Prozac For Cats and Prozac For Dogs

PetSugar Q + A: Do You Medicate Your Pets?

November 2, 2010

Oh no! Read this problem submitted by PetSugar reader kgiuffre in the PetSugar Q + A group before offering your tips:

I have a (sometimes) aggressive cat. Anybody have a cat on Prozac?

Help a kitty (and owner) out! If you know of pets who have received Prozac (a.k.a., Fluoxetine), which is used to treat aggression, obsessive-compulsive disorders, and even itchiness in dogs and cats, share your tips and knowledge below before submitting your own burning pet questions in the forum, too.

Source: Thinkstock

7 Comments

2 years 28 weeks

I have the same problem with my cat--everyone is afraid of her. I put her on Prozac 3 weeks ago and she is a bit less aggressive, I suppose, but her personality changed completely on the third day. She doesn't want anything to do with me anymore. She used to sleep with me and follow me around the house, meet me at the door when I came home, come running when I called her, etc. Since that third day, she doesn't want to be pet and ignores me all the time. She's not sluggish and seems alert, but doesn't want to do anything but sit or lay around wherever I'm not. It's very frustrating because she's (slightly) nicer to other people but so aloof and unaffectionate that it's like I don't even have a cat.

kgiuffre 2 years 29 weeks

Thanks, Fuzzles. My cat's name is Oliver, too and he LOVES the Pill Pockets!

fuzzles 2 years 29 weeks

You might want to ask your vet about Dr. Bach's Rescue Remedy. It's a calming all natural herb-based liquid that can be added (by droplet according to weight) into a pet's water dish. You should be able to find it at any natural foods store or vitamin shop. As for pilling a cat, I can't say enough about Pill Pockets. They are soft little meat-flavored "cups." You put the pill in the center and squeeze the opening shut. I have to medicate Oliver with Norvasc--he has high blood pressure that is secondary to poly-cystic kidney disease. He thinks that he is getting a treat, and comes running to me immediately after hearing me touch the pouch! You should be able to find these at any pet store. Best of luck!

kgiuffre 2 years 29 weeks

Thanks, artista1214! I'll have a conversation with my vet and mention that.

artista1214 2 years 29 weeks

I'd be concerned too! My vet had suggested some other kind of medication that works with the Prozac to supposedly increase its effectiveness about the time we decided to take him off of it (we were already pretty sure it was a seasonal thing and Spring was right around the corner). maybe that's something you could ask your vet about? I'm sorry I don't remember the name of it.

kgiuffre 2 years 29 weeks

I submitted the questions regarding Prozac. My cat gets a bit territorial when there are lots of people around, or he gets hissy/swipey around certain people. What makes me the most nervous is that he becomes aggressive when I'm out of town and my friends come to feed him. My vet first prescribed Xanax--didn't do anything. Now he's on a really low dose of Prozac and it seems to work a little bit, but he still gets in a tizzy when I'm out of town. Possibly he needs a hirer dose... He has attacked me and someone else once, and I don't want people to be afraid of him...

artista1214 2 years 29 weeks

My cat was on Prozac for a few months last winter to treat a BAD tail chasing habit. He would actually wake us up at night with cries from "fighting" with his tail (he was in a 1 cat household at the time), it got the point where he'd scratch himself and make the problem worse. As for the Prozac, it worked for a while (maybe a month or 2) but eventually he was back at it. He was a completely different cat while he was on it too, way quieter in general, not cuddly. We took him off it when it stopped working rather than upping the dosage like the vet suggested. Fortunately his problem seems to be seasonal so it cleared up by the springtime. It was a relatively cheap alternative, they gave him a prescription for people prozac and we cut up the pills to dose him properly. I think it depends on how bad the situation is. Is he aggressive towards you or your family? Other pets? It also depends on personality, if he/she is normally a quiet cat, it might make him even quieter which is kind of eerie in a strange way. When my cat was on it, it was like we took his personality away, kinda depressing...

Link Love

7 Comments

You Might Also Like