Generally, veterinarians prescribe mirtazapine for cats who have health conditions that suppress their appetite, cause them to feel nauseous or experience vomiting, or prevent them from gaining back lost weight. Similar to how it affects humans when they take it for its anti-depressant properties, mirtazapine can boost cats' appetites and help them both keep food down and gain any weight back they lost due to illness or loss of appetite. When veterinarians prescribe mirtazapine for cats, the dosages usually are small and spaced days apart, which might be related to why overdose is rare.
Chronic renal failure (CRF) possibly is the most common reason to prescribe mirtazapine for cats. Other health conditions that leave cats with no appetite and nauseous or outright vomiting include pancreatitis and diabetes mellitus. Sometimes, older cats become lethargic and depressed and might benefit from the appetite-stimulating properties of mirtazapine. Veterinarians might avoid prescribing mirtazapine for cats who have liver problems or hyperthyroidism. Though, if no other option is available, a vet might prescribe this medicine with caution and instructions to closely monitor the cat.
A typical dosage of mirtazapine for cats is one dose every three days. Yet, this is average, and the exact mirtazapine dosage in milligrams, can vary depending on the cat’s age, current weight, and the health condition. The cat’s veterinarian will assess these factors before instructing the owner on how much mirtazapine to give the cat and how often to administer the medicine. Similar to how doctors monitor medications with humans, a veterinarian will observe how the mirtazapine works, or doesn’t work, for the cat. Before finding the right dosage, the veterinarian might make one or more adjustments to the level of mirtazapine and how often the owner administers it.
When humans take the medicine, they experience mirtazapine side effects like increased appetite, decreased nausea, and weight gain. Yet, these side effects are actually goals when veterinarians prescribe mirtazapine for cats. Some humans experience drowsiness and dry mouth when taking mirtazapine, though evidence that these are common mirtazapine side effects for cats remains unseen.
Given the normally infrequent dosing schedule, it’s not common for cats to overdose on mirtazapine. This is especially true if the veterinarian accurately assesses the appropriate dosage amount and the cat’s owner properly administers the medicine. Still, human error is a factor and cats can get into things they shouldn’t get into, so a cat owner should immediately contact her veterinarian whenever she notices adverse symptoms or behaviors not congruent with the cat’s present health condition.
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myharley
Post 4 |
@Mykol - I also believe that pets can go through periods of depression.
My cat has always gone through periods where her appetite was better sometimes than others. Usually in the summer when it is hot and she is more active, she loses weight and isn't interested in eating.
In the winter she isn't very active and seems to eat more and gain weight. Many cats are picky eaters and she has always been one of them.
I can't really use her appetite to judge whether she is feeling OK or not. I can tell my cat is under the weather when she has no interest in what is going on outside.
She is an indoor/outdoor cat and when the birds and bugs are flying around, she loves to be outside. We recently moved to a new place and she stopped eating and wouldn't go outside at all.
She weighed 12 pounds before we moved, and dropped down to 8 pounds within a month or so.
She was given a short round of Mirtazapine to see if this would perk her up a little bit and she might start eating again.
Thankfully it did the trick. I think the move was harder on her than I thought it would be, and it just took her awhile to get adjusted and in a new routine. |
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golf07
Post 3 |
My aging cat has quite a few health problems which include diabetes and kidney failure. Because of this she has become lethargic and very skinny.
She began taking Mirtazapine and it seemed to work for awhile, but now she is not eating very well again.
It is hard to see your pets have health issues like this as they can't tell you what they are thinking or feeling. You kind of have to guess by the way they are acting and what their appetite is like.
I was at the point where I was willing to try anything so she wasn't so thin and frail but don't know how much longer she will be around.
When she first started taking the Mitrazapine, I noticed an improvement in her, but now it doesn't seem to have much of an effect. |
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sunshined
Post 2 |
One of my cats is close to 20 years old which is old when it comes to the life span of a cat. He has never been a finicky eater like a lot of cats are.
The older he became, the harder it was to keep the weight off of him and he became a pretty big cat.
When he started losing weight and not eating, I knew something was wrong. My vet ran some tests and couldn't find anything specific that was wrong and attributed it to old age.
She gave him me some Mirtazapine to give my cat to see if that would increase his appetite. Even though it was beneficial for him to lose a few pounds, this was not a healthy way for him to do it.
The medication did seem to help and he showed an interest in eating again. That was about 6 months ago, and he is doing better and seems a little bit more interested in life than he was before. |
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Mykol
Post 1 |
I find it interesting that Mirtazapine is used for treating depression in adults and wonder if this might also be beneficial for cats.
When I had to put my dog to sleep, I think my cat went through a period of depression. They hung out together all the time, and my cat really missed the companionship.
She would mope around the house and wasn't interested in eating. When I talked to my vet about it he said to watch her for a few weeks and she didn't improve he would put her on some medication.
I am assuming he was talking about something like Mirtazapine. Thankfully, she perked up after a couple of weeks and I never had to go that route.
I also brought home a kitten and think that helped her from being so lonely during the day. |
