Need some help with Clomicalm treatment

Hi Wicket, Yes, the gabapentin combined with Clomicalm is the first treatment plan put in place by this veterinary behaviourist. There was a risk of urinary blockage with the Clomicalm, so for the first few days, we were checking his bladder and urine regularly. We’re now on the 10th day of treatment. For the first five or six days, Nincha was totally out of it—lethargic, just staring into space and sleeping a lot. It wasn’t nice to watch and was quite hard for us to deal with. As for our situation, the behaviourist explained that they felt the aggressive, bullying behaviours were too well-established and deep-seated to be changed without medication. At this stage of the treatment, we don't have any behavioural training to put in place yet. On the other hand, a year ago, we consulted another behaviourist who only gave us behavioural exercises. We did our best, but the result was the opposite of what we’d hoped for—more conflict and more tension. We added an extra litter tray (our cats are free-roaming with outdoor access), put up several scratching posts and pads in different areas of the house, had play sessions with all the cats using kicker toys, set up a third feeding station, and tried to distract them at the first sign of a conflict... Our vet had mentioned Selgian (similar to Prozac), but at the time we weren't ready to go down the medication route. We later decided to see a specialist veterinary behaviourist instead. How do your cat’s issues manifest?

Hi there, A few tips for Clomicalm and some alternative solutions: - Buy online rather than from your vet; it’s much cheaper. (I found a bargain price at an online pharmacy based abroad—you just have to send over your prescription). - Buy the 20mg Clomicalm (the dog version) and split the tablets into four, which cuts the price per dose by 75%. The tablets are already scored to be halved, so you just need to cut those halves in two again. A knife works fine, or you can buy a pill cutter from a local chemist. - Giving the meds: one of my two cats is extremely difficult, and the tablets taste particularly nasty. For him, the only way to get him to take it is to crush the pill between two spoons, then mix the powder with a tiny bit of butter (as little as possible!), and smear it on his chops with your finger. He’ll have no choice but to lick it off—it’s a reflex. OTHERWISE, as it is a powerful drug with potential side effects both short and long-term, I’m actually in the process of phasing it out and replacing it with... CBD. It’s still not very well-known, even among vets, but the results are really promising. In the case of my two highly anxious cats, it seems to be working wonders. For your information, you can now find pet-specific CBD oil on various natural health websites at a reasonable price. Hi everyone, hi @zoeschat, I was wondering if you’d started the CBD treatment with your cat yet? My cat is on one 100mg Gabapentin capsule plus 1/4 of a 5mg Clomicalm tablet, twice a day. I started ten days ago. The treatment was put in place by a veterinary behaviourist because of Nincha’s aggressive and ‘bullying’ behaviour towards the other cats. Nincha also suffers from hyper-attachment with me. I found him when he was two months old and took him in... he’s an amazing cat, funny and playful, but he just can’t stand the presence of others. The problems started two years ago when Nincha, who was two at the time, moved into a new home with my partner’s resident cats. A third cat, whom Nincha had previously lived with in his old house, arrived a few months ago. It’s so hard having to resort to ‘drugging’ him just so everyone can live together... I’m really struggling with it. I’m not sure if he’s happy. I’m thinking about finding him a new home where he can be an only cat. I can’t see myself giving him medication twice a day for the rest of his life. The treatment seems to be working, but he’s sleeping a lot and isn’t like he used to be. He’s less cuddly, less playful, and just not ‘himself’. What do you think? Have any of you been through something similar? Thanks!

Hi, A few tips for today regarding Clomicalm and some alternatives: - Buy online instead of from your vet; it’s much cheaper (I found a pharmacy in Spain with rock-bottom prices, you just have to send them your prescription). - Buy the 20mg Clomicalm (for dogs) and then cut the tablets into quarters, which makes each dose four times cheaper. The tablets are already scored to be split in half, so you just have to cut each half in two again. It’s easy enough with a knife, or chemists sell pill cutters. - Administration: one of my two cats is a nightmare to medicate, and the medicine tastes particularly nasty. For him, the only way to get him to take it is to crush it between two spoons and mix the resulting powder with a tiny bit of butter (as little as possible!), then smear it with your finger onto the side of his mouth. The cat will have no choice but to lick it off (it’s a reflex). OTHERWISE, as it is a strong psychiatric medication with immediate and long-term side effects, I’m actually phasing it out in favour of... CBD. It’s still not very well known, even by vets, but the results are extremely promising. In the case of my two highly anxious cats, it seems to be working a treat. For your information, you can now find it on specialist wellness sites at a medium concentration and for a very good price (look for the pet-specific CBD). Hi everyone, hi Edgena, I was wondering if you’ve started the CBD treatment with your cat yet? My cat is on one 100mg gabapentin capsule plus a quarter of a 5mg Clomicalm tablet, twice a day. I started ten days ago. The treatment was prescribed by a veterinary behaviourist for Nincha’s aggressive and bullying behaviour towards the other cats. Nincha also has over-attachment issues with me. I found him when he was two months old and took him in... he’s an amazing cat, funny and playful, but he just can’t stand the others. The problems started two years ago when Nincha, who was two at the time, moved into a new home with cats already there—my partner’s cats. A third cat, who Nincha had already lived with in his old house, arrived a few months ago. It’s so hard having to resort to drugging him up just so everyone can live together... I’m really struggling with it. I’m not sure he’s happy. I’m thinking about finding him a home where he could be an only cat. I can’t see myself giving him medicine twice a day for the rest of his life. The treatment seems to be working; he sleeps a lot and isn’t like he used to be. Less cuddly, less playful, and a bit distant. What do you think? Have you had a similar experience? Thanks.

Hi there, Thanks for your detailed reply. My cat is on Clomicalm 5mg, but she only takes a quarter of a tablet every two days to avoid the side effects of urinary retention... I hide the little quarter-tablet in a bit of a meat stick treat; if I try crushing it into a powder in her food, she can smell it and won't touch it. As for the CBD, I was giving her Naturecan CBD oil for cats in a bit of fromage frais, but that's not working anymore—she’s gone off the taste... Now I’m stuck with a bottle of CBD oil that won't get used. Thanks for the tips... Since my cat has pancreatitis, butter is a no-go. She’s already supposed to avoid fat and only eat w/d dry food or w/d wet food, which she doesn't like, so it's all a bit of a struggle... She prefers urinary mousses or even the "light" mousses. Anyway, the quarter-tablet in the meat stick is doing the trick... for now! Best wishes

Hi everyone, A couple of tips today for Clomicalm and some alternatives: - Buy online rather than from your vet—it’s much cheaper. I found a rock-bottom price from an online pharmacy; you just have to send over your prescription. - Buy the 20mg Clomicalm (the dog version) and then split the tablets into quarters, which cuts the price per dose by 75%. The tablets are already scored to be halved, so you just have to cut each half in two again. It’s easy enough to do with a knife, but otherwise, you can buy a pill cutter from the chemist. - Giving the meds: one of my two cats is extremely difficult, and the medicine tastes particularly nasty. For him, the only way to get him to take it is to crush it between two spoons and mix the powder with a tiny bit of butter (the absolute minimum!). Then, just smear it onto the side of his mouth with your finger. He’ll have no choice but to lick it off—it’s just a reflex. OTHERWISE, as it is a powerful psychoactive drug with potential side effects both in the short and long term, I’m actually in the process of phasing it out and replacing it with... CBD. It’s not that well-known yet, even among vets, but the results are incredibly promising. In my case, it seems to be working a treat for my two highly anxious cats. Just for info, you can find it on specialist websites now at a decent concentration and for a very good price (just search for pet-specific CBD).

Hi everyone, I gave my cat half a Clomicalm tablet as she’s been really stressed out and was suffering from recurrent stress-induced cystitis, with blood in her urine. After four days, she completely stopped peeing... the side effect of urinary retention. As if chronic cystitis wasn't enough, she’s now had to deal with urinary side effects on top of it. The vet suggested dropping the dose to a quarter, but she still wasn't peeing, so I decided to stop it yesterday. Thankfully she’s peeing again now, though not quite as much as usual yet... It’s hard enough having to medicate your cat, but when you see them suffering from side effects as well, I’d rather just stop everything. I'm hoping to find another solution to help her feel less bored and stressed...

Me again... I never get any replies... is that normal?

Hi everyone, I’ve reduced Sacha's dose to just a quarter of a tablet in the evening and he seems to be doing alright... Do you think this dose is okay, and can I reduce it further, i.e. a quarter every other day...?