Anti-depressants for Cat with bully issues

[Rosella moggy]

Yes Desley that's what my vet said. Nice to know Tom has options if the Metacam drops start causing any problems but (touch wood) the one drop every 3 days is giving him a much better quality of life for 2 out of every 3 days at the mo which is great. I really notice a change in his behaviour by the end of day 2 when he is due for his drop the next day.

[Desley (booktigger)]

I dont think too much of the owner actually - cats weight doesn't just balloon cos of not going outside, and I certainly wouldn't put them on anti-depressants unless a lot of things have been tried - but we dont know the full story. But the newspaper actually make it sound more worrying than it probably is.
Rosella - the rescues vet told me that cats have less side effects from steroids than either humans or dogs, as I was worried when he gave PEbbles steroids for her nose.

[JackSpratt]

No, fair point Rosella. I'm not damning the owner, it's clear she cares a great deal for her cat. And you're right, the tabloids do only have half the story!

[Rosella moggy]

I would also think very long and hard before using anti depressants on either a human or an animal but I would be wary of simply assuming a cat would respond the same way a human would to any medication e.g. a vet I saw recently warned me about assuming steroids would be as bad for a cat as a human. 

I went to see him due to my concern about putting Tom on Metacam long term (have reduced to 1 drop every 3 days). It being a non steroidal anti inflammatory I was concerned about kidney damage. Vet was explaining that, if Tom reacts badly, we could go the steroids route altho that can cause diabetes probs in cats. It's all risky but it's quality of life that counts.

Sorry for going on, just saying that it's easy to judge without all the facts and I have never come across a newspaper article that does that. You may think me naive but I would trust a vet I didn't know sooner than a newspaper that I did!

[JackSpratt]

Prozac is one of a group of drugs called SSRI. Serotonin re-uptake inhibitors. Amytriptiline is a totally different drug and they cannot be compared to one another.

I've been on both amitriptyline (for muscular problems) and fluoxetine (for depression and anxiety) which is a form of prozac and I have to say, both of them have horrible side effects that make you miserable. I personally don't like anti depressants for this reason. And unless they've tried EVERY other possible solution, Twiglet really shouldn't be on them.

[Iluvcritters]

Giant hugs to you and purrs & prayers for Twiglet!

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

Amytripline I think is a drug used for schitsophrenics in humans but also used to try to restart nerve damage, after shingles for instance.

Its a horrible drug and makes you feel very bad

[Amanda (mad4moggies)]

Prozac is one of a group of drugs called SSRI. Serotonin re-uptake inhibitors. Amytriptiline is a totally different drug and they cannot be compared to one another.

[JackSpratt]

I saw this article too. (As well as one about a rabbit that's been bred in Germany the size of a dog. Cooolll!) I personally hope they tried everything else forst before they started tampering with poor Twiglets brain chemicals!

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

I agree with you Sam, dont like the idea of cats being on anti-depressents.

[Ela]

Saw this in Tuesdays Metro:

It was also in some Nationals

[Sam (Fussy_Furball)]

Saw this in Tuesdays Metro:

A cat has become one of the first in Britain to be diagnosed as clinically depressed after being bullied by a ginger tom.  Twiglet, a 12 yr old tabby, was so upset she had to be put on anti-depressants to combat anger management issues.  Her weight ballooned to 7kg because she was too scared to go out; her stomach sagged on the floor and she developed cystitis.  Owner Jackie Martin, 28, from Brighton, took Twiglet to a vet who prescribed Prozac-like drug amitriptyline and put her on a diet.  She said: "She started biting and was given drugs to alleviate her anxieties".

There is no information to say how Twiglet gone on with the drugs of course!!! Personally I would have tried to deter the Ginger Tom before putting one of my babies on anti-depressants.  What do you all think?