Cat with sore on hind leg - Amitriptyline and Tresaderm?

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femcat@nospam.com - 24 Aug 2005 21:02 GMT

A few months ago I wrote about my mom's cat and a recurring
sore she had on her right hind leg. She would constantly lick it and
bite at the hair around it. The vet put her on Tresaderm and a small
dosage of an anti-inflammatory.

Well, the sore never quite went away (possibly because when I wasn't
visiting, my elderly mom couldn't apply the Tresaderm daily).

Anyway, the vet wants to continue with the Tresaderm, and doesn't want to
use any more steroids (although she wasn't on the corticosteroid for
longer than 2 weeks). Actually, I'm happy about that. However, he has
prescribed a small dosage of Amitriptyline (an old tricyclic anti-
depressant), from which I understand from surfing the web, is not unusual
for cats.

He thinks the cat might be bored or a little depressed (my mom suffers
from anxiety and depression and also takes an old tricyclic (Imipramine)
in addition to her Xanax!) Sure enough, it's been too weeks of Tresaderm
and 5mg of Amitriptyline in her food each night, and the hair has grown
back and it's hard to see any remnants of a sore.

There's also an old dirty carpet in the living room that she may be
allergic to and we've been meaning to get rid of for years. I'm looking
for someone to lift it up, scrape up the dried rubber (which is almost
sand at this point) underneath, and then polish the wood floor. It's not
easy to find people who are strong enough to lift TV's and bookcases, and
do that work. Needless to say, I will never again buy carpets. They get
dirty, need to be cleaned constantly, are major allergy causers, are a
pain to remove.

Any and all comments would be greatly appreciated.

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Howard C. Berkowitz - 24 Aug 2005 22:48 GMT

> A few months ago I wrote about my mom's cat and a recurring
> sore she had on her right hind leg. She would constantly lick it and
[quoted text clipped - 10 lines]
> depressant), from which I understand from surfing the web, is not unusual
> for cats.

The tricyclics are still quite useful drugs, with different side effect
profiles than some of the newer groups such as selective serotonin
reuptake inhibitors (SSRI, such as Prozac). Indeed, the tricyclics tend
to be helpful for chronic pain, while the newer classes are not.

> He thinks the cat might be bored or a little depressed (my mom suffers
> from anxiety and depression and also takes an old tricyclic (Imipramine)

Imipramine and amitriptyline are from slightly different families of
tricyclics. Generally, they are interchangeable, although the imipramine
family tends to be more stimulating than the amitriptyline family. In
people, it usually takes about 3 weeks for TCAs to become effective for
depression.

If they work for pain, that's almost immediate, and we don't know why.

I have absolutely no idea how long TCAs take to work for feline
depression.

Try to tell if your mother's cat's mouth is dry -- that's often the
limiting side effect of amitriptyline. If that's a problem -- as it was
for me -- going to nortriptyline usually minimizes it.

> in addition to her Xanax!)

I'd make the observation that Xanax is the most addicting of its class,
the benzodiazepine tranquilizers. If it's doing its job, don't break it,
but clonazepam (Klonepin) is probably safer.

>Sure enough, it's been too weeks of Tresaderm
> and 5mg of Amitriptyline in her food each night, and the hair has grown
> back and it's hard to see any remnants of a sore.

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-L. - 25 Aug 2005 08:01 GMT

> A few months ago I wrote about my mom's cat and a recurring
> sore she had on her right hind leg. She would constantly lick it and
> bite at the hair around it. The vet put her on Tresaderm and a small
> dosage of an anti-inflammatory.

I am glad the vet found a treatment that worked. Sounds like kitty was
having anxiety and self-mutilating.

I hate carpeting, personally. It's so difficult to keep it clean when
one has pets. You might check your "handyman" section of your local
newspaper or small, local classifieds paper (like Pennysaver), and see
if you can get someone to remove the carpets and pad. (Be sure you
have hardwoods under the carpet before preceeding or you will have to
replace the carpet with some other type of flooring.)

best of luck,

-L.

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femcat@nospam.com - 27 Aug 2005 03:42 GMT

"-L." <gentleboa@peacemail.com> wrote in news:1124953280.813286.105890
@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com:

>> A few months ago I wrote about my mom's cat and a recurring
>> sore she had on her right hind leg. She would constantly lick it and
[quoted text clipped - 14 lines]
>
> -L.

Thanks for the advice. There is hardwood and it's actually a beautiful
parquet floor. Years ago, carpeting in apartments was mandatory (and in
many buildings it still is). However, unless you're willing to buy a new
one every few years, even the best shampooing is going to leave it less
than clean. Remember that it's man-made.

So far so good with the Amitriptyline. I kid my mom that she got her cat
depressed! I've also heard that cats love soft music. I know she loves
to watch TV now and again (the cat, that is).

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