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Ziggy and Prozac

post #1 of 9
Thread Starter 
Hi everyone,

The last few months have been extremely stressful for me, my family and the pets as I've struggled with serious health issues, been hospitalized twice and just haven't been "myself." My "heart cat" Ziggy has always been a bit of a nervous kitty, and he started acting out shortly before I went to the hospital the first time.

It started with little pee accidents and quickly advanced to nightly adventures on our kitchen counter where he would pee on the coffee maker, dish towels, toaster, etc. Pretty classic anxiety behavior. My dh had so much to deal with with me and caring for the whole household, we had to do what we could to stop the behavior.

A trip to the vet ruled out UTI, and since things were going to be stressful for a while, we put Ziggy on Prozac right after my first hospitalization the first week of November.

It is working!

Ziggy has had no inappropriate eliminations since the first dose. He also doesn't fly off the handle when his sister Brillo "invades his space" or some other little incident occurs. He may be the slightest bit more sleepy, but that's hard to judge since they are all sleepier when it's cold, but otherwise we've had no issues. He takes his pill easily when it's enrobed in a bit of raw meat.

I'm planning a dose reduction soon, and then a wean so he's on the drug about 12 weeks total. The nice thing about Prozac is that if the behaviors return, it will be just as effective if we have to use it again. Not all the behavior drugs have that effect.

Anyway, just wanted to go on the record with our experience. I'm Cally and my cat is on psyche meds...sigh.

Thanks for reading!

Cally
post #2 of 9
Thanks for posting your experience. I am having issues with one of my kitties (she counter surfs and urinates while up there too as well as in other places). I took her to the vet today to rule out any medical issues.....waiting on those results. The vet mentioned prozac as our next step.
post #3 of 9
Cally if its helping him that's a good thing means less stress for you to

for when u start reducing his dose
post #4 of 9
Thread Starter 
The Prozac is still working like a charm here and Ziggy is just SO much happier and calm overall. He's such a sensitive little guy--he must have been so upset.

And yes, my stress level is much improved!
post #5 of 9
I'm glad that Prozac worked for Ziggy It didn't work for Lynxx.
post #6 of 9
I'm glad that Ziggy is doing well, his stress level is reduced, and your stress level is reduced. Do you run feliway, too?
post #7 of 9
Thread Starter 
Yes, we have Feliway upstairs and downstairs. Ziggy obviously likes it, as he facemarks the diffusers. Alas, it wasn't enough to calm all his anxiety. I hope to get him off the Prozac with this one prescription (still haven't reduced his dose) and things will be OK again--and drug free.

C
post #8 of 9
I was thinking that if you weren't already running them, that it would be a good idea and a step down once he comes off the Prozac. Glad you've already got them going!
post #9 of 9
This is good news. I wish I'd known this six months ago i.e. the signs of high anxiety in cats. Crap. Anyway, I'm attempting to get a prescription for Prozac for Sunshine. He's always been such a scardy cat. It's nice to know this might work for him. How long did it take for you to see a difference? My vet is saying up to six weeks or more! Also, how much does Ziggy weigh and how many mg of Prozac is he taking? I'd like to compare your doc to mine regarding dosing. My vet hasn't had much luck getting Prozac to work on quite a few pets.

And for more information I found this article on behavioral meds for cats on WebMD which was originally published on the ASPCA website http://blogs.webmd.com/cat-care/2009...-for-cats.html
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