Juni & Chloe are going on Prozac for a while

[Karen]

Sas, another compounding pharmacy to try would be local to me, Johnson Drug. Because they are in NEw England, maybe it would ease the shipping costs a bit? Worth checking it out, in any case. http://www.naturalcompounder.com/ They've been in business long time, and are trustworthy, as far as I can tell!

[emily_the_spoiled]

BTW, I forgot to mention that the drowsiness is normal and will go away after a few weeks.

[sasvermont]

I will call my Vet tomorrow and discuss why she thinks such a low dose is necessary. Juni weighs 6.5 lbs. and Chloe weight 7.5, so they are pretty skinny and small. Maybe my vet is afraid it will cut into their food appetite too much. I don't know, but I do know that I just put the liquid on food for Chloe and she would not eat it. She can smell it, I guess. Juni runs to her dish to eat it! I have my work cut out for me.

I think I will just ask to have the prescription filled, and try to cut the pills in quarters. Half and then half again. That should be just a speck in the pill pocket. If that doesn't work, then I am out of tricks. Believe me, I will be able to catch Chloe maybe twice, to pill her, and then she will be no where to be found. That's the personality of the Abys! They hate to be contained and tended to.... they are their own little persons and you cannot make them do anything. I think that is why Barbara always took Filou to the vet for his subq's. Once at the vet, they usually are well behaved. Usually.

I am leaving the wet food with liquid meds on the counter so it could be that Lucy will eat it. Oh well. Can't hurt her. I really am going to aim for the pill pocket routine, probably tomorrow.

Thanks for listening.

I should go spend some quality time with Juni-get-down, before she thinks no one loves her!

[Cataholic]

SAS- I am no vet, but Ibelieve your vet has it wrong. 5 mg is very, very, very common a dose to start with, though I know my sister in law is on 2.5 to begin. Her cats are behemoths, by the way.

I don't know what my cats weigh, but it is closer to 8-9 pounds. I increased my sonic boy up to 10 mg a day (5 mg in the am, and 5 mg in the pm) and it has worked very very well. I didn't even go back in to see him, I just upped it as I know someone that did the same, no problem.

I don't notice a darn thing with appetite (heck, Sonic eats a ton!) and noticed what might have been some sleepiness that very first day. Nothing since.

I wouldn't mess around with 1 mg. I would go to 2.5 and see what happens.

[emily_the_spoiled]

Oliver weighs about 12 lbs, so he is not a big big guy but we started on 5 mg and that didn't even make a dent. So if you vet is willing to try at least 2.5mg then go for the tablet for. BTW, it is MUCH cheaper to by the tablets from the vet and not your local people pharmacy (even though they are made by the same company).

I also did not notice any change in Oliver's eating (but this is a guy who will never turn down the opportunity to eat )

Please keep us posted on how things go at the vet.

[sasvermont]

I asked why such a low dose and she said they usually start the cats out really low to see how little they need. Well, in the mean time, I have cats that still fight until they get to a higher dose. So, we agreed to get 10mg. and cut it in quarters and use pill pockets.

I have to thank you folks for your stories, as I read them to the tech over the phone. She was flabbergasted at the doses but agreed that maybe the cats could tolerate a higher dose.

So, tonight, if I remember to pick up the pills today after work, I will begin the pill pocket routine. I think I should pop one or two in my evening meal, just to even out the TEAM !!

I will keep you posted.

Thanks again,

Sas and her unhappy campers

[emily_the_spoiled]

Usually the rule of thumb (at least for people) is that if the dose is adequate you will start to notice an effect within the first week or two with the full effect by weeks 6 to 8. They have already been on it long enough to know that it is time to increase the dose. Hopefully this will help you out and don't be afraid to increase it to 5mg if need be. This drug is very safe for animals and the only monitoring for long term use is an annual blood test (to check liver values).

So give the girsl PillPockets tonight with the meds and give yourself a big glass of wine

[mrspunkysmom]

SasVermont,

Sorry to hear the kitties are still fighting. Hope the kitty prozac works. I've been thinking a requesting some to stop the peeing on my counter.

Please take care when changing the dry food. Blue buffalo is no longer under PetSmart's control, or so I heard. I know that mine started throwing up on it. I try to stay away from corn and wheat.

Hope the kidney troubles improve.

[emily_the_spoiled]

It has now been a couple of weeks. Have you started to see any effect of the Prozac yet?

[sasvermont]

A complete fail.

First of all, after two full weeks of Juni taking the pill pockets, she suddenly decided she wouldn't eat the pockets anymore. I tried putting the liquid medication in tuna and clam juice. Nope. Chloe never did really like the pill pockets after a couple of days. So, after a month of off and on taking the meds, I let them at each other and left the house. When I came home, Chloe was hiding in a bedroom under a bed and Juni was in her room, sleeping. Things in the kitchen were knocked over (their favorite fighting spot) so I assume there was a fight or two. Chloe was upset. Since that time, I've kept them in their own rooms, allowing one to roam the house while the other is confined. That is how we started out and that seems to be the way it's going to be.

I have a vet appointment this coming Saturday and will discuss the problem with my vet. She may have another idea up her sleeve.

They seem to like being apart. Even when the have the opportunity to have the whole house to roam, they end up sleeping in their own room! I guess it's like a hotel to them. I'm not happy, but I have gotten used to it.

So a big FAIL. If my problem was with Lucy, my barn cat, it would be easy to pill her. These two Abyssinians are horrible to pill. I can't even catch them, that's how bad it is. They wiggle out of my arms, scratch, bite, kick, scream. Really. You MAY be able to pill them the first time you catch them, but from that point on, they will run from you when you go near them. They have always been that way. It has to be on their terms. Right now Juni is on my lap as I type. She would not be here if I had a pill in my hand. I can just about get flea treatment on them each month.

FAIL. FAIL. FAIL.