the same way?

Your thoughts?

[jazzcat]

I tried it on Rocky for about 6 weeks and stopped because his personality changed for the worse. At first it did seem like a miracle drug because he was so mellow but then he became very paranoid and jumpy and seemed like he hated the world. It took months to get him over it. When I talked to my vet about it she said that is a side effect and said kitty prozac would probably be the same way with him.

My vet prescribed the cream for the ear which had to be made at a compounding pharmacy and was not cheap.

Rocky got too stressed with Moxie and Decker here and started "marking" his territory and picking on Scout. Since trying the Clomicalm I've started letting Rocky go out in the garage for some "alone" time which he loves, I put Rescue Remedy in the water and I keep two Feliway Plug-ins going at all times. So far so good! Knock on wood.

[Medusa]

I guess I've been fortunate because I've had no problems whatsoever w/Clomicalm and I suggest it to everyone who has sprayers. My furkids get 1/4 of a 20 mg. tablet at bedtime and that does the trick. No spraying, no personality change, nada. However, if I don't plan ahead and get a refill before I run out, I can almost guarantee that someone will spray and that's exactly what happened today. I didn't have enough to last me through the weekend; I forgot to call and came home to wet dining room draperies. One dose! I missed one freakin' dose and that's what happened! :mad: Should the time come when Clomicalm stops working, I'll give kitty Prozac a try. Dr. Lee feels it works great but my old vet started my furkids on Clomicalm so I've stayed w/that. Also, Dr. Lee said that sometimes it takes some cats up to 6 weeks before you see any difference in behavior w/Clomicalm. Again, I've been fortunate because it began working immediately for me. I tried Ametryptilene at your suggestion years ago, Jen, and for a while, it worked but it also made my Specs paranoid. So I've had them on Clomicalm ever since. Good luck, Jen. This is my number one gripe about cats. I love them beyond belief but boy, nothing makes me angrier than a peeing cat who does it because of behavior problems and not illness. Keep us posted as to how it's working for you if you decide to give it a whirl. I'm w/ya, girlfriend! :)

[jazzcat]

I did want to add that Rocky is very sensitive and that on a more "normal" cat the clomicalm might have worked. Rocky is so bad that we gave him the nickname "Petal" because he is so delicate. He gets his feelings hurt if you laugh at him and he cries like a baby when he doesn't get his way or another cat is touching him. I've never seen such a baby.

[krazyaboutkatz]

I tried it on Storm and it helped stop his inappropriate peeing right away and also helped with his aggressive behavior. It did change his personality though and he became very paranoid and would just sleep most of the time. I then decided to stop using it and my vet said that I had to wean him off of it so I did. He was on the liquid kind and he was getting .3ml 1 time a day. He hated the taste even though it was tuna flavored.

My vet said that I should give him a 4-6 week trial on it but I noticed that he stopped peeing inappropriately right away. This is what my vet said about it:

Clomicalm is a tricyclic antidepressant, so can have alot of effects
on personality. More so, in general, then prozac--which is more of an
anxiolytic. Just about all psychoactive drugs that I am aware of have
been shown to NOT be effective as transdermal preparations (the cream
on the ear you mentioned), so I am surprised some find it effective.
None of these drugs are a magic bullet, please do not treat them as
such.

That said, I have prescribed some clomicalm for Storm. You can pick
it up at Adobe tomorrow. We should give it a 4-6 week trial, as these
drugs require some time to reliably change the brain chemistry that
leads to behavioral changes. I would continue to use the feliway. He
may be tired the first few days. If tiredness lasts longer then a
few days, contact me and we will modify the dose.

Now he's on an herbal supplement that's helping him with his aggressive behavior and he's been using the litterboxes like a good boy. He's so much calmer now and he also has his personality back. He's on Calm Spirit Tea Pills and right now he gets 1 pill in the morning and 1 at night. In Feb. I'll probably be able to just give him 1 pill a day. It took about 1 month for it to kick in but now he's a much happier and calmer cat.:) I hope that something will work for your cats. Good luck.:)

[Medusa]

Rocky is so bad that we gave him the nickname "Petal" because he is so delicate. He gets his feelings hurt if you laugh at him and he cries like a baby when he doesn't get his way or another cat is touching him. I've never seen such a baby.

Sounds like my ex-boyfriend. :p

[jazzcat]

Sounds like my ex-boyfriend. :p
LOL!

[Catsnclay]

My vet doesn't like clomicalm for the very reasons mentioned. I have a friend who swears by it and told me to look into it. Glad we never changed!


But....... I think Yoshi's problem was.......Fluffy! :eek: :( Apparently Fluffy was the ruler of the house, even though to us he was the 'perfect' kitty! Yoshi must have felt intimadted by him.

Now that Taz is around I have been watching Yoshi, and dare I say that he hasn't been spraying!!! (now watch........:rolleyes: )

I still have the Feilway's going because we are now able to have the doors & windows open (finally! :rolleyes: ) and during this time is when Yoshi likes to spray a lot, so.......... we are crossing all fingers & paws that this non-spraying continues!!

Oh, I still give Yoshi the Fluoxetine, but we are slowly reducing the amount.

I also give him his meds in baby food, he loves it!! Thinks it is his speical treat - ;) .

So now, any meds that need to be given get mixed in with the baby food - the cats just love it!! Silly kitties.............

[Medusa]

[QUOTE=Catsnclay
any meds that need to be given get mixed in with the baby food - the cats just love it!! Silly kitties.............[/QUOTE]

Wow, you're lucky! I have such ghetto cats. They hold it in the sides of their mouths and spit it out when I'm not looking. So I have to just pill them and massage their throats until I'm sure they've swallowed it.