Arthritis issues? Management suggestions please :(

My sweet kitty Missy also has arthritis. We haven't xrayed her trying to not stress her but vet agrees with age probably that with maybe some neuropathies.

We have her on Cosamine, found the dog one works better, when a prior kitty had arthritis we had him on cosamine for cats and small dogs. We were running out of cosamine for cats and asked at Costco if they had or could order it, and they had just started carrying Cosamine plus (MSM) for dogs. I have been giving her the dose for under 15 lbs. I admit with everything else going on have slacked on dosing, just feel bad seems always grabbing her and pilling, trying to get her to pee in box ( after eating she often sits or lies on carpet right after cleaning paws and leaves surprise that's wet :?

I know she's been sitting in litterbox to pee tries to stand to poop but mostly sits even then. Poor girls been bathed so often lately.

I know that adds to constipation issue although with Laxatone natural she goes, was trying to give every few days but think she needs daily, can do that.

Does anyone have any ideas for relieving the arthritis discomfort though? I know NSAIDS are out with cats, asked vet last time again, he just said there aren't a lot of things cats can tolerate, no real answers. He knows she's on the Cosamine plus for dogs at the minimal dose, but want to do more.

 

You can try Adequan injections which I think is a glucosamine derivative. There are several people on the Board that are using this successfully. You can also talk to your vet about Gabapentin. It is an anti-seizure drug that is being used for chronic pain. We used it with Blackie and it really helped his arthritis. I hope you can find something that will help Missy.

 

They use neurontin (gabapentin) in cats? What dose may I ask? That will be super! Know helps nerve pain in humans might help neuropathic portion too will probably talk with him tomorrow anyway.

Poor girls wiped today between managing to poo, out of box then getting double bath to wash all that out of her fur. cat(2)_steam Then blow dry coat.

 

Gabapentin is the best pain med for my Oliver; buprenex is too potent for him, no matter how small a dose given, and tramadol does little for him.

 

Gabapentin has to be compounded for cats because it's no longer available in 100mg tablets/capsules from pharmacies.

Gandalf received 25mg capsules SID, but I think I was told I could give it BID. Please check with your vet. He received it during end-of-life care, not for arthritis, so the BID instruction may be unique to that situation. It worked very well for Gandalf, he also spaced out on Bupe. That is a fine anti-pain drug for after surgery, but maybe not for chronic pain maintenance in some patients. He was about 12 lbs.

I also highly recommend either or both Adequan and acupuncture for arthritis pain and movement issues. The acu vet also gave Gandalf B12 shots in certain acupuncture points.

 

Acupuncture if you have a vet in your areas that does it. No side effects, but has to be done by a vet who is trained.
Buprenex if your kitty can tolerate it. Or the other meds people suggested.

 

What's Sid? Will ask vet tomorrow thanks everyone. Options help.

 

SID = once per day
BID = twice per day
TID = three times/day

Sorry, too many years on the board.... ;-)

 

HI Cheryl, my cat Sitka - on her last set of xrays a couple of years ago the radiologist who looked at it said he's never seen a cat that arthritic that could actually still walk. She has both spinal & hip/knee arthritis and I think the only reason she can still walk is because she is on Adequan. Adequan is given by subq injection and you have to work up to a maintenance dose which is usually once a month. The generally accepted protocol is two shots a week for 4 weeks then to maintenance. Adequan was developed for arthritic racehorses originally but also found beneficial to dogs and cats. You can continue to use glucosamine/chondroiten supplements along with Adequan. If your kitty has neuropathy (which might be causing the litter box discomfort) B12 shots are also helpful. The best price I've found on Adequan is DrsFosterandsmith.com - you do need a written prescription to order it. Jan

 

I use http://www.synflexamerica.com/pet/ for our Taz in the beef flavor. We've had her on it for quite a while. We went through a lot of different meds trying to find something she'd take long term and worked. She limped bad. Now, even though I can be bad at missing doses, as long as I don't go more than 2 or 3 days between doses she doesn't seem to have any problems at all - jumping off the top of the cat trees, tearing around the house. If I do get a period where I've missed to many doses, I just go a couple weeks of everyday to get her back on track, then go back to maintenance dose. With this, we've never needed pain meds for her.

Some cats will just lap it up, I use the drop and squirt it in her mouth once a day or every other.

You front load it with a higher dose the first couple of weeks to a month, and then as you see improvement you can tapper off the dose into a maintenance dose.

 

this was a very helpful thread - and I am assuming all these meds are OK with diabetes?

 

Another option for consideration: Vet-Stem Cell Therapy for Arthritis in Dogs & Cats

 

My cat Sitka - has Diabetes, Seizures, kidney disease, Inflammatory Bowel Disease, and hypo-thyroid - has been successfully on Adequan for 3 years. Trust me - she is the queen of any possible bad reactions LOL and not a single issue with Adequan. It isn't a quick fix since you have to work up to a maintenance dose but its worked wonderfully for her.

 

I think the Gabapentin dose is based on weight. We had Blackie on 25 mg and he weighed about 12 pounds. Later we increased his dose to 33. We did not have it compounded. I bought the 100 mg capsules, emptied it on a smooth surface (a mirror) and split it into quarters and then put each quarter in a small foil packet. It saved a bunch of money and my vet said that it was okay to do it that way. Then I just mixed it in with a little of his wet food and he always ate it right up. When we first started it, I noticed improvement withing a week. Good luck!

 

i knew i could count on this board. i was on here this time last year when my kitty gobnait decided to be diabetic for a month. at the board's suggestion, i chnaged her food and that did it. still on lo carb, still healthy and shiny and amazing.

gobnait's best buddy, my orange cat, desmond has arthritis. he had an acl surgery about 4 years ago that he tolerated REALLY well. wait no, he did well with whatever stitch they used as a ligament replacement. he did NOT tolerate the post surgical confinement well at ALL.

but he's been mostly great ever since.

his arthritis now seems worst in his elbows. i can tell he's weak now when he walks. and he's an in/out kitty. he has a bromance going on with the orange cat next door and needs to jump the fence daily to go sit in his yard. i have a covert action planned this weekend to cut a hole in the fence so he doesn't have to climb it anymore.

anyhow: to my question:

i have desmond on a cosequin tab daily and a shot of adequan every other week. that used to be enough and now he seems to need more care. sometimes i lock him in a day to get him to give his joints a rest and it does NOT go over well.

i have him on the same lo carb diet as gobnait. his weight is good so that's managed.

does anyone have any experience with arthro-ionix? or even krill oil? maybe injecting the adequan im nearer the site? (i'd learn how from my vet)

for others reading this btw, i cant speak highly enough of adequan. i give it to my horse too. it really makes a difference. i don't know why they cant give it to me for MY knees.

 

Hi, I post on the FD side, but wanted to know if anyone had more info. on Adequan... bad reactions, time it took to start to give relief... I think I will be starting my kitty on it soon. My vet never prescribed it for a cat, so I need to know pretty much anything I have to, so I can pass it on to her. She takes my suggestions well, and knows this site, and trusts its recommendations. What I do know is, that it doesn't work on spinal arthritis, and it does not raise BGs. I heard it can give some kitties a skin problem.

Starting dose? Mg/ml? I know you have to work up to a certain dose before it starts to work. What was the dose you stayed with? Best syringe size?

Thanks so much for any advice you may have.

 

Oh, goodness, I must have been half asleep last night. I hijacked this condo. Sorry, Cheryl and Missy!

I'll start a new post for Adequan