I explained about "marking territory" style of peeing he adopted shortly after I adopted him and Binq from the shelter last year. Raised butt, tail-twitching, seeking distance and coverage. I cautiously mentioned suggestions of the cause and cure from some of you ("cautious" because no professional really wants to hear a client's opinion of causes and cures).
So I asked about incomplete neutering, UTIs, and stress. I asked about how those could be tested for and of course anything else she could recommend. She took it well (years of bureaucratic office work taught me how to politely ask some things of experts, LOL).
She felt him up pretty thoroughly (whoo-hoo!) and decided Taz was properly neutered so it wasn't that in his case. So much for that possibily. Then she took him away ("for 10 minutes") for a urine sample and testing. Half an hour later (thank goodness for free green tea and a cat magazine to read, but why do they always lie about how long it will take?) and reported no signs of urine crystals or infection. So much for that possibility.
So we discussed stress. She asked about his "normal squatting and peeing" and was surprised when I said that I had never seen him do that. She asked another way, and I assured her it was always "marking" style. That surprised her but seemed to nail down the problem as stress. OK, that was the answer I expected, but also the hardest to deal with.
So I explained about Laz. How he arrived here in mental distress, seemed to get other it, how Laz and Lori becme best friends, how that ended suddenly when Laz's mental demons re-emerged and he started attacking her badly.
And how, when I adopted Taz and Binq a week later (seeking calmer playmates for Lori), she suddenly developed diarrhea and rejected both of them with whaps and fussies. Which I originally blamed Taz for, but finally realized Lori was initiating.
And how Taz had gone from peeing on the bed once a month, then once a week, then sometimes daily. But also how Taz seemed to be a happy cat otherwise. I think the idea that Taz adores me, likes Marley and Binq, eats and plays normally confused her a bit. I guess that, normally, a stressed cat is not like that.
She asked about his food. Wet food all the way (well a few kibbles tossed on the floor to chase), various flavors (so no apparent allergies), almost always Fancy Feast (though I occasionally try "better" brands - which The Mews don't like much). She asked about how much water Taz drinks. I've actually never seen him drink water. But there is a small pond in the back yard (and I have had a few cats who only drank from the pond). Or maybe he is a secret night-time toilet bowl drinker.
I mentioned that I have tried calming collars and alway use Feliway dispensers. She is not impressed by calming collars (but said they certainly cause no harm) but encouraged using Feliway (which I have been for at least a decade). So we came home with a bottle of 10 mg Paroxetine tablets for both Taz and Lori to take daily for "chill".
We will see how that works out...
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There is some good news and some silly news. The good news is that I haven't heard much fussing the past week. Maybe Lori is adjusting to Taz and Binq "some". And for the past couple weeks, her poops have some shape to them. Not entirely normal (I'll spare you the details). But "better is better" and I'll take that for now. And there are some days when Lori and Taz sit within paw-reach and nothing happens. Maybe I just need to stay patient.
Other good news was that we discovered Taz was overdue for his annual rabies shot. It was supposed to be last month, but I didn't get the usual email notice from the Vet. She said that is usually automatic and will look into it. So he got his shot while we were there.
There are 2 silly news items. First, I discovered recently that of Marley's 2 kidney-care diet (Hill's and Royal Canin) Royal Canin is mostly pig liver. I think I mentioned that previously. But the Royal Canin cans don't list the ingredients. The cans just say E, D, and T. A Petco staff member was able to find out that they are all based on pig liver. One is just pig liver, one is pig liver with some chicken. The other is like that but with some salmon
But the Vet said she looked up the initials once. The letters mean nothing! E= Enticing, D=Delicious, and T=Tasty. Talk about uninformative... I suppose mentioning pig liver would turn off some customers. And I have no idea whatsoever why pig liver is good for kidney problems, LOL!
Second, I was reading a Modern Cat magazine while waiting. One article mentioned that cat fur color has no influence on personality. Another article said that it does. The contradiction in the same magazine was hilarious and when I showed that to the Vet she cracked up.