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 been displaying jerkish behavior as mine has.
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 counter, 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 medication: 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.
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Comments: 89
I'm still trying to figure out horses.
Well she did have a uti (personally, I think she has mental issues as well).
The ONLY WAY I could get her pills in her mouth was to use one of those pill shooter things. I borrowed one from a cat lady at work.
That did the trick. She was much calmer during the dosing and I spared my arms and fingers.
Donna and I are cat slaves, so I understand your pain.
I want to say thank you for telling me that cats take Prozac. We have five cats and they could all use a prescription, as far as I am concerned. Two of ours have toilet issues and it drives me crazy. The two with issues are the lowest in the pecking order, so I suspect the problem is connected to the stress they feel as being the most picked on. Donna once wrote a short piece about how one of the two had done their business in our toaster. It made a God-awful smell to wake up to in the morning.
As for giving it to them, maybe the suppository method would work..........?!?!
Do I say sorry for your troubles, Chris, or that I'm glad you've got something humorous to write about?
I had a cat with a seizure disorder some years ago. She was 20 and for the last 2 years of her life, I had to give her a human seizure medication twice a day. I was very proficient at crawling under furniture to pull her out, and she finally quit fighting me because she knew I was going to be relentless. I wasn't as educated back then as I am now, so I just pried her mouth open, stuck a finger down her throat with the pill on the end and held her head upright and closed until she swallowed. Pretty foolish in retrospect.
And.., I think Jenn K. may have totally hit upon the source of your problem. - LOL
Good point, Jenn. If my humans tried to put a saddle on me so a spider monkey could ride me, I'd piss all over the place too.
I also had a problem with peeing and pooping in inappropriate places. It took my humans a long time to figure out that I didn't like where they'd put the litter box. Once they moved it to a place I liked, I didn't do it any more.
Last night I found a baggy full of pills stuffed under the CatCondo. I fear the worst. There is a coyote hanging around the edge of our property who wears a broad rimmed red velvet cap, rayban sunglasses and a shaggy grey coat with baggies bulging out of his pockets. Tonight, me, the coyote, Smith and Wesson are going to have words.
For the record I have a dog who has developed panic attacks. Who knows why? Certainly the many vets I consulted had no clue, but told me that many animals can develop different (weird, odd, strange) behaviors as they age. The vets prescribed valium. 5-10 mgs of valium as needed and my dog, Princapessa Stella Bellisima only weighs about 32 pounds! Only sometimes does the valium work.
For pilling a cat try this:
There now, doesn't that sounds easy?
I give meds to ferrets all the time, so I know about sharp teeth. A plastic syringe works well for ferrets...
I've got some solution ideas for the meds, and alternative to. Drop me an email. They aren't nearly as funny as the above.. so I don't want to ruin the mood.
Greg, those coyotes, you just can't trust em.
Place the cat on a kitchen counter on it's belly with one of your arms wrapped around the outside of its body. Hold the cat tightly against you. Using the hand on that arm, grasp the cat's head like a baseball with the index and middle fingers between the cat's ears and grasping the cat's jaw hinge with the thumb and pinky. Hold on to the cat's head pressing firmly on the hinge of the jaw. Hold the pill in the other hand and pry the cat's mouth open with that hand. Gently toss the pill into the back of the cat's mouth and snap the jaw shut. Hold the cat's mouth shut until you feel it swallow. Then force the cat's mouth open to see if it was faking.
I did this daily to a large, strong, very squirmy cat who knew she was going to get a pill. Like most everything else that involves restraining a cat, you have to convince the cat that you don't care if it claws or bites you. FWIW, I think that's one of the primary requirements for successful cat service. You have to convince them that they can't hurt you. :) Good luck.
BTW, the Prozac stopped working after about a year but that's another story. I think splitting the pills was harder than giving them once I got the hang of catching her and immobilizing her quickly.
As a side note, some meds are time release, and crushing them etc. might not be a good idea?
On second thought, better not. This isn't a pleasant process. Last time he foamed at the mouth when the pill broke apart on his tongue. No one wants to see that.
Wish me luck!
and then imagined some zoned out cat behind the wheel of "heavy machinery" (and what is the distinction between heavy and light machinery - is a sports car "light" and a van "heavy"?)
If you want techniques for giving pets pills, check out my Chicken Love article. The pet there was a chicken but still...it had to have pills, shots and more...and wasn't any more cooperative than your cat.
P.S. I suggest you take the pill yourself :)
Sweet and merciful crap, IT worked!!!!!
But he is sooo giving me the "die in a fire" look right now.
Nippy, one thing our vet recommended was giving him his own room as his own since we have four animals in our house right now (2 dogs, 2 cats). We've been locking him in a bathroom at night and when we go out, not so much to punish him but to make him feel like that's his space. Even after we open the door he sometimes lays inside until he's ready to get up. He seems to be adjusting... for now at least.
Thanks for the laugh, and I hope that the cat finally gets over his emotional issues. Maybe you should find a kitty shrink next?
Is there a possibility of getting the pill in liquid form with a dropper? It is sooo much easier. If not, crush the pill in water and use a dropper to squirt it fast.
Try coating the pill with butter or bacon grease, pop it in and hold his mouth closed while rubbing his throat. This may be a two person job.
I had good success hiding a pill smashed between two soft treats (Pounce, etc.), which the cat would scarf up so quickly that he didn't know he'd been dosed.
Good luck!
Congratulations on your Gather homepage feature!
Good luck with your cat.
Aiden is a pill hellian too. At least your neurotic kitty doesn't projectile vomit after you succeed in getting the pill in him. The one time I had to give Aiden pills, he did such an epic barf that he shot backwards a bit from the force.
Funny in hindsight. . . *SO* unfunny at the time.
Catnip works for aiden when he's in a cranky mood, I hope I never have to give him prozac
Jeez, the things you "cat people" have to go through is crazy! Projectile vomiting, peeing in toasters and all over furniture, expensive prescriptions that you need to buy all sorts of special tools to administer, vet bills in the thousands.... I'd consider taking a KID back for that stuff! Sure makes a quiet little goldfish sound DARN good, doesn't it?
I was going to suggest what you did at the end of your article and that others have recommended in their comments: Just take the pill yourself.... and pretend you're on a cat-free island with cool breezes and an open bar. ;)
(But don't forget to write an update! :D)
Quite frankly the author comes off as a bit of a jerk. If I was his wife I'd keep the cat and throw his arse out the door.
Rebecca, that's why I took him to the vet.
Quite frankly the author comes off as a bit of a jerk
Really? Did you read the whole thing or just stop after the second paragraph?
It sounds weird but our nightly pill rasslin' has actually made the cat more affectionate towards me. I guess it's our bonding time (either that or the Prozac is working).
LOL - You wrestle with the cat, force a pill down its throat and suddenly it feels all happy and pleasant for hours and hours?
You are a God to that cat now, Chris.
It will love and worship you forever.
No, you cannot start slipping the pills to your wife and children. That is called felony assault.
Congrats on the new cat Lovin'
We've considered putting him on meds, but have held off for 2 reasons: a) he still knows where the cat box is and thank goodness uses it and b) his reputation has spread amongst my teenage sons' friends. All I have to do is mention that the cat looks a little jittery if I want to clear the house of boys!
Greenies brand pet foods has a product called "Pill Pockets" that are made out of a soft cat-treat-like pouch into which you insert the pill, pinch off the end (to completely cover the pill), and add to a small pile of cat treats or food (or give it like it's a treat).
Their website address is: http://www.pillpockets.net .
I completely remember how difficult it was trying to get our cat to take deworming liquid from a needless syringe though, and how we were both covered with scratches afterward-despite wrapping poor Jessie in a towel.
Can you get a prozac delivered as a suppository?
At least that end doesn't have any teeth.
Too funny! LOL! I just put the cat outside, but that's just me.
I had to check out this article. My mother has a cat in kitty therapy. Really, there is such a thing. Her sessions cost as mucha as mine do.
We had a cat that took Prozac for the same problem. It worked for about 6 months.
I learned how to give a cat a pill from a vet tech/magician. It's not hard once you catch the cat. You have to get the pill far enough back on the tongue so the cat has to swallow it. I've given pills to many cats using her technique.
Put the cat on a counter or table. With one arm hold the cat down with your forearm. Grasp the cat's head as you would a baseball with the thumb and on finger on the hinges of the jaw and a finger or two on top of its head. Squeeze the hinges of the jaw lightly while forcing the cat's mouth open with the other hand. When you have the cat's mouth open, put the pill on the back of its tongue and force its mouth closed. Make sure the cat has swallowed and then open its mouth to make sure it hasn't managed to hide the pill. If you get the pill in the right place, it won't be able to hide it.
My name is Rich ironically my wife is a Vet Tech( 10 yrs now)else so she asked me if i would go feed a cat who was very aggresive and told me DO NOT touch or approach "rocko"
this cat just go in and feed and give him his food / H2o & add his prozac and check the litter box....well i got asfar as the food and water and prozac ....this cat flipped out and started hissing,howling,hacking,spitting,growling,yelping,and wanted a peice of me BIG TIME...i did nothing to set him off....nothing ....no eye contact with the exception of my perifial vision...the only mistake i made was i left my keys on the kitchen counter ...this cat sat on top of them almost as though baiting me to come get them.....i threw a illow at him and got me keys..i was terrified i thought for sure he'd pounce on me & go right for my throat ...he had on soft paws ...he's like this with his owner as well...why is he like this unknown history to you why do you think this cat is so aggresive..?