Juni & Chloe are going on Prozac for a while

[krazyaboutkatz]

I'm sorry to hear that they're still fighting. Hopefully the prozac will do the trick. I also use pill pockets to pill my cats and it works out well. I actually cut the pill pockets into 4 pieces and roll them into tiny balls and then I wrap them around the pills. I don't know what I've do without them. Good luck.

[emily_the_spoiled]

I just saw this thread and would like to chime in. One of my guys (Oliver) has been on Prozac for about 5 years now. We use the pill form and put it in the pill pockets. Like Cataholic I could see a difference within a couple of days. That being said, I could also see the difference when they changed brands (and it was not pretty ). So my advice to you is that it can make a HUGE difference and not all cats are on it as long as Oliver. But once the furry ones are stabilized on a dose and brand do not change them around (just like for humans).

[sasvermont]

The ear cream (trans dermal) does not work.

The compounded formula is difficult to correctly dose.

Have you tried pill pockets? I have two cats on prozac, and I place a 1/2 tab (5 mg) in each pill pocket and the cats eat it up without any trouble.

My sister in law's cats won't eat the pill pockets. She can easily pill her cats.

Some cats will eat a pat of creme cheese. Or, cubed. Maybe a small piece of chicken with it in there?

Kroger sells a month's supply of prozac for $4.00. Its cheap.

I noticed a difference nearly immediately- like 24 hours immediate- despite the vet's comments otherwise. Anecdotally, there are many people that notice an immediate change. I had those knock down drag out fights, and major peeing, and the fights stopped instantly. The peeing is moving in the right direction, with probably 90% success rate.

Good luck!

I have a problem with the pill concept. My vet wants to give them a dosage of 1 MG each, and pills come in 10 mg. How in the world can we cut the pill in 10 pieces for the pill pocket. I guess the difference in your cats' dosages and my cats' dosages has to do with their weight. But lets say my cat weighs in at 7 lbs. does that mean your cat weights 35 lbs? and can tolerate 5 mg! Wow, bid difference. I wonder if my vet has it right?

Also, my vet called the compounding guy to complain about how much they charged me. The guy said he would reconsider, since he charged me $45 for one cat's supply for a month and will do a three month supply for both cats for $79.00. There isn't much competition around here for compounding, so I don't have much of a choice. I will call the compounding place mentioned in an earlier post, to see if I can get it cheaper. $79 for three months isn't too bad, but Chloe doesn't seem to like it in her food. I will try it again. I bought pill pockets and they both ate the pockets in a second, so I am hopeful the pills will work. Now we have the dosage problem. Anyone have a suggestion as to how we can measure a un-crushed or crushed 10 mg. pill?

Juni seems to be less active having been on the liquid med for over a week now. I feel sorry for her being cooped up in one bedroom, by herself. I do let her do a run through the house from time to time, but I want it back the old way - doors open all the time.

C A T S !!!

[emily_the_spoiled]

The 10MG is the dose Oliver has been stabilized on for a number of years. He is a big guys but not 35 lbs I tried to decrease the dose over the years and it just was not worth the pain and suffering it caused for everyone else in the house, so he is staying on 10mg.

It sounds like your vet is titrating the dose to find out what will work for the guys. But 1mg every day sounds very low. We started at 5 mg and worked our way up (I used a vet who has a behavioral practice). Here is a link for you to read about what is available (there is a liquid) and the dosing for animals.

http://www.petplace.com/drug-library...zac/page1.aspx

[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

[sasvermont]

Wine it is! Thanks for the hand holding.

Off to work again.

[Barbara]

Oh Chloe and Juni, why do you naughty girls not get it. You were such good kitties-why doesn't ot work out anymore

[sasvermont]

Well, I filled the pill pockets and placed each one on a plate with a few greenies. They LOVE greenies. Juni gobbled her's right down. Didn't even chew them. Just like a dog. Chloe is STILL sitting at the top of my kitchen cabinets, looking down at her plate, decided WHAT exactly I did to it THIS time! I have Lucy, the other cat, outside, so she won't be unnecessarily medicated by eating Chloe's food. I still think I should take (the Prozac) them and leave the cats to work it out on their own.

The pharmacy charged me $9.95 for 15 pills! (10 mg.) If I find they WILL take the pills, I will hunt for a better price at another pharmacy. That seems rather high in price. But for the time being, I have 1/2 bottle of the liquid (enough for 1/2 month) and 14 pills (enough for a month).

Yikes.

Off to prepare that glass of wine!

[emily_the_spoiled]

Talk with your vet about getting the pills there. I pay about $30 for 100 tabs from my vet. They are MUCH more expensive in a people pharmacy. The one trick I have learned is to take a regular treat and break it in half. Then attach a half treat to each side of a pill pocket. That helps mast the taste.

Now pour yourself a glass of wine and enjoy the nice weather!