Fluoxetine experiences

[Lcm11]

My 3 year old cat is starting fluoxetine in the next few days to help with spraying caused by territorial insecurity. He's an indoor cat and there are lots of neighbourhood cats in our area and he gets so stressed by seeing them. We've tried what feels like everything - behaviourists, feliways, privacy film on windows, catification, catio, tests for any medical issues & gabapentin but nothing has worked so this is very much our last resort.

I've read some horror stories online from people who tried it and their cat turned into a shell of themselves and hid all day. We're starting on a very low dose so I'm hoping this won't be the case. Does anyone have any experience with fluoxetine being used to help with spraying?

I don’t have any experience of using this specific drug personally but I wouldn’t worry too much about what you read online. People only tend to post when things go wrong which often skews the statistics and doesn’t account for the often much higher numbers for which things go right.

My cat is currently on Trazodone following an RTA to try keep him calm / sleepy on crate rest as he isn’t coping well and has a broken pelvis, I believe Like Trazodone, Fluoxetine is also an SSRI that works by increasing serotonin levels. I’m not sure what dose your cat is on but just be mindful side effects include sleepiness. So you may need to jiggle about with the dosage if he becomes too sleepy.

I've only heard positive things about Prozac for dogs and cats. I imagine his quality of life will improve significantly if he isn't anxious.

Thank you both for replying. We started yesterday, he's on 2.5mg which I understand is a low starting dose.

@GlitteryUnicornSparkles you're definitely right about people only posting if things go wrong. Some of the things I read seemed really extreme but I'm hoping they won't happen on a low dose. So sorry about your cat, I hope he's recovering well.

@anonymous98 that's reassuring you've only heard positive things. Yeah bless him he's not loving life at the moment so hopefully the prozac can only be a good thing.

Mine was on a similar drug many years ago for the same reason.

worked brilliantly.

it was that or rehome him somewhere very rural- we’d had to do it with his brother (went to my dad).

some cats just don’t like others. My current one is the same but shows the stress by losing weight rather than spraying.

Thank you, unfortunately he’s not, and I think I’m pretty close to having a breakdown.

I did recently start my own (very long) thread about it hoping for a bit of support and advice but like your own it didn’t get much traction. The cat boards seem pretty quiet compared to AIBU!

@Whosenameisthis oh that's great to hear! Crossing my fingers we have the same luck. Breaks my heart but we have considered rehoming him to somewhere quieter and with less cats as our absolute last resort.

@GlitteryUnicornSparkles oh no I'm so sorry, it's one of the worst feelings ever not being able to help your pet. I tried looking for your thread but I can't find it - can you send a link?

The tmi is not because its gory I just went into what is probably far too much detail!

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/the_litter_tray/5361951-rta-possibly-tmi?reply=145252568

I've just caught up, sounds horrendous what you've been through 😢. You are an amazing cat owner & it sounds like anything you could have done to make him more comfortable you have. I really hope he starts to improve soon. I would say trust your gut & instincts, you know your cat better than anyone. Keeping everything crossed. 🤞🏻

Just wanted to update this thread - 4 weeks in and my boy seems so much happier & chilled, the spraying has stopped completely. 🤗

So glad to hear this!

Thats great news for both of you. x. You must be so relieved.