Prozac and Mirtazapine?

[librarycat2022]

I'm so glad to hear he is doing better! Very good news!

 

[Star0713]

Hello all,


I started my cat Theo on 5mg of Prozac on Thursday of last week for inappropriate urination per the advice of my vet. He seemed to be fine the first few days, but his appetite had decreased a bit and on Sunday I noticed he did not go to the bathroom at all. Finally he ended up pooping and peeing in the middle of the night (Sunday night going into Monday), then didn’t go pee again until Tuesday morning around 8am. He then didn’t go pee again until today at 1pm, and only had one very small poop in the middle of the night last night. I ended up taking him back to the vet today because I was concerned about him going over 24 hours between peeing (especially as he’s had some issues in the past with cystitis). They did a physical exam and said his bladder seemed fine but that he may be a little dehydrated, so they gave him some fluids. We are also going to stop the Prozac for now and I didn’t give him his dose today. She suggested that maybe if he wasn’t eating as much that could be causing him to not be drinking as much (he’s on a special prescription urinary health food) and that could be why he’s not going to the bathroom as much. He actually seemed to be eating better today and yesterday but she ended up giving him an appetite stimulant, Mirtazapine.

Since we’ve been home, he has been acting weird. He’s being very vocal and seems like he can’t relax. When I go over to him to pet him he meows and then walks away from me to lay down somewhere else. It seemed like he was breathing a little quickly too. I looked online and apparently mirtazapine shouldn’t be combined with Prozac because it can cause serotonin syndrome, so now I’m freaking out that that’s going to happen to him. The side effects of Mirtazapine seem to be very similar to serotonin syndrome so I’m also just really unsure of what’s happening. I called the vet and they said these are normal side effects of the mirtazapine and to just monitor, but the effects could last up to 3 days. I didn’t mention that I had read the two medicines shouldn’t be combined because I was talking with a receptionist and she was relaying info back and forth and honestly I just felt like maybe I was being over concerned and I should trust my vet. I have only been to this vet twice now so I don’t have that trust built yet though.

Anyone familiar with this and know if I should be worried or not? There is an emergency vet somewhat near me but they’re only open til 11 and I don’t even know what would constitute an emergency right now.

Hi! I’m experiencing the same issue with my cat! I was wondering how yours is and if you have any suggestions for mine? I’m so worried

 

[katiekat89]

Hi! I’m experiencing the same issue with my cat! I was wondering how yours is and if you have any suggestions for mine? I’m so worried

Hi! Which issue specifically? The side effects of the mirtazapine or not peeing from Prozac?

 

[Star0713]

The side effects from the mix of the pills, she was even meowing all night too!

 

[katiekat89]

The side effects from the mix of the pills, she was even meowing all night too!

Ah okay, so Theo was definitely up and meowing all night long and seemed really restless. From everything I read and what my vet told me when I called, this is totally normal (though unfortunate and really annoying). He seemed to calm down after about 24 hours. He did have diarrhea the next three days after that (not sure if it was from increasing his food intake so quickly from the appetite stimulant or stress or what) but I gave him a probiotic recommended here that definitely helped. He is back to normal now! Which is great but I’m back to square one of the initial behavior that warranted the Prozac.