Yes, Gentle Reader, you read the title correctly. In my household, I currently have a cat who is taking a prescription antidepressant.
So why does my cat need Prozac? It’s because he recently developed a condition where he believes the world is his litter box. And by world, I’m referring to the furniture. We’ve tried covering the furniture and switching his brand of litter, both of which has helped but hasn’t completely corrected his behavior. Prior to having kids the cat probably would’ve found his way back to the adoption center by now, but since the kids are attached to him I figured we should try everything within reason before giving him up. So yes, I was out-voted.
After consulting with the vet, I learned that there are two explanations as to why a cat would take to urinating on the furniture. The first is that the cat has a bladder infection and correlates the pain he feels when going to the bathroom with the litter box, so he seeks out softer textures on which to relieve himself. My cat wasn’t afflicted with this malady which left the other explanation for his behavior: the cat is mad about something and is acting like a jerk. Apparently Prozac is a common treatment for a cat that’s displaying jerkish behavior as mine has been.
Much to my surprise, this wasn’t kitty Prozac; the vet actually gave me a prescription for real Prozac (or the generic equivalent) which I had to take to a people pharmacy to get filled. I even had to get it filled under my cat’s name and wait until the store intercom announced that the pharmacy had a prescription ready for “Peacho”, and that he should return to the counter to pick it up. When I returned to the pharmacy, I had to sit through the pharmacist consultation explaining to me the side effects and that I shouldn’t allow my cat to consume alcohol or drive heavy machinery while he was adjusting to the new drug.
Once I got home with the prescription, I was faced with the new challenge of getting the cranky, jerk of a cat to take his Prozac. My first attempt was to use the same method I use for my dog when I have to give him a pill: I pry his snout open, pop the pill in, then hold his mouth shut until he swallows it. Like with most cunning plans, I didn’t think mine all the way through. It wasn’t until I had two fingers inside his mouth that I realized that cats, unlike dogs, don’t really have snouts. They have short, compact jaws full of needle sharp teeth that are hard to pry open and even harder to hold shut. Using this method, the only way to get your cat to take Prozac is if he’s already on Prozac since trying to force a pill into his mouth really freaked him out. It also resulted in bitten fingers and clawed arms as he struggled from my grasp.
For my next dosing attempt, I tried the old Trojan Horse method. I hid the pill inside a small amount of tuna and presented it to my cat as a treat. Cats love tuna, right? I know mine does, because he ate every last bit of it while avoiding any portion of the pill hidden inside. From this I can deduce that my cat is either highly intelligent for uncovering my clever ruse or the Trojans were really, really stupid.
Since then, I’ve tried the following techniques to get him to take his Prozac: crushing the pill and mixing it with food, crushing the pill and mixing it with milk, and dissolving the pill in liquid and using a syringe to shoot it into his mouth. So far nothing has worked consistently enough so that I know he’s getting a full dose. This leaves me with one option: just take the pill myself. Granted, it won’t correct his behavior of urinating on the furniture, but after taking the Prozac I figure it probably won’t bother me that much anyways.
Greatly appreciated this. My cat’s also on Prozac for the same thing, except I think he’s been crazy from birth. But after 9 years together I’m more than attached. Thanks for the laugh.
Ha, I’m thinking of putting my crazy jerk cat on Prozac for general jerk-like behavior, and I had never thought of HOW I would get him to physically take the Prozac until now… Crap, I”m screwed.
There are these fantastic things from a company named Greenies called Pill Pockets, which are little soft treats with a hole in the middle. Pop the pill in, pinch the hole closed, and the cat gobbles it right down. They’re wonderful.
My cat is on prozac for the same reason. Simple fix for medication administration – liquid prozac. I simply use a syringe and squirt the prozac on his food. You can even get tuna or chicken flavors of the prozac for finicky eaters.
Thanks for the laugh. My cat began peeing on the couch to protest my boyfriend moving in. She still hates him (hisses and growls) but the inappropriate peeing stopped. The vet put her on prozac and it really helped (I crush the pill and sprinkle it on her canned food and she gobbles it up).
I’ve taken her off the medicine after 2 months (rather abruptly) and now she just hides all the time, only coming out for food. So I’m trying different herbal meds but not having great success yet.
Good luck over there!
You should never take a cat (or a human) off any antidepressant abruptly. You have to wean them off slowly.
We had one cat on antidepressants for a while (when I moved in
, and it worked wonders. Took 3-4 months before we weaned her off of it.
Got a new rescue cat, who someone had once aptly named Psycho, who attacks any other feline in sight. Anitripiline (sp?) isn’t having much affect, planning on Prozac next.
We’ve always eased them onto/off-of the antidepressant over a 2-week time period. Start out with half doses every other day for a week, then everyday for a week, then finally full daily doses. Don’t expect to see results quickly, it takes time for it to build up in their system. We maintained this until kitty had established more suitable behavior for a month or so, then weaned her off of it.
Simon’s right – never take anyone, any creature off an anti-depressant abruptly. no wonder the cat is hiding, poor thing.
Hey Simon, I had a cat (Mikey) for 18 yrs who developed a serious problem called Hyperaesthesia after we had him for a couple of years. His eyes would dilate, tail lash around, hair rise on his back…then he’d growl. THEN he would start spinning as if chasing his tail and screaming like a wildcat. Basically he looked like he was at war with an invisible cat. It began to last hours and we were desperate for help (one vet said euthanize him, so we switched vets!) Tufts U. finally diagnosed Mikey and the answer was a simple $5 a bottle dose of phenobarbitol (we gave him as little as possible so that it stopped the behavior but kept him all-Mikey). It worked wonders and you can’t beat the price. He went from psycho to a regular Cat With Attitude for the rest of his long life.
valeire
well.. i live w my boyfriend, our roomate and my boyfriends son (aka the cat dimebag).. and dime tends to pee when hes angry.. steaming mad even.. he really only likes my boyfriend, and tolerates me.. has never peed on anything of mine, but he recently used the big suede couch as a litter pan, and since then ive wanted to make chinese food out of the little jerk… and man is he mean to others, he growls, hisses and sumtimes hops sideways, I told my boyfriend he needs prozac.. but NO.. he says nahhh.. I SAY YES.. i sense a pattern with our illegitimate son dimebag, or as ive since began calling him.. SLIMEBAG… hes moody, tempermental, argumentative, and all around spoiled. now the cat wont scratch me, so ive decided tuff love is the way to go. ive began the elmira treatment… (aka tiny toons) im gonna love him, hug him and squeeze him till his little eyes bug out… sooooo HERE KITTY KITTY KITTY
I was chatting to a physio today and we got onto the topic of cats on prozac – thanks for an “Informative” and funny post! I have 3 cats (all ragdolls). While the two female cats seem to toilet in their designated toilet the boy cat started peeing at random places. Bathroom hand basin (which is actually good because pee just goes down the drain and I don’t have to deal with any clean up), any suitcases or large bags laid flat on the floor (luckily not my handbags) or other cushy things (couch, one particular blanket, duck down jackets!). I think I’ll definitely go to the vet to get him checked for urinary tract infection – and possibly to put him on prozac! I’m not a big fan of prozac but if it’ll help him go to the toilet in the right places, I’m totally giving it a go~!
If you are having a problem with the cat taking the pill , try getting it in a ointment that you place in the cats ear. You need to go to a compound pharmacy to have it made into this but it works great. The medication is absorbed thru the cat’s ear and into the blood stream- you should be careful you don’t absorb the medication- wear gloves, wash hands.
Help!! My cat has stopped using her litter box since I had her spayed and declawed. I named her dolce because she was the sweeest cat ever and now she is pooping on the floor right in front of me and even worst on our beds. I took her to the vet and have been trying all the behavior modifications and litter brand changes. I even put out 3 different types and still she will hold until she is in absolute agony and poop right on the floor. It is getting to the point where she is not even peeing in the box on a regular basis. i dont know what to do I cant get rid of her. Is it safe for her to go on Prozac and is it going to work. Anyone out ther with similiar experience. Please respond with some advise. My vet seems to think she has anxiety that she is associateing with the litter box!!
Declawing your cat has caused this behavior. I know, because I work in cat rescue and have had the “good fortune” to adopt a boy with the same issues whose owner declawed him and then left him outside to die because of his declaw-induced problems. My Chester has not used the litter box in my home for seven years and he also urine marks everything in sight. Would I ever abandon him or sentence him to death? Never, as I love him even more because of what he has been through and keep him because he deserves a good life and what happened to him was not his fault. I work around his problems.
Why does declawing cause this behavior? Firstly, since the declawed cat is now without its “defense” mechanism, it feels instinctively vulnerable when using the litter “box” and afraid of being caught “off guard” by a predator while doing its business. It is easier to squat on the floor instead of inside a box where it would be more difficult to flee quickly if necessary, even if there are no other cats in the home. It is instinctual.
Secondly, imagine having the ends of your toes chopped off clear through the bone and then standing on your toes in a bucket of gravel. It shouldn’t take too long to figure out why a declawed cat will not do likewise. It hurts – and the toes remain sensitive and tender, sometimes for a lifetime.
Bottom line, there is a reason why it is illegal in many counties to declaw a cat – it is cruel and inhumane, and it causes psychological and behavioral problems that ultimately land the poor thing in a kill shelter facing the needle of death or the gas chamber . . . All because its loving owner cared more for his or her furnishings and possessions than his or her pet.
If this describes you – either get a stuffed animal or adopt a cat that has already been declawed by some other unthinking pet owner and then pray that the poor thing doesn’t act out as above. These are living creatures with feelings and a right to self defense. Respect them, and never declaw.
Thank you for your insight on why my cat is not using her litterbox and your inaccurate interpertation of why I had her declawed. Having my cat declawed was a heartbreaking decision, and I cried over the decision to do so. I cut my cats claws every week for 1 the first year I had her. The only reason I had her declawed was so I could keep her. For personal reasons I am forced to live with my sister for a few months and the only way she would let me bring my cat is if she was declawed. furthermore my cat used the litterbox for the first 3 weeks after surgery, and did not stop until she had a seroma from being spayed and needed to go on antibiotics that gave her diahrrea. After the diahrrea she became constipated and that is when she stopped using the box. She is an amazing cat she doesnt even go all over the house. She most of the time will hold it for a day or so and then I wil sit with her in the bathroom until she will go on the floor or bathmat. so please dont make me out to be a cruel person. I loved my cat enough to even do what I thought was unthinkable, but I could not part with her. So once again any advice from anyone on how to correct the litterbox problem would greatly appreciated.