Spraying and Prozac

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jaxmaxmom

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Just bringing this back up for an update. Not much of one, however. The vet has been unable to find anyone to mix up the gel (for the ears) and for some reason (dosage, I guess) refuses to work with us on a pill...which is what we want to try.

We are concerned about the ear sores some people have mentioned with the gel. We had the liquid initially and tried to give it to him a few times, without much success, but it seems like just those couple of doses made a difference (must have been our imagination) but for several days afterward he didn't spray at all. Well now, a few weeks later, it is back to a few times a day.

If we can ever find a source for the gel, I will let you all know if it is effective for us.
 

wingss2fly

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Try dripping it on the paw and allowing the cat to lick it off. If you put it in food you should only add it to about a tesp. of food to insure all meds go down the shoot, and into the tummy.
I would just put it in the mouth as I did with the pain meds they took after surgery.
K.
 

enuja

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I didn't use the transdermal gel for long (it was working, but still hard to catch my cat for dosage), but it worked pretty well for my asthmatic cat for the month or so I did use it. My vet did also say that there isn't much evidence that transdermal gels get the medication into the bloodstream, but that there is strong anecdotal experience that it works for asthma.

I don't have the information on the pharmacy here, but my vet used a mail-order pharmacy to formulate the prednisone into a transdermal gel. I wasn't terribly happy with the pharmacy, because the instructions on the syringe were for oral medication, and this was medication to put on ears, but they were somewhere on the east coast and I live in California, so you should be able to use them (or another mail order pharmacy). I'll get you the pharmacy information later.
 

laureen227

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will he eat moist treats?
i looked over the thread, & didn't see these mentioned: pill pockets.
lots of people have had success w/them - but they only work if your cat will eat treats like them.
 
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jaxmaxmom

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OK, here's another update. We got capsules to give Jax, but we can't get them down his throat. Is there something that you recommend we rub on it to help it slide down better? (I think I read this somewhere.)

Thanks!
 

laureen227

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Originally Posted by JaxMaxMom

OK, here's another update. We got capsules to give Jax, but we can't get them down his throat. Is there something that you recommend we rub on it to help it slide down better? (I think I read this somewhere.)

Thanks!
i use butter, myself.
 

kittymonsters

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As Laureen said butter can work and it is especially helpful if you have a cat piller. Make sure to get some food or water down after the capsule to make sure it isn't stuck in the esophagus.

How big are the capsules and more importantly are they full? Sometimes they use capsules that are much larger than the actual content. If there is only a small amount in each capsule you can try pouring the contents into a pill pocket, or cutting down the capsules to a smaller size.

I don't use the pill pockets full size because my cats tend to want to chew them. I usually make them 1/2 the original size and the cats just lap them up like a treat. You can fill the pill pockets with anything, liquid, powder, or solid pill as long as the volume isn't too large.

Also I don't know if the powdered prozac is as nasty tasting as the liquid. Might be able to mix it into wet food, but I think that is a long shot.

Your not crazy either, the prozac does work right away. The immediate improvement is amazing.

Please keep us posted.
 
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jaxmaxmom

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Hi everyone,

I posted an update on this in a new thread. Results are great, thus far.

Thanks for all your help!

Dawn
 

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I know that this thread has been dead for a while, but if you're still looking for a compounding pharmacy, or even a pharmacy that can do a specific dosage, I might have one. I'm not sure where they are located but I deal directly with them once I've got the order in.. and they ship to me. My vet just has a standing refillable order in, although it's for amitryptolene (sp?).. and I'm about to talk to him tomorrow about Prozac. We are currently using transdermal. I don't think they are nearly as effective as the pills were, but it's really difficult to tell whether its' the med or the fact that it's transdermal.

They wouldn't deal with the treats. They don't like it in either Tuna or Chicken. I had some success with the pill pockets with one cat. THe other won't eat anything besides cooked meat or raw, and that means cat food of any sort.. so.. he won't even eat cat treats. No idea what to do with him.

Anyway, let me know if you need the information. They're not terribly expensive for the Amitryptolene, but I don't know what the other drugs run.
 

joe bauers

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Thank you for posting this.  We're going to give it a try.  I have a 15 yr old cat who is in a "pissing match" with another cat we have, and we're at our wit's end.
 

kylier

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I know this is an old thread, but I'm having some pee-related issues with my 14 y.o female cat. She's been on again/off again Prozac - won't take the liquid, initially took the opened capsule mixed in with food, now she won't have a bar of it. I am trying to get some in pill form. I seem to have better luck with pills and my trick for giving them - even to my little semi-wild boy is to take a small piece of cheese (fresh cooked chicken works as well...but my cats go MAD over cheese!) - roll the cheese around in your fingers until it is soft and pliable, then put the pill in the middle, making sure it is well covered on all sides. It should look like a little yellow ball when you're done. The trick is not to make it too big that your cat won't/can't scoff it down in a single bite (you don't really want them to chew) or too small that the pill isn't hidden well enough. If you have a larger pill to give, do it in two smaller doses. Sometimes I'll give my cat/s a tiny tidbit of the cheese or chicken without the meds first, then they just gobble up the second one (dosed) no problem. Hope this helps someone!
 

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Hi Dawn. I am having similar probs with my five-year old male. He is sugar and spice and that is what saves him. I rescued him after having been surrendered by two families. They did NOT tell me that he's a sprayer. Anyhow, I am a rescuer by nature (I have rescued 12 cats, dogs and countless wildlife) so I would have taken him anyway. We've tried amitriptyline--no luck. He's been on Prozac for about 9  months. Has had no adverse effects. HOWEVER, it is NOT perfect. He has an 'accident' once in a while. That brings me to the reason I came on the site. He has just had a HUGE 'accident' against the baseboard moldings and curtains in my family room. I am concerned that the Prozac may stop working. I am looking for advice myself on next steps.

I CANNOT 'return' him as I just KNOW that this otherwise wonderful cat will either be destroyed, live forever in a cage or be abused by an angry owner. He is mine. I love him, I need to find a solution. I'll try the tin foil thing but I am pretty certain he'll just find another spot. I will continue to research and post any results.

Thank you.

maggie 
 

4catsnuff

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Hi Dawn,

I was having issues with my two male cats spraying every squaure inch of our house which ruined furniture, walls, and other household items.  After ruling out all medical problems, we concluded it was behavioral due to many factors.  Frequent vet visits, surgery, and chemotherapy for one of the males cats and  a new kitten apparently had upset the balance of our peaceful household for the two males cats.  Prior to this we never had an issue with them peeing outside the litter box.  They were pretty much the ipitomy of perfect cats for the ten years I've had them.  We were at our wits end and had tried everything under the sun and spent excessive riduiculous amounts of money on products that were ineffective.  I could not forsee giving them the boot to the outside.  They had been indoor cats from the time I adopted them at 6 weeks old.  Medicating them was our last resort.  Low and behold after just one dose of Prozac and Xanax the spraying stopped.  The Xanax was prescribed in the interim for about 2 weeks because it takes a few weeks for the Prozac to reach therapeutic levels.  They are now off the Xanax and just on a low dose of Prozac daily  and still no spraying.  I have yet to see any side effects from the Prozac.  They are back to their happy go lucky selves.  I think it's worth a try.  Maybe you might want to look into visiting another vet that is willing to prescribe Prozac.
 

tdonline

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My cats are on prozac too--for aggression and not for spraying.  Unfortunately they do suffer from side effects.  My cats abhor the taste of prozac too.  My solution is to cut or crush the pills and place them in small size 4 capsules.  The capsules taste neutral and do not bother my cats.  I place the capsule in a small treat made up of a teaspoon of friskies or liver pate (or even their regular canned food of Wellness/Trader Joe's) surrounded by 5-6 kibbles.  The capsule gets gobbled up in the process.  I do not put in their regular meal because they do not always finish all their food at once.  The small treat guarantees the capsule is always eaten.
 

kylier

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Not sure if you have something similar where you guys are (US?) but in Australia, where my cats are living with my mum, she has the Prozac made into a gel at a compounding pharmacy and she applies it to the inside tip of my cat's ear - just rubs it in - apparently works really well and my cat (crafty old thing that she is) is none the wiser. It's called transdermal delivery or something like that - gets into the bloodstream via the skin in the ear. Just a suggestion for anyone who needs to use Prozac but is having trouble giving the pills.
 

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I know this is an old post. My cat was put on 5 mg in pill form..  I cut the 10 mg pill in half with a pill cutter and it was a little too much of a dose for my cat who is only 7 lbs.. So I cut that in half again and he is on 2.5 mg.  He stopped spraying immediately..  He was spraying all over the house. He is only 3 years old and IT all started with him having  a case of FLUTD.. Then it started. . He was so nervous and spraying all over.. The Prozac stopped it all. That was last November 2015.  It is now July 2016 and for this past month I have been even cutting it down to less than 2.5 mg. I am going to try and take him off the prozac. And am hoping that all will be well without it. .If not, he will have to go back on it.. But that is my experience with Prozac.. You should try the pills.
 

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Like the other recent commenters, I realize this is an old post, but it is an ongoing problem in the world of male cats, so I figured I'd comment.  I haven't read all the responses so I may be repeating some information.  Even if it's repetitive, my experience might be slightly different than others.

I have a Burmese whole male; he's very close to the "breed standard", so several breeders have shown interest in using him to sire some of their litters.  He's a little over a year old.  I was getting ready to neuter him when a breeder 400 miles North of me asked to take him in to breed two of her young queens when they finally went into heat.  He was there for a month.  She reported that he sprayed there, which I kind of expected since his dad was a fire-hose sprayer.  We wasted no time neutering his dad.  While he was up north, though, I had a chance to research a few things.

Another breeder turned me on to the Sergeant's "calming collar".  You just put it on and lo and behold the behavior cuts WAY back.  So does the pacing and howling.  It didn't completely get rid of inappropriate peeing but it's a huge improvement, especially since he is not neutered.  I ordered mine for a substantial discount, in a three-pack from Chewy.

Vets have successfully used medroxyprogesterone (Provera) and megastrol (Ovaban) for males, off label.  Generally the medroxyprogesterone is given in a subcutaneous shot that lasts 30 days.  But the oral tablets can also be used.  An average sized boy can take about 2.5-5 mg/day orally until the behavior subsides, then the dose can be reduced to once a week or less, depending on his behavior.  It's a temporary fix because there can be side effects to extended use, but for keeping the bad behavior at bay for a few months until his services are needed, it can be a home-saver. 

As for how to get meds... there are creative ways that don't necessarily involve local veterinary pharmacies.  I know a woman who tried the provera for menopause symptoms and was miserable on it.  She told the vet she already had some and he didn't object to her giving the cat what she already had.  There are also online pet pharmacies.  CaliforniaPetPharmacy has the aforementioned as well as the fluoxetine.

We all love our boys but we don't love the behavior.  I hope some of my ideas will help others to love their boys even more <3


Champion Mme. Butterfly Tonic (brother of Gin), modeling his Sergeant's calming collar.
 

basschick

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i just looked up the calming collar - if that's the actual name, it's sentry.  anyone considering it, please look up the 1 star reviews and their comments on amazon where you'll see many pictures of cats injured as the collar didn't break away - it left many cats quite injured and requiring trips to the vet :(
 

aislinn

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Like the other recent commenters, I realize this is an old post, but it is an ongoing problem in the world of male cats, so I figured I'd comment.  I haven't read all the responses so I may be repeating some information.  Even if it's repetitive, my experience might be slightly different than others.

I have a Burmese whole male; he's very close to the "breed standard", so several breeders have shown interest in using him to sire some of their litters.  He's a little over a year old.  I was getting ready to neuter him when a breeder 400 miles North of me asked to take him in to breed two of her young queens when they finally went into heat.  He was there for a month.  She reported that he sprayed there, which I kind of expected since his dad was a fire-hose sprayer.  We wasted no time neutering his dad.  While he was up north, though, I had a chance to research a few things.

Another breeder turned me on to the Sergeant's "calming collar".  You just put it on and lo and behold the behavior cuts WAY back.  So does the pacing and howling.  It didn't completely get rid of inappropriate peeing but it's a huge improvement, especially since he is not neutered.  I ordered mine for a substantial discount, in a three-pack from Chewy.

Vets have successfully used medroxyprogesterone (Provera) and megastrol (Ovaban) for males, off label.  Generally the medroxyprogesterone is given in a subcutaneous shot that lasts 30 days.  But the oral tablets can also be used.  An average sized boy can take about 2.5-5 mg/day orally until the behavior subsides, then the dose can be reduced to once a week or less, depending on his behavior.  It's a temporary fix because there can be side effects to extended use, but for keeping the bad behavior at bay for a few months until his services are needed, it can be a home-saver. 

As for how to get meds... there are creative ways that don't necessarily involve local veterinary pharmacies.  I know a woman who tried the provera for menopause symptoms and was miserable on it.  She told the vet she already had some and he didn't object to her giving the cat what she already had.  There are also online pet pharmacies.  CaliforniaPetPharmacy has the aforementioned as well as the fluoxetine.

We all love our boys but we don't love the behavior.  I hope some of my ideas will help others to love their boys even more
 
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