6/2 Titan AMPS 212, +4 229, +6 150, PMPS 118, +3,87, +4 88, +6 87, med change

Titan 5/30

Happy Caturday, Titan is tooling along okay on his 10 units, no drop really in numbers but okay numbers. Had a conversation with Dr Becky yesterday and we have decided that the prednisolone was helping a bit very small bit so we are going onto the next step which will be to give a pain/anti inflammatory drug called Metacam (meloxicam) @Wendy&Neko any experience with this? Dr Becky's thinking is give this a test to see if his walking/gait is pain related and if not we will give a trial of Adequen. Taking small steps to isolate the issue. We will start on Monday. Titan has been on a real tear these last few days with the " Guess where I'll pee next" game. We can't believe the volume he is drinking, he's always consumed a fair amount since his PU surgery as we put lots of water in his foods to keep his urinary tract open but he's peeing 10-12 times a day, love those puppy pads when he hits them. Hope everyone has a good weekend extra vines to @Chubba and Gizmo. Ed

 

I feel your pain with the peeing inappropriately. Forrest saw an IM vet last Tuesday and he thinks it some behavioral issues along with becoming senile. How old is Titan?

If I put Forrest in the box when I see him sniffing around, he will use it.

 

You have to be careful with the Metacam. In the US it has a black box warning. I think it damages the liver or kidneys if you give too much. I hope you can find something that works for Titan.

 

I would be careful with metacam. Jones was on it before his IBD...short term..and he had no issues. My civvie Missy....yeah within 2 days she had diarrhea, vomiting and not appy. I am from Canada and it dispensed in a strength made for cats....but still had issues.

 

Stay away from Metacam in the US. It has a black box warning from the FDA for cats. It's hard on kidneys. Acromegaly is hard on kidneys, not a good combo. Especially if he's drinking/peeing a lot. Those to me are warning signs on kidneys. Has Titan ever had an SDMA done? It's a blood test done by Idexx for early warning signs of kidney disease. Has he ever had a urinalysis done? It would be good to know his USG, or urine specific gravity. It tells you how well the kidneys are able to concentrate the urine and also helps evaluate the kidneys. You can collect the urine at home and take some into the vet. They should have a refractometer there to test it. Knowing his protein level in the urine may also be helpful. Proteinuria is also a possible acro issue. Neko had it, but was controlled with meds. It's yet another early marker of kidney issues. Titan's BG is well controlled, the peeing is not from diabetes.

Try a Adequan trial first instead for arthritis. Adequan helps the joints, Metacam is just pain relief. If you do go pain relief, go buprenorphine instead. Even in Canada where Metacam concentrations are lower, Neko's vet wouldn't consider it. Great for dogs, not so much for cats.

 

You need to see this as a good thing! I've had a few pee-er-arounders over the years, and what's really frustrating is to put them in the box, have them not use it, and then they go someplace else within ten minutes. But putting them in the box regularly does seem to help reinforce box-going; plus short-term, at least you know you have a couple hours that you don't have to worry about it.

Vines for Titan's thirst to be comfortably, safely quenched, and may he be loving the feeling of sand between his toes (literally and BG figuratively).

 

I agree with Wendy. Metacam can be hugely problematic. At the bare minimum, I would ask the vet to run an SDMA before even considering metacam. Any of the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are hard on a cat's kidneys. Just like acro and metacam, diabetes is also hard on kidneys. Between acro and FD, I'd steer away from Metacam if for no other reason than to lower the risk profile for kidney failure.

 

As close as we can tell he's about 13. He was a walk on, in fact all our babies are walk-on's of one sort or another.

 

Titan does not do well in bupe. Makes him very irritable so we would like to avoid that. I'll talk with Dr Becky on Monday. She also suggested an alternative to Metacam, didn't write down he name. It was in pill form vs liquid and she said it was more difficult to dose or modify dose via pill. Do you mind if I share your previous post with her via an email? Trying hard to juggle the knowledge here on FDMB with our needs of the local vet.

 

+3 87.......maybe he did earn that reducie a few weeks ago. Let's see where he leads me.

 

Sorry Titan can't handle bupe. Have you tried gabapentin yet? That was my vet's second choice, followed by tramadol for pain relief.. Gabapentin is a pill, but can be compounded to a liquid. Compounded liquid is easier to change dose.

Feel free to share the content on what to look for in acros. Probably not something Dr. Becky has much exposure to.