Questions About Amitriptyline For Behavioral Issues

[Curlynn]

Long story short, my 5 year old cat Bowser attacked her 6 year old sister and we have been trying to reintroduce them for about 2 months. We took them both to the vet that week to get them checked out to rule out any illness in Kitty that Bowser might have picked up on or any explination from the vet for this random intense behavior. Bowser got spayed while we were at the vet to hopefully see less aggresion once the hormones leave her body. They also gave me Amitriptyline to give her as a last option if things dont progress and because she is a very anxious cat. She definitely has separation anxiety, she is always by my side. The vet also mentioned hyperesthesia but did not diagnose her with that, because I would have to see a behavioral specialist for that but after reading about it I have noticed she shows a lot of signs of having a mild case of it. She has random times where "paddles" her feet and gets what we call "crazy eyes" because her eyes get huge and she looks at things in the room that aren't there like she's hallucinating. She sprints around the house howling nonstop. She sometimes gets mean and will grab your hands and either bite or just latch into them and paddle them out of nowhere. After she calms down she goes back to her normal cuddly self and will go back to laying on me and rubbing her cheeks on me nonstop. I feel like this might also be why she randomly attacks her sister out of nowhere.
Now, Amitriptyline is also used to treat that as well as anxiety so I'm feeling like I'm definitely going to have to put her on this even though I was really hoping to not have to use a medication like this. I've read a lot of so good things about it even though my vet had nothing but good things to say about it while I was asking questions.
I was wondering if anyone on here has used Amitriptyline before for their cats and what were your experiences? What were you giving it to them for and how were the end results? Did they have any weird side effects? They said to dose her 5mg every 12 hours but the pills are extremely small and have no middle break on them so I'm also concerned about giving her an accurate dose everytime. I want to get as much input as I can before putting her on this so I'd love to hear any input or advice when it comes to this medication.

 

[silkenpaw]

I’m sorry, I don’t have experience with amitryptilline but I do a lot of pill-splitting. There are a couple of pill splitters that I like: and
Good luck with your kitty.

 

[neely]

I'm sorry your cat Bowser is experiencing this behavior problem. There are many pill splitters on the market and I do understand your concern about getting the right dosage since there is no score line, (middle break), in the pill. FYI, here is a reference guide, I use #2, the Ezy dose:
Best Pill Cutter Reviews in 2018 | Reviews & Guide | OutdoorGuider

There is also a thread on TCS that discusses calming treats which you may find helpful: Calming Treats? I would also check with your vet to see how long a cat can be on Amitriptyline.
And another Article that discusses Hyperesthesia since your vet mentioned it:
Feline Hyperesthesia
Best of luck and please keep us posted.

 

[sweetblackpaws]

I have experience with both Amitriptyline and Hyperesthesia, of which one of my girls is a classic case.

Amitrip is very effective and unless she has a heart issue, should have no side effects besides lethargy. Mine was prescribed 10 mg pills, directed to give 1/2 to 1 pill per day. I found 1/2 to be effective. She has OCD and chews off her fur (this is not the Hyperesthesia cat). However, it did make her so very groggy, I eventually took her off it.

As for FHS, generally, these cats aren't aggressive towards other cats or people. They mostly scare themselves - they self-mutilate, chase their tails in circles while yowling and hissing, spin around, and you can usually see their skin "rolling" on their back (this is actually the muscle under the skin), so FHS is also called "rolling skin" syndrome. Amitriptyline is not the first drug of choice for this - usually an anti-seizure med such as phenobarbital or gabapentin would be prescribed. But that doesn't mean Amitrip wouldn't work. It's just not usually the first line of treatment for FHS.