This is to invite you to participate in a behavioral/clinical pharmacologic research project I, Kelly Shanley, will be conducting this summer with the help and guidance of Lawrence Myers, DVM, MS, PhD and Dawn Boothe, DVM, MS, PhD, both of Auburn University's College of Veterinary Medicine. Recently published research has indicated that when evaluated after a single dose, transdermally administered amitriptyline had poor systemic absorption compared to oral amitriptyline. This lead us to the logical question, if a single dose of transdermal amitriptyline has poor systemic absorption, is the same true for multiple or daily doses? This prompted the creation of this study to evaluate the systemic absorption and the effectiveness of oral and transdermal amitriptyline when used daily to eliminate feline spraying behavior.

We are contacting you in the hopes that you have, or will soon have, feline patients that exhibit spraying behaviors and you will be treating them with oral or transdermal amitriptyline SID. With your approval, we would like to assist in the treatment of these cases by monitoring the systemic concentration of amitriptyline, oral or transdermal, using blood samples to perform assays for amitriptyline. The schedule for blood sampling would be a peak sample (three hours post-administration) and a base-line sample (twenty-four hours post-administration) on days seven, twenty-eight, and fifty-six of treatment. Once the blood samples are obtained, we ask that they be shipped to Auburn's College of Veterinary Medicine Clinical Pharmacology Laboratory so we may perform the assays at no cost to you or your client(s). Further, we can make the results of the assays available to you for use in monitoring the therapeutic concentration of amitriptyline in your patients.

If you or any of your colleagues are interested in participating or have any questions or comments regarding this study, please do not hesitate to contact us. For those who elect to participate, more detailed instructions regarding blood collection and submission will be provided.

Thank you in advance for your time and participation.

Reviewed 6/21/04