Prozac is a powerful prescription drug that is prescribed to humans suffering from bouts of chronic depression. It is meant to enhance the mood of those that are feeling depressed, and therefore it works on the chemicals in the brains to produce good feelings and a return to normal activities.
The problem with giving it to your cat is three-fold. One, you have to be sure that you’re properly diagnosing your cat with depression. Two, Prozac is not made for cat. And three, Prozac pills are not the right dose of Fluoxetine for a cat. The combination of these reasons is why you shouldn’t just start giving your cat Prozac as if it’s no big deal.
Cats are normally quiet and reserved, so it can be hard to notice a change in their behavior that would make you think they’re depressed. It’s also important to make the distinction between feeling sad and being depressed. There’s a big difference between the two. They don’t prescribe Prozac for feeling sad. Cats can get sad sure, but can they get depressed. It’s highly unlikely.
Can I Give My Cat Prozac? No!
Prozac is formulated and dosed for human consumption. This is further tailored by your doctor, who gave you the right dosage based on your size and the severity of your depression. Giving it to your cat could lead to far worse problems than depression, and you should avoid giving it to them. As a responsible owner, you owe it to your cat not to treat them like a science lab.
Find Out What’s Wrong
Depression is something that animals just can’t get. If you think that your cat is depressed, it’s probably something that you’re transferring to them. What cause would a cat have of getting depressed? They don’t know they’re going to die, they don’t work a lousy 9-5 job, they don’t have family dynamic issues, they don’t have to do hard manual labor, they don’t have to worry about the economy, they don’t know about natural disasters, they don’t watch the news, they don’t eat unhealthy foods, there’s really no reason why they would sit around questioning their own existence.
However, if you’ve been diagnosed with depression, perhaps you’re interpreting some of your cats behavior as depression. They sleep a lot, and that’s one sign of depression in humans. But for cats that’s the norm. Some people have said that a cat can get depressed when there’s a change in their situation, and can even show signs of sadness when they lose a pet friend in the house. Perhaps their behavior changes, perhaps they do things differently, but to call it depression and treat it with powerful medication is taking it a step too far.
Get Proper Treatment
By accurately diagnosing what’s wrong with your cat, your vet can advise on what the proper course of action is going forward. If they are showing signs of being sad, or their behavior has changed and they are acting out of sorts, your vet may in fact prescribe a pet form Fluoxetine, which is the generic name for Prozac. It will be specially formulated and dosed for your cat, so there will be fewer concerns with how they’ll react to it.
Don’t Play Vet
Vets are pretty amazing people because they’re like a doctor to the nth degree. They not only have to know everything that can go wrong with a cat, but also every different cat breed as well as dogs, birds, and other pets. They get years and years of medical training to be able to do what they do. When you think of taking a prescription medication for humans and giving it to your cat you are basically making a mockery of their profession, as if you could accurately diagnose and then treat a feline condition with a human medication.
Don’t do it. You could end up causing serious and irreversible damage to your cat. Surely their problem is not as dire as it seems, and they are most likely not suffering from depression. It is a human quality to apply our problems to animals. If we weren’t around, no one would be telling a cat it’s depressed.