Cat Behavior Medications

Owners need to decide for themselves what behaviors they believe to be problems so they can review the cat behavior medications for specific issues. House-soiling, scratching, yelling, biting, or territory marking are some examples. Illness may be changing your cat's normal actions and your vet can often identify and treat the disease before it becomes serious. If a medical issue isn't the cause you should look to your cat's home life...what changes have happened...like another cat being brought into the house etc. There are some anxiety issues that may be deep seated and I'll list a few here.

Scaredy Cats

Disruptions to a cat's life, or any change in routine, can make them fearful or anxious because they are such creatures of habit. Even the addition of a new piece of furniture can cause anxiety in some cats. It may urinate outside its litterbox, over-groom or become aggressive. These are "displacement behaviors". There are different cat behavior medications that can help bring the fear and anxiety under control. If your cat is suffering from chronic anxiety lasting several weeks, antidepressant drugs such as amitripryline (Elavil) or imipramine (Tofranil) may be effective. Serotonergic drugs such as buspirone (BuSpar), clomipramine (Anafranil), and fluoxetine (Prozac) are fairly effective for a therapy lasting over three weeks. These drugs gradually increase the brain's supply of seratonin, a chemical that carries messages across the gaps between nerve cells. Scientists believe that a shortage of seratonin leads to depression and anxiety in humans and animals. These cat behavior medications have few side effects and don't lead to drug dependence but it can take a few days or weeks to reach full effectiveness.

Cats suffering from acute fear may benefit more from quick-acting benzodiazepines such as alprazoalam (Xanax) or diazepam (Valium). These cat behavior medications act quickly to repress some functions of the nervous system and usually have a fast calming effect. They aren't suitable for prolonged use because they can cause lethargy, lack of coordination and increased appetite. Also, in a few rare instances, cats have died from sudden liver failure after receiving diazepam.

My cat, Chanel#5, is a scaredy cat. She spent some time hiding under our shed (we don't know how long) and we only became aware of her when Max coaxed her out. She was 6 months old and only 2 1/4 pounds because life had been so hard for her. We got her to the vet, fed her, spent time keeping her separated from the other cats so she could lose some very feral behaviors, but although she loves to sit on our laps and get petted....if the Post Lady comes to the door she goes flying into hiding and she's now two years old. I haven't had her put on any cat behavior medications because she recovers from her fright in a reasonable amount of time. Coty steps in to defend her if there is an issue with one of the other cats and no one messes with our little shrimp Coty.......

Aggressive Cats

Cats that bite or scratch people or other pets are usually attacking out of fear (fear aggression), territoriality (territorial aggression), overstimulation during play (play aggression), or getting irritated from being touched (irritable aggression). Because cats have so many different motives for their aggression, there is no "cure-all" for attack cats. The motives can be a combination of fear/territory (usually with other cats) or play/irritations (with owners) etc. The added problem is that the more a cat attacks the owner the more intense and uninhibited its biting and clawing can get. We periodically have a problem with Blaze getting too aggressive when playing so we have a large mitt like a kitchen oven glove that reaches up to the elbow. We use this to settle her down by petting her with it. Any quick paw movements with her claws out and we have protection.

Long ago vets prescribed hormone derivatives called progestins but they fell out of favor because they can cause hormone imbalances such as diabetes mellitus. Some vets will recommend benzodiazepines for short term use to get aggression under control but the serotonergic drugs may be more effective and safer for the long-term therapy for "hard core" aggressive cats. Less expensive alternatives can be found online where you can save on Pet Medications

Compulsive Cats

Cats sometimes exhibit repetitive and needless behaviors called stereotypies. These compulsive behaviors are usually normal activites that occur out of context and in a ritualized pattern. The most common actions are exaggerated grooming which ranges from excessive licking to self-mutilation. Pica, which is eating nonfood materials, and feline hyperesthesia, a complex disorder in which bouts of manic running, twitching, licking, howling, and staring off into space can happen. Veterinarians don't know what causes this behavior but a genetic link is suspected. "Wool sucking" is an example of pica behavior that involves sucking or eating wool and other fabrics. This behavior is more common in oriental breeds like Siamese and Burmese. Stress and upbringing can also play a part. The severity of the disorder may be influenced by environment.

A number of cat behavior medications can control compulsive behavior. Some cats with serious sterotypies improve after receiving the serotonergic drug fluoxetine or clomipramine (the same medication used for humans with obsessive-compulsive disorders. Other compulsive cats benefit from naltrexone (Trexan), which doctors prescribe to fight narcotics addiction in humans. While drugs increase your chances of rehabilitating a cat, they don't come with any guarantees. Cats don't metabolize drugs very well and results can vary cat to cat. Cat behavior medications that cure one cat's anxiety may have little or no effect on anther cat. Or, a drug may cause nausea, vomiting or a paradoxical effect...which is a response opposite to the desired reaction. If your cat is on cat behavior medications, keep an eye open for side effects and call your vet if anything looks amiss.

Traveling Cats

I have one cat, Coty, who gets into the car and stays on the passenger seat looking out the window. The others freak out and want to hide under the seats so they are put in carriers to be transported. When flying, its not unusual for an owner to have their cat tranquilized but.......beware. A sedated cat runs a higher risk during air travel because it can't regulate its body temperature as well as an unsedated animal. Drugged cats can suffocate if they fall asleep in an awkward position in their carriers. Because of the dangers the American Veterinary Medical Association recommends against tranquilizing your cat.

Tranquilizing your cat may increase its anxiety. An animal that is frightened but is still aware and alert may be better off than one that feels drugged. The sensation of being drugged may be even more frightening than reality, so cat behavior medications should be considered with caution. If your cat suffers a panic attack at the mere sight of a cat carrier you may want to seek out a cat sitter. We don't take our cats on planes. If we are flying somewhere we have a wonderful friend who looks in on the cats daily. She is superb and counts heads because there are five. If we didn't have her stopping in, we probably wouldn't get to travel much.

Related Articles.........

Feline Acupuncture

Cat Pain Control

Cat Medicine

Traveling Cat

Cat Aggression

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