Adequan Shots and Hills Metabolic Weight Management Food?

Hey everyone. I came home a few weeks ago (March 14th), to a limping Franklin. I'm guessing he didn't stick his landing!

I took him into the vet the next day and she felt his leg. She didn't think xrays were needed so she gave me some Onsior, which he took three pills (one each day for three days.) She also gave me Gabapentin and he got .8 ml three times a day (sometimes two times a day) for about seven days. I also crated him for most of that seven days, letting him out for lap time now and then.

I took him in for a recheck about a week later and he was still limping but not nearly as much.

He is still limping a little bit...I'm guessing it is after he jumps from a higher spot such as my bed. He doesn't limp all the time, just sometimes. Today they did three xray views and said they don't see anything wrong with the bones. (They used isoflurane to sedate him for the xray.) I think she said she saw some calcifications but I might have that wrong. She thinks that he might have some arthritis. So he got one shot of Adequan today and she wants him to come back once a week for an Adequan shot, which are $40 each. (I'm still not gainfully employed--currently working two part-time jobs and one is in a tax office so it ends in two weeks. I had an interview on Wednesday and hopefully will find another part-time job soon or even better a full-time job.) I could learn to inject the Adequan myself and it would be much cheaper. How difficult would it be for one person to give this injection? Possible or is this a two-person job?

The other thing she said is part of the problem is his weight. He is 18 pounds, well 17.8 today. I think he was 17.2 on the first trip and of course gained weight while sitting in the crate so got up to 18 pounds. I asked where she wanted him at...16 pounds and she said she would prefer 15 pounds. He's a big guy so he is a little bit overweight but not a whole lot.

She wants me to feed him Hills Metabolic Weight Management canned food. Thanks to you folks here, I got him into remission and he currently enjoys his diet of Fancy Feast Classic. I recalled that many people were not fans of the Hills prescription food so I told her I was going to research this with you all. She explained how this food had been tested and researched by veterinarians and a study was actually done with home cats. I said I was doing research first.

By the way, between him and his civie, I feed them five to six cans of Fancy Feast a day. Is that too much? I asked the vet and she said rather than a food reduction, she would like him to eat the Hill's food.

I checked Dr. Lisa's chart at http://catinfo.org/chart/index.php and it looks like the Hill's Metabolic food has carbs that range from 28 to 31. So it sounds like a bad idea to feed him this? My memory from when I did the research months ago was target food with carbs of 10 or lower. Does that seem right?

I came home and closed the door to my bedroom and will keep doors to both bedrooms closed while I'm not here. This will reduce the opportunities of him jumping from high places. It will pretty much leave him the couch and from the couch he might climb on the window sill.

When I crated him, sometimes he would paw at the crate to get out, which probably didn't help his paw. I would rather not crate him again but could do that if it is recommended.

And by the way, I had to leave him at the vet today so they could x-ray him at their leisure. I don't think I'll do that again as that meant he went all day without food. When I got home tonight and was giving him lap time, I noticed one of his claws, on his injured foot, was bloody around the base. I'm calling them tomorrow to see if they can shed any light on that.

Anyways, I'm wondering how long I should keep getting him Adequan injections? If it seems like he isn't limping anymore, I imagine it would be fine to stop them then? Any thoughts on the Hills Metabolic food? Is four cans a day of Fancy Feast an okay amount to split between two cats?

Thanks very much.

 

I'll leave the Adequan questions to people with more experience, but I do know I've seen people give it at home.

As for the Hills Metabolic, don't do it!! Not only is it a LOT higher in carbs, the ingredients are lousy too! In the canned, the first ingredient is water! Who wants to pay over $2/can for water? There's also an ingredient they laughingly call "powdered cellulose"...that's a fancy word for sawdust!

The reason animals lose weight on that stuff is because they feel full and don't eat as much....there's also not as much that's actually digestible ......We'd all lose weight if we ate water and sawdust with a few chicken parts thrown in!!

The best thing you can do is start weighing once a week. If you can get one, a baby scale like this is the most accurate but you can use a good bathroom scale. Unfortunately, if he needs to lose, you may have to cut down on how much he eats (which may mean feeding them separately too)

Add as much water to the food as you can and have him still willing to eat it (the water will help fill him out without adding calories)

Increasing the amount of exercise he gets will also help, but with the injured paw, don't try to get him moving too quickly or too fast. If you can just get him to follow you around the house walking that will help. Once the paw is better, toys like Da Bird or Jackson Galaxy's ground prey toy can usually help burn off some of those extra calories.

 

$40 pet shot??? Omg that's ridiculous!!! I do the shots at home! Just get a vial (I order 2 packs at www.valleyvet.com because two cost just a little more than one at my vet) and the syringes and do it yourself! The loading dose is twice a week for 4 weeks then once a month for maintenance. Cc had bad arthritis so we actually give it once a week. It's no different then giving an insulin shot. Pull a tent and inject!

 

Thanks. That is what I thought on his food. I will start adding water to the food and see how that works. I do have a baby scale but stopped using it a long time ago. The batteries died so I'll get new batteries and start logging that again. And I have fed them separately in the past at times because he does like to finish her meals for her. She doesn't eat as much as him and she is smaller than him.

It will be no problem getting him to walk as he is like a puppy dog and follows me around the house when I am home. My crazy schedule just doesn't have me home much. I'll work on changing out his toys from time to time so they will be "new" and of interest to him.

Yes, that seemed like an expensive shot, especially at a low cost clinic, and with an unknown end date...I don't think this is arthritis. I think he is recovering from some injury. He was fine one day and when I came home that night, it was definitely some injury from the way he was limping. I debated on taking him to the emergency room but with my financial situation I decided to wait until morning. I think with more time of not jumping from high places will help him heal.

When you say pull a tent and inject...is that doing the same thing as insulin...in the same spot?

Thanks very much.

 

I think you can inject in the same spot as insulin was given. He's not getting insulin right now, correct? @JanetNJ would know about location.

 

Any location is OK for Adequan. If one is still giving insulin, the insulin and Adequan show locations should be separated.

 

Right--He is not receiving an insulin right now. I am planning to do a curve on him after in a couple of weeks after tax season is over and I'll have time, just to check in on him. Thank you.

 

I would not stop adequan--probably stopped limping because of it..... after loading dose you can go as long as 4 weeks if kitty is doing ok-
If more than 4 weeks you will need to do another loading dose.
I agree with @JanetNJ
WAY less to do at home especially if giving it often. My seniors get a shot every week-

 

Yep... You inject exactly the same as insulin.

 

Okay, thanks very much. Not sure what the loading dose is...He got his first dose on yesterday (Thursday) and the vet wants him coming in every week. I don't know how much he got but when I was asking about the cost comparison if I bought it and gave it to him at home, she said the dose was low so yes, it would be way cheaper. Thanks again.

 

Loading doses are the initial shots to build up in the system. Usually is twice a week for 4 weeks, although I think some do 1 time a week for 8 weeks and then once a month. Really though so it yourself. A vial will cost you less then having your vet do 3 shots.

 

Loading dose is a shot every 4 days for 8 shots and then frequency can be 4 days to 1 month-
If you go longer than a month you usually need to do another loading dose.

 

Okay, thank you. I'm just surprised that his limp is definitely a result of some injury and now I have to give him Adequan for an unknown amount of time and long term. Because of my schedule, he had a two-week break from vet visits...so he had a week off of anything and the limping is much less. I presume it's from jumping down from higher spots, which I am minimizing those opportunities.

Between my various jobs, I'm not home much so it's easy to close doors to rooms and limit access. And when he climbs up on the back of my desk chair, as he just did, I pick him up and put him down when we are done with computer time. Thanks again.