TL;DR: Looking for anecdotal experience with behavioral medications for anxiety/OCD, especially Effexor/venlafaxine and Paxil/paroxetine.
Hi all,
My cat Whizzer (4yo, Maine coon/DSH mix) has a pretty complex case of anxiety with some OCD issues as well. Ever since I got him at 3 months old he has peed where he ought not (the irony of his name does not escape me but he was named after a musical lol). He has compulsive episodes where he will scratch for extended periods at my closet door, his water fountain (he has flooded the kitchen on a few occasions), and a few other specific places around the apartment. He only ever pees on soft goods – my bedspread, my beanbag chair, bathmats, piles of clothes, etc., and I think I’m narrowing down the cause to be a combination of OCD issues around the litterbox and slight changes to his environment. For example, I’m slowly switching out all my plastic litterboxes to stainless steel and we have had a peeing episode every time I have removed a plastic box.
When I say his anxiety is complex I mean this poor boy has had a few instances of making himself physically ill with anxiety. He has held in his poop a few times (his record is a week), he has made himself gag and vomit, and he has had a few anorexic episodes.
We have tried pretty much any solution you can think of, and have been working on finding a medication that works for him. He was on Prozac for two years but after the second ER trip from making himself ill we decided to switch to Amitriptyline and have been on it for about 6 months. He has not made himself sick since starting his new meds but still has a peeing incident every week or two. My concern is he is now showing a little aggression towards his sister, who is 1/3 his size and VERY loud about her displeasure. He has also gained about 4 pounds (he is 18 pounds now and I’d say 15 is ideal for his size). It is also difficult to administer medication to him as he spits it out, and even though we got a transdermal applicator he still fights me when I go to apply it.
I am working with a behaviorist who recommended Effexor (venlafaxine) and I have also been reading about Paxil (paroxetine). I’d love to hear from owners who have tried multiple classes of medication about their experiences! We are seeing our vet on Saturday to discuss and I’d love to go in as informed as possible.
