Anxiety Medication and Your Cat? Please share your experiences here

We'll be addressing the issues of stress and anxiety in cats next month, so it's a good time to ask -

Has your cat ever been prescribed anxiety medication? Could you please share the story with us here? Please include details about the situation, diagnosis, type of drug that was prescribed, and the results.

Thank you!

Ritz was diagnosed with FHS in early March 2013.  I believe it is stress-related; she is prone to stress induced UTIs. 

I originally was going to try some behavioral modification, though most of what is suggested, I already do/did, including diet (I fed raw).  Her symptoms (rippling skin, frantic licking her flank, and running back and forth along the hall like she was trying to get away from something) escalated further.  Also, I was afraid the behavior would become habituated.  I decided to put Ritz on Prozac.

The recommended dosage was 1.0 ml (Prozac was compounded into a flavored liquid; I cannot pill Ritz).  She slept ALL OF THE TIME, and her appetite decreased by around 20 to 25%.  (She is a little overweight, so not a real concern.)  She had no interest in playing and decreased interest in the birds outside.  The worst of her symptoms (running back and forth) did subside somewhat.

After 2.5 weeks and no sign of Ritz becoming acclimated to Prozac, and after consulting with the vet, I reduced the dosage to .7 ml (the vet recommend 0.5).  She is now eating somewhat more.  She still sleeps a fair amount, but at least she is starting to wake me up instead of the other way around.  She isn't interested in playing, but does seem somewhat more interested in Charlie the Chipmunk and the birds.  She is still experiencing FHS symptoms; I think they've decreased a little.  Or, I'm simply more use to them.  The vet said the behavior bothers the human more than the cat.

I'm in a holding pattern about the Prozac.  I plan on continuing giving Ritz Prozac, 0.7 to 0.6ml and see how severe and frequent the symptoms are.  It's a balancing act between the symptoms and side effects.

Several years ago I brought a new cat home.  Everyone acclimated pretty well except for one cat.  She started stalking the new cat.  She would corner it and beat up up on it.  I put her on Prozac (can't remember the dosage) and what a difference.  She no longer paid any attention to the new cat.  She did not sleep any extra and ate normally.  After a few months I took her off the Prozac.  Her behaviour continued to be good towards the other cat.  Prozac is not a cure all but it certainly has its place in kitty medicine.

When I brought my second cat home, I wanted to try to make the transition as smooth as possible for Jaffa Cake, so I got Zylkene for her.  It's more of a nutritional supplement rather than an actual medication made from a protein found in milk.  My friend recommended it to me because she said it really helped calm her high-strung Weimaraner.  I gave Jaffa Cake two 75mg capsules once a day and Angus got one 75mg capsule once a day.  To be honest, I can't say that I really noticed much of a difference.  It may have just taken the edge off of her a little.  Maybe.

In the beginning, before the symptoms escalated and before Prozac, I gave Ritz several drops of Bach's Rescue Remedy a day.  It seemed to help:  but Bach's Rescue Remedy is 40% alcohol so maybe she was drunk!

Rescue Remedy also comes in a non-alcohol, glycerin base.  I asked a nutritionist/Chinese herbalist if the efficacy of the herbs would be diminished if I left open the bottle (to get the alcohol to evaporate) or if alcohol is necessary to get out all of the herb's healing powers.  She thought about the question for a minute and said the alcohol is probably necessary in this case.

Pipsqueak, my flame point cream Siamese mix, is a very high maintenance kitty. He is highly stressed by nature. He has an incredible memory and is easily taught tricks. His high intelligence leads to his very strong need to control all the going's on in our home. It was also exasperated one day three years ago when he had to watch his best friend, Potsie, suffering with heart failure for hours while we were not home. It must have been so very traumatic for Pipsqueak to witness not knowing how to help his friend and in complete panic that I was not home. After that day, I slowly noticed him feeling the urge moreso than ever to control all of us, the ones he loves so dearly. Pip is also a very, very loving and loyal cat to me and never lets me out of his sight. All of this stress over the years has taken a toll on his bladder causing inflammation and blood in urine (FIC). After many tests, xrays and ultrasounds it was determined that his issue was truly caused by stress. We started him on Elavil (Amitriptyline) 10 mg. per day to start. It definitely calmed his bladder as he was not running to the litter box constantly. He was able to retain his urine longer giving his bladder time to settle. The downside to me was that my Pip was really not himself during that time but I realized that he needed this for the time being. We did cut him down to 5 mg. and that allowed him to be more like himself but without the drowsiness. He was on it for about three months and then we took him off the drug. Things were miraculously improved even off of the drug as far as his bladder was concerned. My Pip was back and took on his roll of house guardian once again. He has had to go back on the Elavil twice more during times of great stress especially during our recent move. What I like about Elavil (at least for Pip) is we can use it periodically and even when we take him off the drug his bladder seems to "retain" that calmness. Sounds odd, I know, but for him it really has been a miracle drug for his anxiety and to heal his bladder inflammation. :bigthumb: