Ever tried Prozac on a cat?

[Rain]

I have a new foster kitty with an attitude. She has been with me for 3 weeks now. Her background is unknown, other than “pulled from a shelter.” Best guess on age is between 1 and 2. She is spayed.

“Jenny” is a gorgeous Maine Coon mix. Beautiful soft, plush fur. She can be extremely affectionate, running up to me, rubbing against me, purring, and trying to get in my lap. But she can also be very reactive and lash out unexpectedly. I have tried to figure out her “triggers” but sometimes there appears to be nothing. I limit the amount of interaction and petting, since “too much” petting seems to trigger her. One time she walked across my keyboard and when I went to move her along, she viciously attacked my hand (drew blood) and then crouched on the keyboard, hissing.

Last week I was lying on the couch and she was on my chest. Everyone was happy. I moved slightly and she lashed out, biting me in the face. Happened so fast I couldn’t even react. (not a serious bite, but drew blood again)

At the moment I have her on Rescue Remedy drops in her food, plus a “calming collar.” Both are pheromone-based. Can’t tell yet if it’s having any effect.

The rescue thinks this cat probably is not going to be adoptable due to her unpredictability, but wants to try her on Prozac to see if it makes a difference.

Has anyone tried Prozac before? Opinions/experiences?

[PaintPony]

My family had a cat who was on valium when I was younger. She was a stray that I found and brought home. For the first 5 years she was the best cat ever. Then she started getting aggressive and peeing everywhere. The vet could not find anything physically wrong with her, so they started her on valium.

I honestly wish I could say it helped, but my parents ended up putting her to sleep after she had almost destroyed the house and starting attacking people. I was devastated. Personally I think the vet should have looked in to a brain tumor, but I’m not sure what could have been done if she had one.

[SmartAlex]

Tried it on my OCD kitty to see if her constant grooming was anxiety related. It certainly zoned her out. Can’t say if it would help your situation but it will likely have some noticeable effect or other.

[sascha]

I’ve had a couple on Clomicalm over the years. Nevous kitty because zen kitty. OCD kitty because slug kitty.

I’d say a mild sedative of some type is worth a try

[McVillesMom]

Yes, I have one on it now for anxiety that leads to inappropriate urination and have prescribed it for several cats for the same issue. (I’ve also used it in dogs for separation anxiety.) Prozac doesn’t typically have a significant sedating effect. I’d think it worth a try.

[Louise]

There is a supplement called Composure out there, also. I’ve got two of my cats on it, for very different reasons. One, because he can be aggressive at times, and the other because she’s so fearful that it was affecting her health. It has helped both of them. On the other hand, I’ve tried it on a couple of others with no results. But, it’s worth a try. It’s not a prescription, not expensive and it is available from both Amazon and Chewy.com.

Your cat is still new to your environment and may settle in time. With these strays, you just don’t know what their past history is and it may take a while to overcome that.

[SarahandSam]

Love Prozac. One of my cats has been on it for years and it makes a huge difference. With it, he’s a normal cat. Without it, he sprays everywhere and viciously attacks the other cats. You can see the difference if we forget it for a day or two.

It’s also helping my fearful dog.

[redkat]

My college roommate rescued a cat with a rough past that had the same attack-ey tendencies. She was extremely unpredictable after a couple of months of living with us, and could be very reactive. We tried Feliway and a calming collar, but the Feliway had no noticeable effect and the collar just made her seem sort of stoned. This all culminated in her, unprovoked, attacking my ankles as I walked by…she latched on and wouldn’t let go, and I ended up with a deep bite.

We took her to the vet, and they suggested Prozac. Prozac definitely helped her - it was pretty amazing. She lost her scary edge, and while she would still become overstimulated, her reactions lost the violence and came down to more normal, familiar, easily-stimulated cat levels.

It helped us calm down around each other and get to know each other better, which I think was a big deal. I’d recommend it. She’s now fourteen, off of Prozac, and happily living out her golden years with my former roommate as the queen of all things.

[Simbalism]

My sister had a cat who she had to put on Prozac. Our neighbors had an outside cat which became multiple cats because they failed to spay or neuter. They were constantly on our deck or window sills and peeing all over the outside of our house. For some reason it totally freaked this cat out, and he started peeing all over in the house. She started him on the Prozac and he acted normal again with minimal accidents in the house.