Prozac for Cats

snowcat7

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Hello,

We just adopted a rescue kitten, male, 4 months old.  I have two 7-year-old females and one of them is NOT liking that the kitten is using her box.  She has been spraying near the box.  I have 4 boxes and am now keeping the kitten in another part of the house until the older cat calms down.  I keep the boxes very clean.  I've been giving her Pet Calm and plugged in a Feliway diffuser - no help yet.

A friend told me that Prozac in a cat dosage was prescribed by her vet and it solved the urination problem after the first few doses.  Has anyone heard of this working?  I really didn't want to medicate her but if that's what it takes to get her to settle down and use the box, I'll do it.  She is otherwise very health as I had her annual checkup a few weeks ago.  She has no UTI or health problems at all so it's behavioral.

Help, please!  Any advice is welcome!
 

ellieandwinnie

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Has the kitten been neutered yet? Did they have a proper introduction process? Cat Prozac is an option but I would exhaust all other options first. Welcome to TCS! Have a look around in the behavior forum at introductions and litter problems. There are also some great articles on this site you should look into. I'll see if I can find some and attach here.
 

Columbine

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Hi, and welcome to TCS 


@ellieandwinnie  has given you some great advice and links already. Here's my 


I honestly don't think you're at the stage of medicating your cat yet. She's just had a massive  shock in the form of a kitten! She's just showing her stress with inappropriate urination - basically saying that the litterbox is HERS  and not the kitten's.

Give the kitten a room of his own, complete with litterbox(es), water, bed, toys, cat tree/scratcher - everything he needs to be comfortable and feel at home. Spend time in there with him every day, and let him get used to you and the house. You can start scent swapping using cloths straightaway (as explained in the articles below and above), but don't go any further until all the cats accept each others' scents happily. Introductions are a slow, gradual process, but its the best way to minimise the stress to all parties.

Feliway is a great idea. Spirit Essences can be useful too, as can Composure. Your girl will gradually calm down as she realises that she's not under threat.

One last thing - be sure to thoroughly clean any areas that have been peed on with an enzymatic cleaner - nothing else will remove the scent of urine to your cats' sensitive noses. Without this crucial step, they will think that outside the box is an appropriate place to pee.
[article="32680"]How To Successfully Introduce Cats The Ultimate Guide  [/article][article="29658"]The Multi Cat Household  [/article][article="30274"]Potential Stressors In Cats The Ultimate Checklist  [/article][article="30316"]Six Surefire Strategies To Reduce Stress In Cats  [/article]
 
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snowcat7

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The new baby that we're keeping has been neutered (two weeks ago) and and has been in the house with other fosters who have gone to their new homes (his siblings).  So he's been in the kitten room for almost two months.  But in those two months I carelessly let the kittens roam out in the house and into the adults cats' litter room.  Well, they did their business in them and the older cat (Lizzy) most definitely smelled and wasn't pleased.  That's when she began spraying the walls and once squatted in my closet to wee.  This morning the puppy pad in front of one of her boxes was crumpled up with pee on it.  Aaagggh.  The kitten hadn't even been in there once.  I guess Lizzy is still feeling stressed. 

The vet prescribed 1/4 of a 10 mg pill (once a day) generic Prozac.  I just mash it up really fine and mix it with tuna water or something she really likes to disguise it.  Seems like they took longer naps tonight but I could be imagining that.

Will let you know how things go.  I really want to keep the baby but if it doesn't work out, we can always find him a forever home.  Like I said, I'm the foster mom and he's so beautiful (lilac point siamese mix).  I fell in love with him as we lost our lilac male just over a year ago at 19 years of age.  I miss him so much!

Thanks for your help and suggestions!  Oh and I did treat more of the areas that I saw under the black light with an enzyme neutralizer so it does smell a wee bit better! 


 

Columbine

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The new baby that we're keeping has been neutered (two weeks ago) and and has been in the house with other fosters who have gone to their new homes (his siblings).  So he's been in the kitten room for almost two months.  But in those two months I carelessly let the kittens roam out in the house and into the adults cats' litter room.  Well, they did their business in them and the older cat (Lizzy) most definitely smelled and wasn't pleased.  That's when she began spraying the walls and once squatted in my closet to wee.  This morning the puppy pad in front of one of her boxes was crumpled up with pee on it.  Aaagggh.  The kitten hadn't even been in there once.  I guess Lizzy is still feeling stressed. 

The vet prescribed 1/4 of a 10 mg pill (once a day) generic Prozac.  I just mash it up really fine and mix it with tuna water or something she really likes to disguise it.  Seems like they took longer naps tonight but I could be imagining that.

Will let you know how things go.  I really want to keep the baby but if it doesn't work out, we can always find him a forever home.  Like I said, I'm the foster mom and he's so beautiful (lilac point siamese mix).  I fell in love with him as we lost our lilac male just over a year ago at 19 years of age.  I miss him so much!

Thanks for your help and suggestions!  Oh and I did treat more of the areas that I saw under the black light with an enzyme neutralizer so it does smell a wee bit better! 


There's no reason why Lizzy and her sister shouldn't accept the kitten - it'll just take time. If it was me, I'd restart the introduction process from the beginning. That will give Lizzy time and space to chill a little (as well as giving the Prozac a chance to get up to a therapeutic level in her system - its not a fast acting drug, and can take a few weeks to fully kick in). Re-starting the whole process is your best bet for a fully integrated, stress free house.
 
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snowcat7

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Okay, so I've been keep Luka in his room at night and he hasn't used Lizzy's or Sophie's litter boxes.  Two nights in a row Lizzy has crumpled up the one of the puppy pads and urinated on it - big time.  I'm glad it's on a pad.  I tried to disguise the piece of Prozac pill in some tuna water and later in some broth and no go.  We'll have to start putting it in her mouth but between the two of us we can, I'm sure.  So I'll see how the week goes.  If all fails, we can find a great forever home for Luka kitten. 
  But I'm not throwing in the towel just yet. 
 

ermentrude

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Look for a pill gun, sounds ominous but it is wonderful for getting pills down - I've found the larger version works better than the tiny one. I also got chicken flavored gel caps, you put the cut pill inside and the theory is they never taste the bitter pill.
 
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snowcat7

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Yes, I'm gonna go get a good pill gun.  I've got one now that isn't working right.  It doesn't "shoot" the pill out which defeats the whole purpose.  Also when giving the medication, isn't it better to go in the side of the cat's mouth?  Thank you all for your expert advice!  I'm glad this board is here!
 

ermentrude

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I go in from the side, but deliver the pill right at the back of his throat.
 

harrie kd

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My cat takes prozac as well, but the pharmacy makes it in a tuna flavored liquid - I just put some on his wet food with a dropper and he doesn't even know it's there. This is handy because my cats are super clever about pills - they refuse to take them and if i crush them and put them in food, they just eat around them!
 

Columbine

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Okay, so I've been keep Luka in his room at night and he hasn't used Lizzy's or Sophie's litter boxes.  Two nights in a row Lizzy has crumpled up the one of the puppy pads and urinated on it - big time.  I'm glad it's on a pad.  I tried to disguise the piece of Prozac pill in some tuna water and later in some broth and no go.  We'll have to start putting it in her mouth but between the two of us we can, I'm sure.  So I'll see how the week goes.  If all fails, we can find a great forever home for Luka kitten. 
  But I'm not throwing in the towel just yet. 
A week really isn't very long for this problem to resolve. As I said before, Prozac take WEEKS to fully kick in. At least give it a couple of months before making any decisions. I'm sure that, with time and patience, you'll have one big happy fur family.
 
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snowcat7

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Yeah, that's MY fault.  I expect everything to be resolved quickly.  I need to realize that this is temporary and that I'll need to invest in puppy pads.  I'll just keep cleaning 
  Out now to get a pill gun for Lizzy.
 
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snowcat7

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Luka lilac boy is my profile picture  :)  For some reason I can't attach a photo, it says I don't have permission to do that. 

We lost our 19 year old lilac male, Leo, over a year ago to cancer and I miss him terribly.  This little guy is SO much like my Leo.  Leo was one of a kind and I'm not trying to fill his space or replace him, but it's so nice to have a little boy in the house again.  He was one of the rescue kittens from our group, Cat Lovers, Inc. in Tampa, FL.

Now I'm wondering if I should just bite the bullet and let Luka (kitten) go ahead and use the older cat's boxes overnight???  Any advice?  I have puppy pads on the walls and around the boxes and by the walls.  Yikes.
 
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snowcat7

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OH, and we successfully got the Prozac into Lizzy's mouth today.  Pill gun was utilized - success! 
 

Columbine

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Ok, I know that's a little overboard, but I know the trials of unpillable cats. So great you got it in !


Please, please, do NOT let Luka use the girls' boxes overnight. You'll just make Lizzy more anxious/insecure. Let things settle down, let the girls chill, then start with gradual  introductions. (I mean go from square one with the scent cloths, then feeding either side of a closed door, etc etc). Patience really is key. The more you try to rush things, the longer it'll end up taking. Let the cats tell you when they're ready to move to the next stage.
 
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snowcat7

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Columbine, I already decided not to let Luka in the big girls' boxes.  I took him up to the foster room for overnight and will go in and play with him later.  I thought about it and you're right, his "business" in the girls' boxes would set us back some.  What I don't understand is that he hasn't been in their boxes at all, yet Lizzy still pees on the pad instead of her box.  Should I change all the litter out again and wash the boxes?  Luka hasn't used them since I did that a couple weeks ago.  I think it's just the stress of his smell in the house?

I want peace in the feline house so badly but I know it won't happen overnight.  We'll just keep steady with the pill every day and hope that calms things down.  A friend of mine in our rescue group said Prozac worked wonders for a male Siamese that was spraying in her house.  He stopped it completely.  I'm sure hoping!!  At least Lizzy's pee isn't quite as pungent as male urine! 
 

Columbine

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You're absolutely right. Lizzy is just stressed, and the behaviour is unlikely to change until she relaxes a bit. She just sounds like a pretty highly strung cat. I know its a real pain cleaning up after her all the time, but hopefully things will improve soon.

You could try adding an extra box in a totally different style next to her current box. You might find that a brand new box in a different shape/ style would be enough to get her going in the box again. An extra box is far less hassle than regular scrubbing!
 
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