Prozac: weaning off?

[Sheila & Beau GA & Jeddie GA]

Anyone have a cat on prozac for inappropriate peeing issues/rehoming anxiety that successfully weaned them off the med? Or even tried and was unsuccessful?

Jeddie started peeing on the carpet in my second bedroom as soon as I brought him home. Then it as the front door and in the bathtub. I ripped out the carpet and cleaned (bleached) and sealed the underlayment and put down tiles. I set up two additional litter boxes, including one in the tub. All that did was stop the peeing in the bedroom. He also peed in the try I had under one LB instead of in the box itself.

I finally was persuaded to start him on prozac in mid-August and he is doing very well. He immediately stopped peeing anywhere except in the boxes. His only lapses were the day after I started him on prozac, an attempt in Oct (he was backing up to the door - his favorite bad spot and I picked him up and put him in the litter box, where he peed) and twice in Nov. right after I got two upholstered chairs from my aunt who has two cats. I figured the smell of the cats on the chairs upset him.

Otherwise he is doing very well. He is acting like part of the gang, cuddles and grooms with Beau (since early Dec) and two of the other three cats, gets on my lap a lot (he didn't used to do that except the first few weeks I had him). He seems happy and contented and well adjusted.

I am wondering if I can wean him off prozac now that he has several months of feeling happy and content under his belt.

 

[Michele and Peeps]

My cat Zoey was on prozac for inappropriate urinating. I decided to wean her off of the drug 2 xmases ago because I was unhappy with the side effects - she was practically in a coma for 20 hours of the day.

Other changes were made during her prozac time, and it seems the peeing issue has gone away (which is probably why this has worked so well - she has been forbidden from entering the room she did most of the peeing in unsupervised). Some of the behavior side effects from her being on prozac have lasted though - mainly her standing up to our resident bully cat.

I didn't discuss weaning her off with my vet. I decided on xmas eve when the office was closed. You may want to discuss this with Jeddies vet to make sure you are doing what is in his best interests.

It took me about 3 weeks to wean Zoey off. I started by decreasing her dose by half for one week, giving her the half dose every other day the second week, and the third week she got the half dose every three days. She was done as soon as her medication was gone.

 

[LynnLee + Mousie]

Jr was put on it a few years ago for inappropriate peeing and it too worked well for him.

the vet said to have him on it for a few months then we could wean him off and see if the behavior stayed away or not. if it did, great. if not, he'd most likely be on it forever.

i want to say the vet had us go from every day to every other day to every 3 days then quit.

he did good for about a month then one morning he pee'd on fiance again so back on the prozac he went, 1/4 pill SID and there he's been for the last few years now. his dose is very small, the behavior is gone, and his personality is unchanged.

 

[Sheila & Beau GA & Jeddie GA]

Thanks, Michele and Cindy.

I took so long to start him on it because I was afraid of him becoming a zombie, but if anything his personality got better - more laid back - which, for an orange boy is saying something. I would just prefer to not give meds if they are not necessary, ya' know?

I actually had to tell my vet about using prozac for inappropriate peeing, she didn't seem to know much about it, so she asked me the dose etc when I called for a script. I had told her about his "issues" before and what I had tried already. So I think weaning him off is kinda my call and I was planning on doing it the way Cindy's vet had her do it - every other day then every third day. He has been on 1/4 tab sid also.

I guess all I can do is try it....