Janet B wrote:
On 26 May 2005 09:35:09 -0700, "-L." wrote:


Nope - usually she's "looking" for us (even though we're far from
hiding!! These days, it's when she wakes up, almost like she's
disoriented.

This is common in elderly animals.

She also does it early in the morning ("get up and FEED
me"). It used to be in the middle of the night primarily, and when we
first settled in the family room for the evening. Both seemed to be
satisfied when she "found" us. She's been doing that to some extent,
for her whole life.

Oh, ok. It doesn't sound like pain-induced vocalization then. I was
just a bit concerned when you said she vocalizes a lot since that can
be pain-induced and/or a sign of hyperthyroidism.


She actually usually has a pretty good play session with the other cat
in the late evening. But then he comes and sleeps with us.

The reason I mention it is because if she is really tired she's more
likely to sleep most of the night and less likely to urinate
inappropriately. There is also some school of thought that cats who
don't get much exercise tend to be prone to develop IC and other LUT
issues.


X-rays have shown no signs of arthritis.

Humm...she is a hard case! You have pretty much exhausted my ideas on
what might be causing the strange behaviors. Most of the time when
people call me for behavioral issues it's pretty easy to track down the
causes, or at least to get some relief. Since the Elavil worked for a
short time, I'd be inclined to think about the IC diagnosis more and
see if there are any other treatments your vet recommends. I know
keeping the cat as unstressed as possible goes a really long way in
keeping IC episodes from flaring up. Maybe the Prozac will give some
releif once it kicks in (which should be sometime in the next two weeks
or so - it tends to take that long for serum levels to get to
therapeutic highs.) I also wonder about the late birth - it probably
has something to do with her strange behaviors. It's pretty rare for a
cat to birth kittens that far apart.

If you'd like to discuss this further (or anything else about your
kitties), feel free to email me at the address in the header. I hope
you can get some solution!

-L.