Spirit Essences

Has anyone tried Jackson Galaxy's Spirit Essences for problems with kitties?  I'm thinking of trying "Peacemaker" and see if it helps my Lizzy cat, who is having difficulty accepting our new kitten, Luka.  We are giving her 1/4 of a 10 mg Prozac as well as Pet Calm but if I can use this one her, it can't hurt I wouldn't think???

Thanks for any info on this product! 

I have used quite a few of them.  I tried Peacemaker and Bully Remedy for cat to cat intros, but it hardly took the edge off.  Instead I found that Composure calming treats or Composure liquid max helped better and more quickly.  The flower essences can work really well on deep seeded issues, but they take awhile to work.  Sometimes it can be a month or more before significant change is noticed.

Did you try the protocal for cat to cat introductions?  Jackson Galaxy has a great video on it.  It can take a long time for cats to get along.  I brought a feral/stray into my home 2 years go and it took he and my resident cat one solid year to coexist.  I tried the flower essences and they helped, but not enough.  THe composure was my life saver.  My cat didn't care for the treats and it required a lot of treats.  THe liquid was easiest to mix into wet food 2x a day.  You can find it online for the best prices.

Here is the video.  My advice is that the process needs to be taken slowly.  I would suggest not allowing the cats to interact at all unless you are working on introductions.  The process can be very slow, but it does work.  Did you try this process before trying Prozac? 

Thanks for the video! 

I was reading reviews on Composure and some said it smelled bad.  I know the Pet Calm smells like Valerian which is a very pungent smell. 

Unfortunately when I had four foster kittens (Luka is one of those four that I'm keeping) I let them run around the house and they ran into Lizzy and Sophie's litter room and used their boxes.  BIG mistake.  After that I cleaned out all three boxes (washed and put fresh litter in) and Lizzy was okay with no kitten smell in them.  Now I'm keeping Luka in his foster room overnight and not letting him use Lizzy's boxes.  This was all before we began the Prozac.  Luka kitten runs around the living room in the evening and Lizzy tolerates him because she can get up high on her kitty condo.  But after a few hours he goes up to his room for the night.  I've never had this happen before when adopting a new kitten.  Lizzy is just unusually high-strung.  She is an Abyssinian mix and 7 years old.  Sophie, a Siamese mix and the same age, is accepting him more easily and not hissing at him now. 

The Composure liquid max smells like chicken so no nasty smell.  I just mix 1/2 t into wet food in the morning meal and 1/4 t. in the evening meal.  Then as things settled I  tapered off the dosage.

So who is on Prozac and why?  I am not sure I would use Prozac and Composure together, but you can check with your vet.  Is the Prozac not working and that is why you are looking into flower essences?

If you follow the into guidelines and take it slowly, all of the cats should learn to coexist.  My two didn't like sharing a box at first either, but now 2 years later they are fine.  It just takes acceptance.  By feeding the cats on either side of a closed door, the cats learn to associate each other with something good.  If you just put the cats together and hope for the best, it often will not work.  Cats are so very territorial and adding a new one to the mix throws off the hierarchy.  It can cause aggression, litter box issues and much stress.  Yet if you take it slowly and follow the guidelines the cats will learn to accept each other. 

Lizzy, the resident Abyssinian mix is on the Prozac.  I have a friend/volunteer in the rescue group who has a Siamese who was spraying and not using the box.  She said after a few days on the Prozac he began using the box like he used to.  So I'm hoping the same for Lizzy.  Today will be her third dose.  And like I said, Luka kitten hasn't used their boxes at all.  I have no idea how long that will take for Lizzy to not mind the new kitten smell in her box.  That's on down the road though for sure!

So did your vet prescribe the Prozac? 

Yes.  The prescription is for 10 mg tabs but quarter them so she gets 1/4 pill once a day.  She is 13 lbs.

Snowcat7 said:

 
Yes.  The prescription is for 10 mg tabs but quarter them so she gets 1/4 pill once a day.  She is 13 lbs.

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So is the Prozac not working?  What exactly are you using it for? 

It's to get Lizzy to stop spraying around her litter boxes.  I know she feels threatened with the new kitten.  A friend of mine in our rescue group gave it to her cat that was spraying and after a few doses he stopped spraying and used the box like he used to.

Today is only the third day that she's gotten it.  Last night she didn't go outside the box or spray so I'm hoping it's working!

Oh good.  I hope it will work for her and get her over the hump!  I would get some Composure and try it on her and the other cat too.  It really might make a difference.

If you do decide to try the Spirit Essences just give them time to work.  They work very slowly.  Most people want instant results and will not wait the 4-6 weeks to see if they help.  I have had excellent luck with their Feral Cat Rehab and Stress Stopper.