Edison is lucky in several ways. See, he's still marking and if luck hadn't smiled on him he would be in deep yogurt looooong before now. He has no medical issues that might cause him to mark, so it's considered a behavioral problem. He started marking around February. We're not sure what triggered it, but best guess is that it has something to do with the kittens joining our home. They actually came to us in the fall, but they weren't fully integrated until some time later. I wonder if Smudgie's decline in health and the social changes that went along with that might play into Edison's problem. Lots of things could trigger sudden inappropriate urination and we'll pretty much never know for sure what it was that turned Edison into a feline sprinkler system.
He was on liquid Prozac (fluoxetine) for a week. It tasted disgusting (Kevin accidentally tasted it) and Edison was not at all keen on taking it. He spat it out, hacked it up and sneezed it away into the stratosphere, basically expelling it from his mouth in any way he could. I think there was a miscommunication between the doctor and myself and that's why Eddie was prescribed the liquid version and not the pill. He's actually quite easy to pill.
Anyway, it takes a toll on a man when his kitty doesn't want to be around him bc said man might try to squirt some nasty stuff into the kitty's discriminating mouth. Kevin really didn't like giving Edison the Prozac. Edison would try to avoid him, he was all hard to handle (without being nearly as cool as Otis Redding) and always spat out some of his dosage. So the vet told us to take Edison off the meds for a week and then try Elavil (amtriptyline). He's been on 1/4 tablet once a day for a couple of weeks now. Edison exhibited no change wrt marking or possible side effects (e.g., drowsiness; he's not supposed to drive a car or operate heavy machinery when using Elavil). He was recently upped to 1/2 tablet once a day.
He does seem a little mellower on this higher dosage. I like to think that's actually the case and I'm not just looking for it. He's still marking. It seems like all the drugs used for inappropriate urination take a few weeks to reach full effect. According to the doctor, the dosage range for a cat Eddie's size (approx. 11-12 lb.) is 2.5 mg/day (1/4 tablet, Edison's starting dose) - 12.5 mg/day (1.25 tablets). This website says cats usually are prescribed 5-10 mg/day. I can definitely see Eddie's dosage being increased.
BTW, I believe the use of these human drugs for pets is considered off-label use, i.e., the drug is used for something other than that which is listed as its intended use.
I really, really, really hope this works. If Elavil doesn't work, we'll try Prozac again, but in tablet form. We only gave the liquid form to him for a week, which isn't a fair shake. We'll also get some of those Feliway products that are supposed to diffuse 'a natural substance, odorless to humans, that mimics a cat's facial pheromones to calm cats in stressful environments '. Uh-huh. The plug-in says it 'effectively ends urine marking'. Mm-hmm. I think Eddie's wound kinda tightly; I don't know if a pheromone plug-in's going to do the trick, but it may help. I certainly don't want to diaper the little guy, although I would do that as a very last resort.
Then, once he stops marking, it will be time for a cleaning fest to try and salvage some things around the house that he's marked. We've been cleaning the urine up when we find it, but sometimes we don't find it right away. Those things will need big time cleaning and I expect to make generous use of bleach and the summer sun. One of his favorite targets is The Comfy Chair. Actually, we have Matching Comfy Chairs and he's peed on both of them, but his preferred target is Kevin's Comfy Chair. I just about broke down and cried when Edison peed on those most wonderful and comfy of chairs. I think they may be goners.
But back to his luck. Why is he lucky? He's lucky bc we still love him to pieces even though he's evidently got a bee in his bonnet about something and the only way he's able to express himself is by, well, expressing himself.
He's lucky that he's so cute and adorable...
...and that he's so good with the kittens...
...and that Kevin loves him to the moon and back...
...but mostly bc he hasn't peed on my beloved porch yet.... Yet. There better not be any yet about it or it'll be bang, zoom, straight to the moon for Edison.
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