Clomipramine

Hello everyone,
I'm a new mom as of this week. I adopted Howard from the local animal control and he's already the love of my life. That being said we are having PROBLEMS. He's 2 years old and was just neutered this past weekend. He's got a respitory infection that he's now on antihistimines for and he is spraying. I've gott a smaller carpeted (of course) apartment and the smell is killing me. He even got my new (sob) down comforter and duvet last night! The vet has perscribed him Clomipramine today and I'm just wondering if anyone has any experience with this drug for spraying. If so, what were the results/effects and how long was your cat on it?

As far as removing the urine goes...what's the best thing I can get at the store (pet supplies plus is the closest to me). I'd love to order something better online but I need to at least make a dent in the stains tonight! Does anyone have any experiece with dry cleaning to remove urine odor? I'm taking the down comforter in tonight but I'm wondering if that will help.

thanks all -

Hi,

I'm not familar with Clomipramine, but from some quick googling it sounds like an antidepressant. I have a cat that takes Prozac - it sounds like a similar drug. It does take some time to have an effect...probably at least 4 weeks, maybe longer. With Prozac, I saw some changes (positive ones!!) after about 6 weeks. My cat is on it for a different reason, but I'm happy with the results. We've been using it for about 4 months.

Having just been neutered...if you are lucky he might lose the desire to spray after his hormones calm down. That usually takes a month or so after neutering. Since he's older he may still want to spray, though. So either way (effects of the medicine or the neuter), you'll need to have patience for a month or so. Good for you adopting a grown up kitty.

On the cleaner, I don't have much experience - I'll wait for the experts.

The Clomipramine is used for behavioral problems like vertical spraying. I don't know if I agree with that, but it is used. But you know he is spraying because he was an unneutered male. No amount of drug is going to effect that. I would get him off the Clomipramine, get him on some Amoxi or Clavamox from the vet for his upper respiratory infection and wait out the month for his male hormones to leave his body.

Then see if he still sprays, and decide what to do. Is he on anything currently for the URI?

you know, maybe you should find a new vet.... seems he got a lot of things wrong for this kitty. Antihestimines, antidepressants, nothing for the URI... doesn't make any sense...

Well I think I need to clarify some things.

Howard is sneezing and is lethargic I assumed it was URI because the other cats at the shelter where I got him had URIs. The vet said he wanted to be conservative in his approach to perscribing him anything for his sneezing because his nose and eyes are clean and his mucus is clear. He did not see Howard as having a full blown URI as I suspected (yet) and we are watching him closely and if anything changes we are going back to the vet. I got the impression that he has somewhat of a "cold" and it needs to run its course. That being said...
Howard is not ferral. He uses the litterbox but also urinates on bedding and other personal items (not walls or doors). The vet explained that he is marking his territory and will continue to do so unless we do something to curb this behavior NOW. He perscribed Clomipramine and told me that it had a high sucess rate in curbing this behavior and that he would NOT need to be on it forever and the only side effect I should see is lethargy. I also purchased feliway to use on his "favorite" spots. Now, I wrote my original post because I was unfamiliar with this drug and the approach of using anti-depressants for cats with inappropriate urination. If anyone has experience with this drug (or a similar situation) I would greatly appreciate input. Thanks

I don't have experience with that particular drug, I'm sorry. I hope someone who does will post.

My intention was to encourage you , and to warn you that it would take some time to have an effect (your vet may have already advised you of this). A lot of people are against using antidepressants in cats. Personally, I'm not against it because I have had great success, with my cat that is on the Prozac.

The antidepresants didn't make my cat tired, or like a zombie or any such thing. He's a happy dude. We tried many other avenues first, and nothing else helped so much. I hope that you have the same experience that I did.

First of all, let's back up a moment and do this correctly ....

Welcome to TCS. This is a great place to learn about cats, meet new friends with similar interests and help others with issues with which you may have had experience in your own cats. We are all glad you found us!

OK, on to your concerns:

1) You are right not to have antibiotics for a non-bacterial discharge (the sneezing, etc.). Unless it becomes bacterial, antibiotics will not do a thing in this world to stop it. Just keep an eye on it to ensure the mucous doesn't become "color-indicative" (turns green). If it does, then antibiotics are probably indicated.

2) The spraying is a result of many things, IMO. He's in a new environment with lots of new smells and none of them are his. At 2 years old, he is used to spraying to mark his territory. Since he was just neutered, you might want to give him some time (we normally recommend around a month) for the testosterone to exit his system and see if that doesn't stop the spraying behavior. Until then, my suggestion to you is to confine him (I like and use an extra-large dog crate for this) to a smaller space which you can more easily control what he sprays on. If you go with using the crate, you can wrap old towels around the outside and attach them with binder clips - this effectively catches the spray and keeps it off surfaces which may be ruined or at the least, harder to clean.

3) The antidepressant medication you mentioned is also known as "Clomi-Calm" and is very effective for curbing spraying behavior, but I think it may be too soon to have taken that route. As I mentioned above, you might just want to try and confine him to a smaller space for a month or so and see if he stops on his own first before using medications.

4) An enzymatic cleaner specifically designed to take out urine is recommended for areas he has sprayed. Nature's Miracle is one such cleaner ... I have not used it so I can't speak intelligently on it. I use Dreft Baby Detergent and hot water in a spray bottle. IMO, it works as well and I do not worry about whatever I spray it on being ruined. (I don't have the kind of house where I need to worry about stuff getting ruined anyway - I "cat-proofed" it a long time ago for exactly this reason)

I have an intact male (my breeding stud) here in my home and I know the frustration of having to deal with a "hoser". Tonka hoses my house down like it is on fire if he gets the chance and intact male cat urine smells ... well, let's just say it is one of the most unpleasant odors I know of. *smile*