Cat guardians whose kitties begin acting strangely often get frustrated and upset with their cat’s bizarre behavior. Being unable to communicate with them verbally makes it even more difficult to pin-point the problem.
Many years ago, Sir Hubble Pinkerton, our loving, even-tempered Oriental Shorthair kitty’s behavior started changing dramatically. We knew he was upset when he began pacing aimlessly around the house for hours, yowling incessantly and starting to ritualistically trot around our garden tub three times precisely before using the litter box in the bathroom.
He also started to compulsively lick himself, tearing out huge chunks of hair. He often left bloody sores on his sensitive skin. He began spraying which complicated these symptoms. It was high time to call our veterinarian.
After taking an extensive history and giving him a thorough examination, she diagnosed Sir Hubble with Obsessive, Compulsive Disorder (OCD). The next step was finding the right behavior-modifying medication with which to treat him appropriately.
I was at my wit’s end when Prozac and Buspar only exacerbated his symptoms. And while Sir Hubble is not depressed, as a last ditch effort our holistic veterinarian prescribed Amitriptyline, a tricyclic antidepressant to help relieve his obsessive behavior. The medication worked like a charm. Within two weeks his symptoms had diminished. Sir Hubble stopped mutilating himself, his episodes of spraying abated, and the litter box no longer a scary monster.
Amitriptyline is a generic drug. At $8.00 for 60 pills; the drug’s cost is extremely reasonable. And for years we have been getting it from our local pharmacy. However, last week when I realized we were down to 8 pills and no further refills available, I asked my vet to call the pharmacy.
The next day I contacted the pharmacy to make sure the prescription was ready. But you can bet your bottom dollar that I was fighting mad when she told me no request had been made. I called the clinic and the vet tech told me she would immediately call them once again.
When I rang up the pharmacy, the assistant suggested I call back in the late afternoon to make certain it was ready for pick-up. But when I called she told me the medication was already out for delivery. Out for delivery? Since I hadn’t asked for delivery I was mystified. She explained that the pharmacist was so apologetic about the delay in refilling the prescription, as a courtesy he was having it delivered at no charge.
Hours later the deliveryman arrived. He said I had to pay for it since the account was in “suspense”. In “suspense”? Additionally, they were charging me a whopping $15.98 plus $3.00 for delivery. Now I was fighting mad. The deliveryman told me to call the pharmacy to work this out but fortunately gave me the pills.
But I went ballistic when the assistant told me that Sir Hubble Pinkerton had no account, which is why it was in “suspense”. Stunned, I informed her that Sir Hubble has no money, that he cannot work. She asked me if he was disabled. Choking on my words, I informed her that Sir Hubble is a CAT!
And since the pharmacist was not in, I won’t know the outcome until sometime this week. But I sure ain’t gonna pay no $15.98 for the meds, nor for the delivery. Perhaps I should borrow some of Sir Hubble’s pills to chill out before I call the pharmacy again.
What do you think? Tell us in a comment.
Jo I think the vet felt bad and shipped to you for free but didn’t realize you would have to pay – so I wouldn’t get angry at them for that unless you are sure they knew you would have to pay. Sounds like they were trying to help and it went wrong.
lol – that’s a funny story with a serious side too. I don’t know whether to laugh or cry 🙂
Poor Sir Hubble. I was worried I would have to give Gigi something to make her feel better like prozac – but she isn’t OCD – she is just plain old depressed I believe. I’m working on that though and it’s very slowly getting better – we play together in the evenings and I follow her routine pretty much after I get home so she has a bit of a nice time playing each evening and weekends. But if she doesn’t get back to normal I guess I will have to consider medication. If it works then it will likely be worthwhile – unless we can fix it without that!
I forgot to add that Sir Hubble looks beautiful. I vigetted the image a bit (faded the edges) to enhance his white coat. Hope you like the effect.
It seems that amytriptaline is a multi-purpose drug because I know its use (for people) as an anti-anxiety and mood enhancing drug.
Wow! That’s the medicine I’ve been on to prevent migraines. 21 years now and maybe half a dozen migraines when before it I was in the ER at least once a month.
We had to sedate Sheela after she came back to us after being terrorized by dogs and toddlers. It was one of those “pam” drugs. Almost $2 a pill. You got lucky with a cheap drug 🙂
I thought this was a great story because I didn’t see the fun bit at the end coming.
It is a nice mixture of a serious cat health problem and a bit of fun, which is the best way to inform people. Thanks Jo. I enjoyed it.
Your story does raise a lot of interesting questions and other topics too.
For example, is an anti-anxiety drug (amytriptaline) the best solution for feline OCD? It works which I am pleased to see and that makes it a good solution if others have failed.
Do you know the underlying cause of his OCD? As far as I know, one cause of feline OCD is stress. Stress can be caused by all kinds of things that might not be apparent. Jo, can I ask what what your vet said about causes?
Oriental Shorthairs are Siamese cats really and my research (some time ago admittedly) indicated that they do have a bit of a history of tending to have medical issues slightly more often than other cats.
This is one example:
https://pictures-of-cats.org/hepatic-amyloidosis-in-siamese-oriental-cats.html
Amytriptaline is used a lot to treat people with depression who have sleeping disorders. It is a very common mood enhancer-type drug.