How do I get a 12 year old cat to stop being terrified of other people ?

[Anonymous]

She loves me but she is scared of every other person. Makes going to The vet nearly impossible as they have to put her under general anesthesia just to look at her.

[Anonymous]

CBD pills for cats?
Can’t they mellow her out with something instead of putting her under?

The older they are, the more risky anesthesia gets, so if worse comes to worse, it might mean no vet visit at all.

[Anonymous]

At 12 she isn't changing. You probably just need to accept it and come up with different strategies to manage.

[Anonymous]

Pre meds? Is she equally scared of men and women? My buddy is scared of other people but does much better with women than men.

[Anonymous]

My 11 year old cat became much more open to others when we got two kittens. They are 5 now but while she doesn't love them - they seem to make her less anxious and more outgoing.

I had a cat who was impossible for the Vet to look at - finally she told me to just keep an eye on him and bring him in when I saw somethign off. They couldn't do a good exam anyway. Lived to be 19! I also have used vets who do house calls.

[Anonymous]

She’s 12. But why do you need to go to the vet — is she at some end of life sickness like kidney disease or something? Indoor cats don’t really need shots and don’t get hurt.

[Anonymous]

Buy some Rescue Remedy for cats. I think they sell it on Amazon.

[Anonymous]

perhaps the vet could prescribe gabapentin or diazepam (valium) for you to administer in advance.

if it's the travel that's the problem more than the people, there are home visit vets--they can do a lot but obviously not surgery or anything.

[Anonymous]

Prozac - you rub it into their ear and it helps a lot but you'd want to give it every day. I'd choose this if there are other situations that make her anxious (like visitors to your home) and not just vet visits.

Gabapentin is another good suggestion though not for everyday use, but that might help if it's mostly vet visits that are the issue.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:She’s 12. But why do you need to go to the vet — is she at some end of life sickness like kidney disease or something? Indoor cats don’t really need shots and don’t get hurt.

Indoor cats do get sick -- kidney disease, diabetes, IBD, asthma, arthritis, etc., etc. And of course they can get injured or eat something that makes them sick or whatever. This is a weird reply.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:She’s 12. But why do you need to go to the vet — is she at some end of life sickness like kidney disease or something? Indoor cats don’t really need shots and don’t get hurt.

Indoor cats do get sick -- kidney disease, diabetes, IBD, asthma, arthritis, etc., etc. And of course they can get injured or eat something that makes them sick or whatever. This is a weird reply.

NP...

I've had feral cats that never really fully tamed. At some point, leaving them alone is the best thing you can do for them. Say OP's skittish cat did have CRF? Giving fluids would be a nightmare.

[Anonymous]

Some cats won't respond to any meds for this. Mine never overcame her feral nature and could fight past any meds (e.g., 600mg Gabapentin vs my dog's 300mg/day; prozac; etc.). She truly tried to kill everyone but me. Perhaps to make it easier to get her there and sedated, they could give you something to dose her with that will calm her nerves before you leave home. They'll likely still have to sedate her if she's incredibly fearful as mine was.