could PROZAC lower BG's?????

Hey everyone, Junior goes in tomorrow for all his shots. It's been suggested over many years he may have "behavioral" issues. A long time ago, he had licked all the hair off his belly to complete baldness. Brought him in and the vet thought he was OCD and recommended we medicate him. At the time..... I thought no way is there anything wrong with him that he needs to be medicated!!!!!! Well, I think I may have been wrong. He's always had some "issues". Like the ceiling fan, if he doesn't look up he's fine but if he does you would think he thought it was truly out to get him! Urinating outside the box and in odd spots in the house started before his FD dx and figured it was just part of it. There are many other issues but it would take to long. He is an indoor/outdoor cat and would normally only use the box if there is foul weather. 2 weeks ago brought in his urine to make sure no UTI. This vet said the same, could be behavioral. Junior has always been a little high strung in general. In 12 years of being his bean, all of a sudden I think I agree. So... does anyone think if he were to go on Prozac it would lower his #'s????????

thanks,
Laura

 

I guess it could do if he is constantly stressed but I would be trying pheromones before going the Prozac route.

 

thank you, I was just googling pheremone stuff. I actually think he's a little beyond that. I was on the Feliway site and all his actions are different and way more sporatic than they list the reasons to use it. I'm really thinking he may be a little "off" sometimes, in gentle but slightly psycho kinda way :roll: Every once in a while I just think, wth just happened in his brain!!!!!

 

Pls make sure you are well informed about the potential side effects of prozac before going down that path. Sounds like you are a bit of a researcher so I'm sure that you will

 

Here is a recent thread about Prozac. viewtopic.php?f=28&t=67225

 

In humans, Prozac (as well as all of the serotonin reuptake inhibitors) is used to treat anxiety. If stress is keeping your cat's BG elevated, the Prozac could lower BG.

 

Thanks, we had a good visit at the vet today. Junior gained half a pound!!!!! I brought up the prozac and he did not recommend it. He never prescribed it before so didn't want to mess around. We decided together to try the pheremone stuff first. I also do not want to be giving Junior any more medications he does not desperately need. (especially if it's in the form of a pill :-Q !!!!)

Thank you everyone for your input, I learned a bunch o new stuff!

 

Well..... Here's the thing: from the sound of his problems I don't think Feliway will work. And it is very expensive.

Junior's "issues" sound so much like Jeddie's. I have had Jeddie about 2-1/2 years. When I got him he was in sad shape (thin, bedraggled, depressed at suddenly being in a strange place with strange cats and a, um, stranger). He chewed off all his belly fur. He bit at himself, he was clingy. And peed outside the box. I thought as time went by and he knew he had a safe and loving home he would calm down and stop the OCD behavior and inappropriate peeing. I tried Feliway and another similar product, and Rescue Remedy. None of them worked even the slightest bit.

I ended up having to rip up carpet in the second bedroom, bleach and seal the subflooring and put down tiles. He started peeing on my front door. And he peed on the doors at the house in MI where I take the cats for vacation. To be honest, this was a deal breaker for me. He was a loving cat, but I could not have my home and processions peed on.

Several people here suggested prozac. I resisted because I didn't' want a zombie cat and, in general, I don't like treating things with chemicals. After 8 months I had to do something and a friend gave me a few prozac to try. It was like flipping a switch. Immediately the peeing stopped. I mean, the very next day. The other benefit was that he relaxed. He wasn't high-strung, just anxious. I think his true personality came out. He was the same cat only like a cat that has let out a huge sigh. He had kept himself an outsider, but about 14 months ago he started interacting with the other cats more and is now a cuddle buddy with Beau (they are sleeping together in a chair right now. Jed has his head pressed into Beau's stomach).

I tried to ween him off it at about 6 months, but when I got to every 3rd day he started peeing on the door again. He has been on 1/4 tab (10 mg) sid for about 20 months now. It's the generic, fluoxetine, and it's pretty cheap. He has peed outside the box maybe 3-4 times over that time (other than when I tried to ween him off). I can deal with that. I could not deal with it on a daily bases.

My vet had never used it before, but I said that I knew people who used it with their cats with success and she said we could try it. I never saw a change in his BGs from it in either direction - not that I could notice, at least. If Junior is truly stressed I suppose it could lower his stress and, therefore, lower his BGs, but that would just be a bonus to, hopefully, having the other issues cleared up.

Oh, and I use a piece of pill pocket to wrap around it before pilling Jeddie. For a while he would eat it himself in the pill pocket, but that only lasted a few months. If he tastes the pill (easy to do with the cut edges) he starts foaming at the mouth. It must taste really nasty. So wraping it in the pill pocket helps. I suppose you could use liver sausage too, but that is messier.

 

I was going to suggest Rescue Remedy, and am bummed that Jeddie was not affected by it. Might be worth a try - less expensive and no side effects. I've always used it when fireworks, police helicopters, vet visits etc bugged my animals. It is a flower essence, and there are many other flower essences for specific issues. Hope you find something soon. Peeing is such a difficult thing to remedy.