So what are these drugs, are they liquid, pills? Do they have to stay on them forever?Quote:
Originally Posted by Medusa
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So what are these drugs, are they liquid, pills? Do they have to stay on them forever?Quote:
Originally Posted by Medusa
I get the Clomicalm in 20 mg. pills that I quarter; each cat gets 5 mg. before bed. I've heard that there is a generic liquid form that is less expensive but I've not tried it. My cats are easy to pill and I don't want to mess w/syringes, etc. w/4 cats on it. As for how long they're on it, your guess is as good as mine. I've tried testing them and I can honestly say that it's important that they get their regular dosage daily. Perhaps as they grow older and less feisty, they'll grow out of it but right now, I'm not taking any chances. LOL The kitty Prozac comes in a transdermal patch and I know that a few here on PT have seen good success w/it, so perhaps they'll comment on that.Quote:
Originally Posted by JustineNYC
My vet started Rocky on liquid Prozac. It's the same stuff as given to people but in a tiny dose. Unfortunately the liquid has a mint flavor so giving it to Rocky was almost impossible. He would gag and spit it out and it would end up in his fur and make horrible mats. After struggling with this for 2-3 weeks I noticed it seemed to not be working as well so the vet upped his dosage to 2.5 mg which meant we could switch him to the 10 mg tablet cut in 1/4ths. That has been great, he takes it in a soft treat and even asks for it plus the tablet is generic so I can get it at my pharmacy for $4 a month. It's about time to increase his dose and my vet told me to cut the pill in thirds. I don't know if I can do it since the tablet is small but I'll try. No way am I going back to the liquid. My vet is a stickler for increasing the dosage very slowly.
I don't believe Rocky has peed inappropriately once since starting the Prozac (again, knock on wood) and the added benefits of having him laid back, less stressed and not attacking my other cats has been wonderful!
I have an appointment for today at 4. I appreciate everyones help with this. Id never put him to sleep over something like this, but I cant let him ruin my home and I dont want him to live in a bathroom for the rest of his life either.
The lady that made my appointment asked why I needed to come in and when I told her she said "Some cats just do that" :rolleyes::rolleyes:
I really hope they medicate him. Soon IM going to need some prozac!
Im home (finally)
I explained everything to the doctor, she looked at his medical records and said its definitely behavioral. She said the drug that they use with the most success is Amitriptyline (Elavil). He'll be on a 4th of a pill for 2 weeks, if he is still spraying but acting himself, we bump him up to a 1/4 twice a day. She said itll take a few weeks to work, but if I see he isnt himself, hes sleeping alot, then his dosage has to be lowered.
Its a process to get a therapeutic level where hes himself, not stoned, and not spraying.
She mentioned one other drug, but wants to try this first.
I mentioned the Clomicalm, she said they prescribe that for dogs and its usually used to treat separation anxiety. :confused: I can tell she isnt going to give me that, if this fails, we'll go to another vet.
I did a search on the drug and people have said positive things on it.
::fingers crossed:::
I really hope this works for you. I can only imagine how frustrating it must be to have to deal with spraying. I hope I will not soon find out about it too.
Good luck!! :D
Well, it's a step in the right direction anyhow. I had my cats on Amitryptilene and it worked for a while but it had an effect on them that I didn't like; they were too drugged. Clomicalm is usually used for dogs but it's been used successfully w/cats, as I mentioned. I have a friend whose cat started spraying and she started him on it and is very pleased w/the results. But, as I said, at least your vet is willing to try something. So good luck and, hopefully, this will work for you. :)
Quote:
Originally Posted by Medusa
Every vet is different I guess. When I mentioned Clomicalm and she said its for dogs, I wanted to say, And you just gave me a prescription for a people drug for a cat LOL....I got his pills at Rite Aid so obviously they arent strictly for, dogs cats whatever.
Anyway. Im going to keep an eye on him. I want the spraying to stop but I wont let him live comatose either. We'll play with the dosage if we have to and if it doesnt work or it konks him out, we'll try another drug or another vet.
At least if I take him to another vet, the cat already has a history of being prescribed for behavorial problems and we can just try another drug. Besides this vet there are 2 close by that my neighbor told me are very very good.
Quote:
Originally Posted by JustineNYC
You're exactly right. Ametryptilene has not been approved for use in cats but vets prescribe it and it's used successfully quite a lot. So is Buspar.
Maybe Buspar was the second drug she mentioned. I remember it started with a B. They all sound alike after a while.
On another note, Irwin was a gentleman at the vet. He let all the techs hold him and he was purring and soaking it up. He loves females. Makes me look nuts when Im telling them about how angry he is at home! LOL
I sure hope that this drug will work for him.:) I just picked up Storm's and Starr's prescription tonight at Costco which is similar to a Sam's Club. It was actually just one prescription for them to share and it was under Starr's name.
It's called Fluoxetine HCL and it's a the generic for Prozac. I got 60 pills for only $7.71. They're 10mg tablets and I only give each cat 1/4 of a tablet 1 time each day. My vet said that it could take between 4-6 weeks before I notice any improvement. I'm hoping I'll notice something in at least 1 weeks time like Jazzcat did. If it doesn't work for them then I'll have to wean them off of it.
Good luck and please keep us updated about Irwin.:)
I know what you mean. I took my meezer Coco Puff in last week for sneezing, coughing, etc. and my vet said "He's really a good cat" and I thought "A lot you know!" LOL He is a good boy, very sweet, etc. but he's one of my pee cats. Same w/my blackie Boo; the vet asst. loved him so much she said "I don't want to give him back!" but he's a pee cat, too. So you never can tell.Quote:
Originally Posted by JustineNYC
Neither of my cats is angre per se; their thing is mainly dealing w/smells that they don't like. I bought a cat bed w/a foam rubber base and all 4 of my pee cats hated it and peed in it. I'd wash the cover, foam rubber base and all, put it back out and w/in minutes it would be peed on again. I finally just threw it away. The same thing happened w/table cloths on a small occasional table. They didn't like the smell of the fabric and would back up to it and pee, so I ended up throwing it away, too. One of the worst was when I had just hung brand new silk draperies. Coco Puff and Boo Bear couldn't pee on them fast enough. That landed both of them in the basement as punishment. My Maine Coon, Specs, peed on my dining room server so much that it actually warped the wood and I couldn't close the door on it. I had tried Ametryptilene, Buspar, Valium, nothing worked. Then out of desperation my vet prescribed Clomicalm. He said "It's for behavior problems in aggressive dogs but I've read studies that it's been used successfully w/cats and inappropriate spraying but it hasn't been approved yet but then neither has Ametryptilene. Want to try it?" Since I was standing there bawling, he already knew the answer. He said "Give it time; it may take a while before it begins to work" but I was one of the lucky ones; it began working immediately and my house and sanity were saved.
Thats weird isnt it? I feel bad for my other cats because I buy them all these nice things to hang out on, and then he sprays it and no one steps near it. And I have very feminine females, so they hate Irwin LOLQuote:
Originally Posted by Medusa
I have 4 females, one of them is Irwins mom, 3 legged cat, she lived outside for 4 years, god bless her, she has never gone outside the box.
Its never the cats youd think it'd be. You would think a 4 year old street cat with 3 legs would be the last one to always go into this dome looking thing to go to the bathroom.
I remember one of my friends was like, Youll never litter train her. And Moglie, my little ringworm cat.....he took a little while.
Mainly because for the first few months he had worms, (we dewormed him 3 times) and he was using his own litter. When he got the clear to go into everyone elses, he was a little confused that suddenly he was in the big boy litter.
A few times, Id see him go in the corner and start digging and Id yell No no no and scoop him up and put him in the litter, and now, hes totally got the hang himself.
Sometimes it takes the patience of Job to train them but they're so worth it. I was so desperate at one point that the thought crossed my mind for a second, a nano-second, to rehome them but I loved them too much. And who knows if the person I'd rehome them with would tolerate it or just toss them out on the street. I never would rehome them but I empathize w/you because I know how frustrating it can be. We spend a lot of money on our home and a cat's urine can destroy it. So it sounds like you're willing to try different methods and treatments and you're patient, too, so that's a big help. It'll work itself out. You're a good cat mom who has given these sweeties a home, so you deserve some peace and not pees. (Ok, lame joke.)
I dont want to jinx anything but....no spraying. Coincidental?