Tuesday, Jimmy went out of the box against the living room window. Yes-the window, window sill, under the window to the foam insulation, behind that to the screen and sill on the outside; down the wall, under the baseboards, through the cracks between floor boards, down the chest, under the legs, etc. It took an hour to clean with my husband doing the outside work and me cleaning up the mess inside. And we both cleaned and moved the chest (in place because you don't want to inadvertently spread urine.)
Last week, he went against the wall at the top of the landing, a favorite place of Myrna's. That was easy. This was beyond difficult.
After wiping up the urine, I used cleanser, then bleach on the wood, window, screens, floor, chest, etc. Where it might actually bleach out color, I used sparingly. But the wood interior sill wouldn't stop smelling so I kept soaking it in bleach. Finally, I used a wet paste of baking soda and have left it soaking for a few days. I'll eventually wipe it up and vac and sweep and let it dry and make sure the smell is gone.
He has had accidents a few times this summer but on pads around litter boxes for the most part, nothing this horrifying since his issues first began in 2010. When he first began urinating out of the box in 2010, we tried everything-new boxes, new litter, calming sprays, changing placement of boxes, adding boxes, monitoring his use of and the time it took for him to go; monitoring behavioral cues; using behavioral training techniques; finally adding Prozac to the mix. We've titrated up Prozac as needed as time went by, all with success. He began to be normal by 2013, and only had one or two accidents against litter pads in the last two years. Then this summer he went about four times, and has gone three times since fall including this week. That's about seven accidents in six months, more than in the last three years put together.
I took him to the vet yesterday for blood work of CBC/chem panel and fructosamine to test his sugar levels as he is pre-diabetic (discovered a couple years ago.) If there is too much sugar in the urine, the bladder fills quickly and the body wants to "dump" it as soon as possible, and the cat feels it must go immediately. (And if there are reasons why they choose a certain site, it's difficult to discern as to why they chose that spot other than it might be cool or comforting-if they have a UTI for example. But why a window?) The CBC/chem panel shows some dehydration and some ticking up of kidney values. Those can be related but typically seen only in extreme cases of dehydration and a decline in electrolytes. And there are none. And his SDMA kidney value test was normal. We will get the fructosamine results in a few days.
Meanwhile, we are trying a calming treat solliquin the vet suggested. We add it to his food. http://www.solliquin.com/
The vet also suggested we increase the Prozac. We had in August but by late September, he began showing signs of anger management issues and fighting with his sisters (psychotropics can increase anger as well as increase feelings of happiness.) We decreased the dose. He was fine. But now he's had two accidents. We increased it again to .19 from .17. She suggested we get it over 2.0 and if he gets angry, increase dose to see if he becomes less angry.
What is difficult is that we started from zero in 2010 and built a successful approach that included training, boxes, litter, paying close attention to cues, and meds. There is no other successful med other than Prozac, that if Prozac stops working, there is nothing more effective. In fact, most other meds are less effective for controlling anxiety and litter box use. It was working. But if it is no longer working, and we have done all there is, what more do we do to solve the problem?
Pray of course. Increase Prozac if possible. Clean more thoroughly (the house is clean but I have not washed walls and baseboards in months and probably should since Roxanne has been running around the house and is no longer confined-not that she's had an accident but to make the place smell more neutral.)
I'll ask the vet about any concerns regarding his kidney values. May need to pay attention there. And he needs a urine test and he did not have a bladder on Friday.
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