I've had some beef with Jack lately. He's been joyfully peeing on whatever he gosh darn pleases.
Some History on Jack
The Goal: To adopt a cat. We had been working with this 'Cat Lady' for months trying to find a cat that would 'fit our family,' but she always came up dry. A few days before my 21st birthday, she presented us with 'BlackJack.'
Jack was everything we weren't looking for. We wanted something small and cute, that didn't mind being picked up or played with. Jack could have been inbred with a panther- he was Sixteen pounds of pure muscle! Cat Lady let him out of his cage, and he responded to our pets by biting. All the other adoption pictures showed the new adopters fondly stroking their new addition to the family. Ours is of these two nervous people standing in front of a massive panther cat glaring at the camera from behind the bars of his carrier.
Fetal Urinary Syndrome
Jack, like most other cats, came fully litter box trained. The peeing problem began when we vacationed to Texas for a week, leaving Jack alone. A friend of the family stopped by once a day to replenish food, water and scoop litter. When we came back Jack was peeing on towels, clothes, and other soft niceties. When he peed on a plastic bag I saw blood, and so I took him to the vet.
Jack had Fetal Urinary Syndrome (FUS), a disease not too uncommon in male cats where the bladder can produce crystals that get caught in and cut the urethra. The vet said it could have been triggered from the stress of being alone on our first trip away since we had gotten him. After a few weeks of treatment he was all better. No more painful pee.
Bad Habits
Although the FUS is in remission, the bad habits remained. At first it wasn't so bad- it was limited to the bathroom mat. Then it moved to wet towels. Recently, and with our recent downgrade from a two floor, two bedroom to a single floor and one bedroom apartment, Jack pees on anything that is damp or left on the floor. The last straw came when he climbed in to a laundry basket full of freshly washed clothes and urinated on them! Enough is enough! Surely there is a solution.
Paxil Jack
We had changed some of our own behaviors toward Jack, thinking maybe we were stressing him out. That didn't work. Although I was fairly certain FUS wasn't the cause, I took him to the vet just to make sure.
Sure enough, it wasn't FUS. Apparently, my little kitty is anxious and depressed and needed the antidepressant PAXIL! I couldn't help but to crack up as I handed the pharmacist the prescription.
Apparently, my cat is a depressed, anxious mess.
But it does explain the his aggression, tearing up of furniture, and peeing everywhere. Unfortunately, such problems are one of the cons of adopting an animal. You have to be willing to deal with the physical or emotional trauma that they come with, and you can't give up at the first sign of a problem.
I hope this Paxil works! I've tried everything else, so this is a last resort. Come on, Jack! Give it a whirl!
Have you ever had behavioral issues with a pet?
Would you give your cat Antidepressants?
