Zoloft

I recently found out that the girl that does my hair has a diabetic cat. She's had him for a few years now and he's on Prozinc. She indicated that the vet recommended giving him Zoloft is he was lethargic and sleeping a lot. I did a tiny bit of research online, and did find a website that indicated that a side effect of Zoloft can be hypoglycemia or hypoglycemic reaction. I know some antidepressants are recommended for critters that have behavioral issues, Zoloft being one of them. Anyone heard of this?

 

Googling shows that Zoloft (Sertraline) has been used for cats
"In cats, sertraline is used to treat aggression, excessive fearfulness, urine marking (urine spraying), and compulsive behaviors (such as psychogenic alopecia, tail chasing and woolsucking/pica)."
Also, "The most common adverse effects are poor appetite, lethargy, and tremors. Other side effects include agitation, itchiness, dry skin, vomiting, and diarrhea."
https://www.petplace.com/article/dr.../library/sertraline-zoloft-for-dogs-and-cats/
for the similar reasons that Prozac (fluoxetine) since both are Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor (SSRI)

Based on the link giving Zoloft to a lethargic cat can be counter productive

 

The way my hairdresser explained it was that after her cat was diagnosed with diabetes the doctor put him on insulin. Because he was exhibiting depression like behavior (stopped playing, wasn't curious about things that he would normally go and explore, etc) Zoloft was recommended. The vet explained to her the correlation between mental state of mind and its effect on insulin production/effectiveness ( which we all know). My hairdresser said it made a tremendous difference in her boy.

As Devil's Advocate... there's no way to tell if it was Zoloft or the insulin that made the Improvement. She also does not test him regularly, she gives him his shots and sees the vet once a month for testing. I have no idea what her numbers are, or the dosage of Prozinc. I was just more curious to see if anybody here I had heard of it. If I were to ever do something like that, I would keep my animals on it for the rest of their lives. I've had to reduce my amount of Zoloft in the past and it was not a pleasant experience. I would never put my baby's through that.

 

Gosh, maybe you can gently share what you have learned about diabetic treatment and your hairdresser can do a better job of helping her diabetic cat. ???? I know lots of people just don't want to make the time and an effort to home test a pet and it's too bad. If it was them, a loved one or a child, I bet the story would be different.

 

I casually tried to educate her...not sure if anything stuck. Her boy is 10 or 11 ( a few years younger than Max), and he was diagnosed with diabetes a couple years ago I guess. She relayed a story to us recently in which she had a huge graduation cake on her counter. Her cat jumped on the counter and ate a third of it. She said her boy was fine had no problems. Don't believe it for a minute, but it was a funny story to tell I guess.

And yeah, she isn't the most studious person about shooting either. I think she figures if her cat isn't acting sick that everything is fine.