EFFECTIVENESS OF BUSPIRONE ON URINE SPRAYING AND INAPPROPRIATE URINATION IN CATS

The most frequent type of behavior problem in cats for which veterinar y consultation is sought is problem urination. Urine spraying and urin e marking have been treated by use of long-acting progestins and diaze pam, a benzodiazepine antianxiety drug. Effectiveness of the nonbenzod iazepine antianxiety drug, buspirone, in suppressing urine spraying an d marking in 47 male and 15 female cats was evaluated. The effect of t he drug in correcting inappropriate urination in 9 cats also was evalu ated. Buspirone resulted in a favorable response (> 75% reduction) in 55% of cats treated for urine spraying or marking. There was no sex di fference in effectiveness of the treatment, but cats from single-cat h ouseholds responded favorably significantly (P < 0.001) less frequentl y than those from multiple-cat households. The 55% response rate was w ithin the range of treatment effectiveness that has been reported for diazepam, and was greater than that reported for progestin. In contras t to diazepam, with which over 90% of treated cats resumed spraying or marking when the drug was gradually discontinued, only half of the ca ts treated with buspirone resumed spraying when the drug was discontin ued after 2 months of treatment (P < 0.001). This difference between d iazepam and buspirone in resumption of urine spraying was attributed t o diazepam's induction of physiologic and behavioral dependency, not f ound with buspirone. Cats that resumed spraying were placed on long-te rm treatment ranging from 6 to 18 months. Buspirone also did not cause the adverse effects of sedation and ataxia, which commonly are seen w ith diazepam treatment. In cats treated for inappropriate urination, 5 6% returned to normal litter box usage. Buspirone appeared to be the d rug of choice for treating urine spraying and urine marking, and when combined with appropriate behavioral measures, buspirone is indicated for inappropriate urination as well.