Cat Chat Feline Forum

Took a cat in after she severly scratched her L eye and ear, rendering both only minimally working. Vet said she has both male/female organs (presents female). She was prescribed amitriptyline but it is impossible to get it into her. Tried whole and pulverized in tuna, crab, cream, shredded cheese, treats, cooked meats, meat broths.... everything. We are unable to force med into her - have to "burrito" her in a towel - she is amazingly strong and will cause harm with her teeth and claws as she gets away. Tech says both sex organs causes her to have raging hormones which causes her wicked behavior. She is stressing out our other animals. If I can't get this med into her I'll have to turn her over to the county spay and release program - local non profit says she is not adoptable and will not take her. We cannot afford to fix her to possibly correct the hormonal imbalance as it cost $300+ USD to get her healthy. She will not fare well outside of a protected environment. Any suggestions for getting this med into her? (I tried a smidge of it - it numbed my tongue for quite a while. No wonder....) If I can get her on the meds and show that she is adoptable on medication, they will take her and she will have a much better chance for her health and safety.

Hi and welcome. It’s great that you’re looking out for this cat. I am unsure what you mean about the medication though - the Amitriptyline, I presume you mean to take temporarily not permanently? I wouldn’t advise the latter.

If the vet is suggesting amitriptyline long term, it would be kinder to her to find someone who will neuter her - what do you mean by wicked behaviour?

So rather than turning her over to the spay and release programme, would the same programme not help with neutering her and returning to you the cost would be the same to them or less if you contributed what you could, short or long term meds is not going to be the answer due to the meds used and her behaviour