I’m at a loss and don’t know what else to do or try. I took Taz to the vet last Saturday and they examined him. I showed the vet the video I took and he was just as baffled as I was. No one seems to have ever seen a cat behave that way. When I asked about FHS, the vet had no clue what I was talking about. They took blood to do a full blood panel, which came back negative. They said his blood work looked really good, so there’s nothing wrong with him internally and that whatever is going on with him must be behavioral. They checked for fleas and didn’t find any. They prescribed an anti-depressant for him called, Amitriptyline (Elavil). I’ve been reading up on this drug and while it is regularly prescribed by vets, it is not FDA approved for vet use. That alone makes me a bit uneasy, nevermind the fact I really don’t want my poor baby to have to be drugged.
We’ve tried distraction which seemed to work/help the first couple times, but now he’s not really responding to it. I’ve bought all sorts of different toys for him, feather toys, catnip mice, etc. The only thing that seems to draw his attention is the laser lights, but I’ve heard those aren’t that great of a toy for cats because they cause more frustration. I’m gone at work all day so he’s either in my room alone during the day which he doesn’t seem to mind, or he goes in with my mom in her room. I’ve tried spraying one of those calming sprays in the spots he frequents in her room, but those don’t seem to help either. He used to get up on the bed with my mom and nurse on her, but in this last week he won’t even get on the bed with her. All the things he used to do he isn’t anymore which worries me even more. He’s lost interest in everything and no matter what we try it doesn’t help. We try to show him attention and affection, but most of the time he doesn’t want to be held. My poor mom thinks he hates her because he doesn’t interact with her anymore. I’ve come home to her in tears sometimes because she’s so helpless to him, she doesn’t know how to help. He’s only a year old so he’s too young to be so uninterested in life. Since this seems to just get worse as the days go by I don’t know what else to do or try. I’m going to pick up one of those Thundershirts on my way home to see if that will help. Otherwise my only other option is to give him the drugs. Does anyone have any other ideas or suggestions that might help?
Taz Mom
- In January, my aunt and her dachshund came to stay with us on the weekends for about 3-4 weeks.
- In February, I changed his dry food to grain free but discovered recently it was extremely high in fish.
- In early April, my aunt’s dachshund came back to stay with us for a couple weeks and took over my mom’s room (Taz’s daytime domain)
- A couple weeks ago I took him off all dry food and put him on an all wet food diet.
We’ve tried distraction which seemed to work/help the first couple times, but now he’s not really responding to it. I’ve bought all sorts of different toys for him, feather toys, catnip mice, etc. The only thing that seems to draw his attention is the laser lights, but I’ve heard those aren’t that great of a toy for cats because they cause more frustration. I’m gone at work all day so he’s either in my room alone during the day which he doesn’t seem to mind, or he goes in with my mom in her room. I’ve tried spraying one of those calming sprays in the spots he frequents in her room, but those don’t seem to help either. He used to get up on the bed with my mom and nurse on her, but in this last week he won’t even get on the bed with her. All the things he used to do he isn’t anymore which worries me even more. He’s lost interest in everything and no matter what we try it doesn’t help. We try to show him attention and affection, but most of the time he doesn’t want to be held. My poor mom thinks he hates her because he doesn’t interact with her anymore. I’ve come home to her in tears sometimes because she’s so helpless to him, she doesn’t know how to help. He’s only a year old so he’s too young to be so uninterested in life. Since this seems to just get worse as the days go by I don’t know what else to do or try. I’m going to pick up one of those Thundershirts on my way home to see if that will help. Otherwise my only other option is to give him the drugs. Does anyone have any other ideas or suggestions that might help?
Taz Mom
