Alprazolam/Xanax for cat

Hi - my boy has not stopped stalking my girl since she came home last week. I have tried everything. Vanilla, feliaway, reintroduction strategy, calmer, calming collar, rubbing them with each others scent - the vet is at a loss and so am I. They used to be so loving to each other.

Has anyone has any experience with cats on Xanax/Aprazolam for their cat? The only caution the doctor had is it may cause the cat not to inhibit their bite. That scares me.

I am really hoping someone has has some experience.

Thanks,

Erin

Originally Posted by DarciFinn

Hi - my boy has not stopped stalking my girl since she came home last week. I have tried everything. Vanilla, feliaway, reintroduction strategy, calmer, calming collar, rubbing them with each others scent - the vet is at a loss and so am I. They used to be so loving to each other.

Has anyone has any experience with cats on Xanax/Aprazolam for their cat? The only caution the doctor had is it may cause the cat not to inhibit their bite. That scares me.

I am really hoping someone has has some experience.

Thanks,

Erin

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I replied to you in my post. I did want to tell you that I haven't introduced the third cat into the mix yet. I will in about a week, and I will be taking it VERY slowly...I can keep you posted on how it goes if you'd like me to...

I will be posting day by day in my thread for you. Just to let you know what you could potentially be dealing with. My question is, was there anything different about your cats for example, do they go outside?If so they could smell something from outside on the other cat and potentially not like it. Or the vets office smell too. Anything different that you can think of that could trigger your cats aggression. Even another cat outside could do it...

Where did the other cat go that she came home from last week? What exactly is happening? Have you tried separating and reintroducing the cats? I would try that before I tried something as serious as Xanax. Are both cats fixed?

I've never given Xanax to my cats but I have taken it myself and I can tell you that for humans it's a heavy duty medication. It completely knocked me out and made me very drowsy even when I reduced the dose. For me giving Xanax to a cat would be an absolutely last resort.
I do have a friend that does give Xanax to her cat though and it seem to work well. This cat is very aggressive though and appears to have some mental problems. She tried a number of things before resorting to Xanax but it has calmed the cat down to where she can function in the home.

I really appreciate you helping Jugen and Ziggys mom. I am at my wit's end. Luckily I can work from home a few days a week. -


I question if I should put him on Xanax it may not be time yet - here is event timeline:

- 11 days ago they slept ate peacefully side-by-side

- 10 days ago the the vet (she had her teeth cleaned) - then he attacked her every chance he got even growled outside the door

- 5 days ago he could be in the room with her and I and leave her alone if I was there

- 3 days ago I left them both out when I went to the grocery store and I came home and they were in the same place

today - he can sleep on the bed with her (with me between them) and leaves her alone unless she gets on the floor - if she gets on the floor then he goes after her

I think he is making progress but am not sure what else to do. My bf thinks I should let them work it out. Finn did get in the room when we went to dinner the other night and when we came home Darci was sitting on the bed (not hiding) with Finn's fur in her claws so she is fighting back.

Any suggestions, encouragement, comfort would be so appreciated! My bf thinks I am obsessing on this and I may be but I just hate to see them not getting along.

Sorry one more thing when they do fight they do not seem to be doing damage to each other although I suspect they are quite capable -

If things aren't much better by Friday I am thinking of calling cat behaviorist before I try the xanax.

Originally Posted by DarciFinn

I really appreciate you helping Jugen and Ziggys mom. I am at my wit's end. Luckily I can work from home a few days a week. -


I question if I should put him on Xanax it may not be time yet - here is event timeline:

- 11 days ago they slept ate peacefully side-by-side

- 10 days ago the the vet (she had her teeth cleaned) - then he attacked her every chance he got even growled outside the door

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Here is your problem. One cat went to the vet and came back smelling different. Try vanilla on the base of the tails and under the chins. If they smell similar they might start to get along again. Reintroduction is another thing you might want to try. I would never recommend putting your cats on medication unless it's ABSOLUTELY necessary. Your cats seem to just be having that "you smell different" issue. Once the vet smell goes away completely things should be back to normal.

I thought that was the case but it has been 10 days and the vet said smell should be long gone. I have tried vanilla, I have tried a bath, I have tried rubbing each with the same towel.

Today I broke down and booked an appointment with the cat coach, it was about 100.00 but if she can help me it will be money well spent!

Oh and I tried keep them apart from day 10 to day 5 swapping the sweaters they sleep on.

She was chipped and he legs were shaved I wonder if this has anything to do with it.

This sounds like a behavioral issue that can be worked out with behavioral modification. There are a lot of things you can try before trying something so extreme as giving your cat Xanax. I would not want to do that to my cat unless I absolutely had to and there was no other options. Xanax is a very, very strong medication and in humans it's used to treat severe anxiety and severe insomnia and things like that. It's normally just used for shorter periods of time. Knowing how Xanax made me feel I can imagine that it would not be a pleasant experience for a cat either. It's kind of like walking around drunk all the time. You should also know that if Xanax is used for a longer period of time it will cause a physical dependency and the drug has to be tapered slowly when you stop taking it to avoid withdrawal symptoms. Humans that take Xanax for longer periods of time can have seizures when they stop taking it. I can imagine that the same could happen with cats. It's by no means a mild drug. Although it's very useful in very aggressive cats it should be the absolute last option.

In my opinion Xanax should not be used in your situation. Maybe in a few months if your cat continues to be aggressive it may be appropriate to try it but not after just ten days. Your cat seems to be reacting to the change in your other cat after coming back from the teeth cleaning. He no longer recognizes her as the same cat and views her as an intruder. What you have to do is to reintroduce them just like they had never met before. Start by separating them and give them a day or so apart to calm down and just "land". Then start a slow introduction. There are a lot of good info on the internet on how to introduce cats. This may take more than a week but the time and work will be worth it so you all can live in peace later.

I would also recommend that you have the aggressor cat examined by a vet if you haven't already. A common cause of aggression is pain. That it started after the other cat got her teeth cleaned may just be a coincident or maybe it just aggravated something that was already there.

Hi Finny was just checked by a vet a month ago and also had a EkG three weeks ago. He has a slight heart murmur but other than that
He is in good health. Tonight I may have found a slight problem on Darci where I think she was chipped it looks like a red raised scab. She may have a slight infection. I know that could be a reason. Going to call the vet in the am.

darcifinn said:

Hi - my boy has not stopped stalking my girl since she came home last week. I have tried everything. Vanilla, feliaway, reintroduction strategy, calmer, calming collar, rubbing them with each others scent - the vet is at a loss and so am I. They used to be so loving to each other.

Has anyone has any experience with cats on Xanax/Aprazolam for their cat? The only caution the doctor had is it may cause the cat not to inhibit their bite. That scares me.

I am really hoping someone has has some experience.

Thanks,

Erin

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i don't think animal would need xanax at first place.
you need a coach to do behaviour modification on animal.