menopause sch-menopause

I re-started my Herceptin treatments as of last Friday (11/15).  In light of my H-induced cardiomyopathy, my Medical Oncologist recommended weekly H treatments instead of every 3 weeks.  Supposedly this dosing schedule will be better for my heart.  My dose last week was to be a 're-loading' dose and was administered over 90 minutes.  I was told then that each following week would only be a 30 minute treatment.  So, today I arrive for treatment with just my cellphone to keep me company.  Unfortunately, THIS week was also to be administered over 90 minutes, and so I was quite bored.  Of course, the time for the dose to be administered (or the 'drip time') does not account for the time that one waits while the pharmacist readies your medications, the nurses tend to other patients, etc.  For instance, last week I was there for several hours...today, I was there for 4 hours.  I was also supposed to start my Zoladex shot today, but my nurse went to ask the pharmacist a question about my meds and he pointed out that that shot should also be administered monthly, not every three months, as that is the suggested dosage for anyone with a cardiac history.  The nurse informs me and then points out that on the plus side, the needle is a smaller gauge for the monthly shot.  *whew*  I have no idea what size the needle for the shot is...but, I am admittedly a little scared now ;)  With the dosage change, I have to wait until next week to start that med.  At least I won't have any major menopausal symptoms for Thanksgiving ;)

On another note...our middle fur kid, AJ, is 'quarantined' at the moment.  She has been peeing outside of her litter box...despite the fact that 2ie cleans them often and there are 4 litter boxes for 3 kitties.  She knows where they are located, has no problems going up and down the stairs or through the kitty door to get there.  She will follow you down to the basement and back up again, so you know she can do it.  However, about a month ago, we started finding puddles in front of the fridge.  After 2 clean ups, she stopped...or so we thought.  Now, earlier this week, we found a puddle under the piano...that would be the first of several.  After each scrub of the carpet and floor with cleaner, she would wait nearly a whole day, lulling us in to a false sense of security that she wouldn't be doing it again...but, alas, she would squat (even right in front of 2ie) and pee.  We took her to the vet yesterday and she doesn't have a temperature or any noticeable physical symptoms that would be causing this behavior.  The vet ran blood work and it all came back normal, again ruling out any physical symptoms.  They also wanted to run a urinalysis.  We left AJ at the vet's office so that they could run blood work and collect the urine sample.  Of course, we are 'those' parents and called to check in on our little angel just a few hours later.  At this point, we were informed that she was quite scared and that they didn't think she'd pee for them (apparently, there were several other canine patients that were quite vocal and since she is not accustomed to that, she was quite scared, not to mention her unfamiliar surroundings).  I picked her up, brought her home, and put her in the bathroom with food, water, a blanket and a litter box with plastic bead litter so that we could collect any urine and take it in for analysis.  Of course, she didn't pee all day...until...around 10 pm...when she not only peed, but she flipped the box over (either when jumping out or when trying to bury it).  I had to clean up all those annoying plastic beads and cat pee (*ugh!*).  At that point, I let her run free.  After all, I had pee to scrub up.  2ie and I collaborated and decided to give her more 'pee pebbles' and put in more glass beads (think those types that you would put in a flower vase)...and 2ie duct taped her litter box to the floor so it wouldn't flip.  She has been in the bathroom since 11 AM this morning...and still no pee (it's almost 11 PM).  She is eating and drinking.  No accidents anywhere else in the room.  The vet said that cats can hold their urine for quite some time.  Hopefully she pees soon so she can roam free again.  The other 2 kids have sniffed at the door, pawed at her, and she paws back.  It's sad.  Her behavior is normal other than the peeing outside of the litter box.  She hasn't pooed anywhere outside of the box (that we have found).  She still plays with her sisters and with her mommies.  She eats...she drinks.  She climbs in to her Miller Lite box, gets comfy and takes a nap.  All normal stuff.  *lol*  Any ideas or suggestions as to how to change her bad behavior?