Sertraline
“This page provides important general information for pet owners whose animals have been prescribed Sertraline during a consultation by Dr Noor.”
Sertraline
(ser-tra-leen)
Description:
This medicine belongs to a group often called SSRIs. This means it changes how the body handles a brain chemical called serotonin by reducing how quickly it is taken back up.
Other Names for this Medication:
- Zoloft®
Common Dosage Forms:
- For animals: there is no standard veterinary-made form.
- For people:
- tablets of 25 mg, 50 mg, and 100 mg
- a liquid taken by mouth that is 20 mg per mL
This handout does not include every piece of information that exists about this medicine, and it has not been reviewed by the FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine. It is meant to help with common questions, but it does not replace medical advice. If you need more details or have questions about this medicine, contact your veterinarian or your pharmacist.
Key Information
- When sertraline is used to help with behavior, it usually works best when it is used together with a behavior-change training plan.
- It can take days to weeks before you can tell whether this medicine is helping.
- You may give sertraline with food or without food. If your animal throws up or seems unwell after getting it on an empty stomach, give the next dose with food or a small treat. If vomiting keeps happening, contact your veterinarian.
- The side effects seen most often are drowsiness and eating less. Uncommon side effects can be serious, such as seizures and aggressive behavior; if you notice these, contact your veterinarian right away.
- Taking too much can be very dangerous. Store it where animals and children cannot reach it.
- Tell your veterinarian if your animal has worn a flea and tick collar within the last 2 weeks. Do not use these collars while your animal is taking this medicine.
- Do not stop giving this medicine suddenly unless your veterinarian tells you how to do it.
How is this medication useful?
Sertraline is a medicine used to help manage behavior issues in dogs and cats, including aggressive behavior, repeated compulsive behaviors, and anxiety. It is also used to help stop horses from weaving.
What should I tell my veterinarian to see if this medication can be safely given?
Many different factors can change how well this medicine works for your animal. Share the following information with your veterinarian so you can make the best choices together.
- Some medicines can cause problems when used at the same time as sertraline. Tell your veterinarian and pharmacist about everything your animal receives, including vitamins, supplements, and herbal products. Also include how much you give and when you give each one.
- Certain chemicals in flea and tick collars may not mix well with sertraline. Tell your veterinarian if your animal has worn one of these collars in the last 2 weeks. Do not put one of these collars on your animal while this medicine is being given unless you have talked with your veterinarian first.
- Tell your veterinarian about any health problems your animal has now, or has had before.
- If your animal has been treated in the past for the same problem, tell your veterinarian whether the earlier treatment helped or did not help.
- If your animal is pregnant or nursing, discuss with your veterinarian what risks may come with using this medicine.
- Tell your veterinarian and pharmacist about any past medicine reactions or side effects your animal has had, including allergic reactions, not wanting to eat, diarrhea, itching, or hair loss.
How long until I will know if this medication is working, and how long will the effects of this medication last?
You usually need to give several doses before you notice any change. The strongest effect may not show up until your animal has taken it regularly for a few weeks. Improvement is often gradual until the medicine reaches its full effect.
This medicine has effects that last a moderate amount of time. This means the effects may continue for a few days. The helpful effects may last longer if your animal’s kidneys and/or liver are not working as well.
When should this medication not be used or be used very carefully?
No medicine is completely safe for every patient. Your veterinarian will talk with you about any concerns that apply to your animal.
This drug should be used WITH CAUTION in patients:
If your animal has any of the conditions listed below, talk with your veterinarian about the possible risks compared with the possible benefits.
- Animals that have an allergy to this medicine or to similar medicines (for example, fluoxetine or paroxetine).
- Using it together with a monoamine oxidase inhibitor (often shortened to MAOI), such as selegiline or amitraz, or using it within at least 14 days after stopping an MAOI.
- Animals with epilepsy or a past history of seizures.
- Animals that are usually aggressive.
- Animals with liver disease.
- Animals that are elderly, ill, weak, or frail.
What are the side effects of this medication?
Sertraline has not been used a lot in dogs and cats, so side effects in these species are not fully known. The effects listed here are based on other medicines in the same group.
Common but usually not serious side effects:
If you notice any of the signs below, you usually do not need to panic unless the signs are severe, get worse, or do not go away. If that happens, contact your veterinarian.
Side effects that may be serious or indicate a serious problem:
- Sleepiness or low energy.
- Eating less, vomiting, or diarrhea.
- Shaking, shivering, tremors, restlessness, or panting.
- More vocal sounds than usual, including whining.
- Skin that feels dry or itchy.
- Cats:
- being more irritable
- changes in sleep
- eating less
- changes in bathroom habits (needing to urinate or pass stool more often or less often than normal)
- Seizures or convulsions.
- Aggression (threatening actions or behavior).
If you notice any of these signs, contact your veterinarian immediately.
- Hyperexcitability (being overly excited).
If my animal gets too much of this medication (an overdose), what should I do?
Too much sertraline can lead to dangerous problems. If you see an overdose happen or think it may have happened, contact your veterinarian right away or call an animal poison control service for instructions.
How should this medication be given?
For this medicine to help, you must give it exactly the way your veterinarian directed. It is also smart to read the prescription label each time so you confirm you are giving it correctly.
- You can give sertraline with food or without food. If your animal vomits or seems sick when it is given on an empty stomach, try giving it with food or a small treat. If vomiting continues, contact your veterinarian.
- If your animal does not want to eat, try offering favorite foods by hand. This side effect often goes away, but if it does not, contact your veterinarian.
- If you are using a liquid form, measure it with care. Your veterinarian or pharmacist can provide special measuring spoons or dosing syringes.
- If giving the medicine is difficult, ask your veterinarian or pharmacist for ways to make dosing easier and less stressful.
- This medicine may be used for different lengths of time. Make sure you understand how long your veterinarian wants your animal to stay on it. You may need refills before treatment is finished. Before you stop the medicine, speak with your veterinarian, because there may be important reasons to keep using it.
- Do not stop giving this medicine all at once. The dose needs to be reduced slowly, or your animal may have unpleasant withdrawal signs such as vomiting, anxiety, and shaking.
What should I do if I miss giving a dose of this medication?
If you forget a dose, give it as soon as you remember. If it is almost time for the next dose, do not give the missed one; instead, give the next dose at the normal time. Then continue with the usual schedule. Do not give two doses at once and do not give extra doses.
How should I store this medication?
- Keep this medicine in the original prescription container, or in an approved pill organizer, at room temperature and away from direct sunlight.
- If your veterinarian or pharmacist has prepared a custom-made version (a compounded product) for your animal, follow the storage directions and the expiration date provided for that product.
- Store it where children and other animals cannot access it.
Can handling this medication be hazardous to me, my family, or other animals?
No special handling steps are needed unless you are allergic to this medicine. Wash your hands after you handle any medicine.
How should I dispose of this medication if I don’t use it all?
- Do not put this medicine into the toilet and do not pour it into a sink drain. If your area has a medicine take-back program, use that option.
- If there is no take-back program, combine the medicine with used coffee grounds or cat litter so it is unappealing to children and animals and not recognizable to someone searching through trash. Put the mixture into a sealable plastic bag to prevent leaks, and place it in the household trash.
- Do not keep leftover medicine to use later, and do not give it to anyone else.
What other information is important for this medication?
- When sertraline is used for behavior concerns, it usually works best when paired with behavior-change training.
- It may take several weeks before you and your veterinarian can decide whether sertraline is producing the behavior changes you want.
- Aged cheeses may react with sertraline. Do not give your animal aged cheeses while your animal is taking this medicine.
- This medicine may not be permitted in some animal competitions. Check the rules before entering your animal in a competition while your animal is receiving this medicine.
- Your veterinarian may want to do regular checkups and blood tests while your animal is on this medicine. Do not skip these follow-up appointments.
- If you have more questions about this medicine, contact your veterinarian or pharmacist.
“Disclaimer: The information on this page is provided as general educational material only. Every animal’s health situation is unique, and treatment decisions must be based on a full veterinary assessment. Always follow the specific instructions given during your consultation, and contact the prescribing veterinarian if you have any concerns.”