Cats & Mirtazapine (Page 8)

Our 13 year old Maine Coon mix is in the last stages of renal failure. We didn't know anything was wrong until about a month ago when she stopped eating. It's been up and down ever since her diagnosis. Our vet prescribed Mirtazapine but, after reading the many negative comments, we put off giving it to her as long as we could. We finally had to because the effects of not eating in cats are liver shutdown and death. She's had no serious adverse reaction to Mirtazapine, and it has definitely helped her appetite. It is buying her a little more quality time with us.

I certainly wouldn't use or give this drug lightly, but as some posters have noted, in the end it's a risk v.s benefit judgment call.

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I'm sorry to hear your cat died. My 16 year old cat has kidney disease, high thyroid, high blood pressure and constipation issues. He is medicated twice a day and at the moment is doing relatively well.

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Thanks for your input. However, cats are not 'its', they are either 'he' or 'she', the same as with humans. Inanimate objects are 'it's.

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What nonsense you are writing. I am in the US and the vet prescribed Mirtazapine for my cat at a dose of 2.5 mg every 3-4 days, much lower than your UK vet prescribes. So lay off with your insults! Your veterinarian in the UK must be an *****!

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Has anyone used Transdermal martazapine? My cat will no longer take any pills but when she did just 1/8 of a 3.75mg martazapine pill was highly
Effective for appetite stimulation. When I gave her the equivalent dose Transdermally it didn't seem to do anything. I gave her a second dose per my vet and she still doesn't seem to have an appetite like she does with the oral medication. My vet said I can increase again but she has increased tremors as a side effect. Any thoughts or experiences would be greatly appreciated!!

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Oyr 16 yr old has renal failure too and gets 1/4 tablet every 3 days. We dissolve in a 3ml oral syringe. Pull the end off, drop then drop it in. Put the plunger back on and then suck up about 1/2 ml if water give or take. I pull the stopper back a bit extra so the air pushes the liquid out when we give it to him. With finger on the end I shake it to keep it mixed. Much easier to administer.

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Thank you for sharing. I wish you and your fur baby good health!!

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Hi I'm based in the London and my vet prescribed 2x 2mg mirtazapine tablets for £7.60.1 tablet every 48 hrs.

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My cat has CKD and had stopped eating and the vet prescribed Mertizipine 2.5 ml every three days. She did eat but she became very restless and started howling and she seem uncomfortable with this medication. I started giving her Kidney Support Gold and after about ten days I took her off Mertizipine and that now has been about 4 months and she eats very well and seems to feel well overall. No more Mertizipine. She does get Famotidine twice a day for nausea which accompanies CKD.

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how long after giving your cat the first dose did it take for your cat to start eating?

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From north west UK. Last week we lost our little cat Ronnie; she was 20 years and 3 months old. Her twin sister Reg went into mourning. They both have / had thyroid trouble and have been on Hills thyroid diet. Ron had a stroke over night and we found her in a bad way in the early morning. We took her to the vet who said she was beyond help and sent her to sleep. Poor Reg wouldn't eat or drink and wandered round looking for Reg, it was terrible. We had showed her the body of Ron before burial and Reg said her goodbyes, then She just gave up. There wasn't much of her anyway a tiny little thing. We took her to the vet expecting the worse. I pleaded with the vet to give her an appetite stimulant that I had heard / read might jolt her out of the blues. The vet rang someone and they suggested a pill of mirtazapine. They explained the side effects and we thought it was worth the risk. They gave her the pill, that night was horrible. She was staggering like a drunk, her head tilted to one side meowing constantly. We took turns on death watch 3 hours each all night, trying to comfort Reg. We really did think we had done the wrong thing, then she fell asleep. Then in the morning she was a bit brighter and started to drink some water. I put her some food out, a pouch of the high value recovery sensitive stuff they have for after operations. We were gob smacked she wolfed the lot down and fell asleep, woke up an hour later straight to the food bowel and ate again. For 3 days she has been eating like a hungry dog. We are hoping she will pick up now and she is back in tomorrow for a check up. She didn't have the strength to morn her sister, she was tiny, but we are hoping that she will have a few more months. We know at her age there isn't much longer for her, but we didn't want to let her go without trying everything that we could.

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My 17 year old cat responded favorably to Mirtazipine, but having to shove pills in her mouth was beyond unpleasant for both of us. I now give her the transdermal version, and life is much better. Sometimes it takes slightly longer to work - a few hours vs. 45 minutes with the pills. She is tiny, just under 6/5 pounds, so I give her half the usual prescribed dose (3.75mg) as needed, which varies from every 3 days to every 2 weeks. Sometimes she gets a little 'twitchy' with it. But she eats, which is critical. You just rub the stuff on the inside of their ear flap. She doesn't love it, but it is nothing like the pill. It's getting to where she stays still and lets me do it without caring all that much. It's been a life saver. Literally.

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Its depend on how caf reacted, my cat reacted aeting 10 min after, but then also reacted fo side effect that scare me, he drolling, faster breathing and whinning.... He finally calmed down after 5 hours but still litle bit fast breathing, and could not sleep well...i prayed he will coped of the side effect and back well again- prayers needed

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Hi, I gave my 20 year old CKD cat a 3.75mg a dose of Mirtazapine tonight (5 hours ago) and was wondering if anyone could tell me how long it took the effects to wear off in their own cat?

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Re: merry (# 150)

That's such a very encouraging story. My 15 year old cat , beautiful Bella Boo has heart failure. She's so frail and fragile due to her weight loss. She's on diuretics and her breathing has vastly improved but sadly not her apitite . After much deliberation I took up the vets offer and gave fer some Mirtazapine . She responded quickly and seemed to enjoy her food and she does seem brighter. She's been prescribed it alternate days. I think I will carry on giving them to her.

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Re: karen (# 149)

Did you ever get an answer for how long it takes to kick in

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Re: Mary (# 151)

We have found if you buy soft treats, you can hide the pill. There is liver wurst and tuna and we found Purina Pro plan hairball remedy soft treats work. I just gave our cat this medicine and had increased vocalization, agaitan, rapid heart beat. We will be discontinuing useage for now.

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