Cats are stressed, I'm stressed - I need to vent/cry

[emily_the_spoiled]

Last December things had reached a breaking point in my household. Oliver was being EXTREMELY aggressive towards another (declawed) cat Charlie. I had tried everything that I could think of including amitriptyline (Elavil). I finally was able to go in and see an animal behavioralist vet in my area. She prescribed Prozac because the amitriptyline wasn't calming him down enough. It took about 6-8 weeks before I really noticed a big effect in Oliver's behavior and it did get worse for awhile when Connor (from Ally Cat's Mom) first arrived.

Before I started Oliver on any of the meds I had a reading done with Nancy (just to take a baseline). Normally the vets will start with the amitriptyline because it is approved for use in cats. Not all vets feel comfortable prescribing the Prozac, because it has not been approved by the FDA for use in cats. Once Oliver was stablized on the Prozac, I had Nancy do another reading on him. (One of her comments was that Oliver was feeling so much better with the Prozac.)

I will tell you that it is not a panacea and will not cure all the problems. I am down to about one "stocking" incident per day and usually I can catch Oliver before he attacks. But Charlie has reached the point now were he will growl and hiss at Oliver (but thankfully he is deaf) so it could escalate again.

If you want to talk more about the Prozac just PM me and I would be happy to tell you more about my experiences.

Cheryl

[Logan]

I am much more experienced with a multi dog household than a multi cat household. I don't think I have the patience or emotional stamina to endure what some of you have with these cats. I guess that is exactly why Butter has remained an "only cat" since Mimi died last summer. He is better, calmer, and less likely to act out, even though they rarely interacted with each other. It might be that he is getting older. It might be that he feels more secure in his position in our home. I don't know, but I sure do like the new Butter a bunch more than I did the old one.

One thing that I know is that this problem is not exclusive to cats. I've dealt with an aggressive dog now and finally have him behaving better, but gates are a perfect way to quickly diffuse a dog problem. But with cats, I know it is not so simple. We even had "attitude" issues as our baby Cockatiels grew up. Mom and Dad became aggressive with the babies and with us.

We are finally at a point where our home is calm most of the time. I wish the same for you and your cats, Lori. I know how tough it is to come home from a long day at work and deal with this sort of thing. I am not above using medication and seperation to achieve a calm atmosphere.

Best wishes.
Logan