[Felvtalk] OT: arthritis

[Lance]

For anyone dealing with the same issue, I thought I’d mention what Ember’s vet had to say when I spoke with her earlier.

She avoids Metacam, particularly if the cat has shown any kidney issues at all. 

She recommended checking into Prescription Diet j/d (Kamila linked to a Chewy listing for it in a previous post), saying that it had helped her 17 year old cat with arthritis. She also mentioned laser treatments. These are non-invasive and do not require anesthesia. They are done several days a week for the first week or two, then reduced in frequency to monthly. She mentioned adequan, which is sometimes used in cats. Finally, she said that topical buprenorphine could help. 

Lance

> On Oct 24, 2014, at 8:58 AM, Lance <linimon at fastmail.fm> wrote:
> 
> Hi all,
> 
> This has nothing to do with FeLV, but the community is so knowledgeable about so many things feline that I wanted to ask. 
> 
> I have a friend who has a 16 year old cat with arthritis. The vet had my friend feel Kitty’s knees, and one is really knobby and arthritic. Kitty gets around just fine, but she’s stiff and has a hard time jumping.
> 
> The vet prescribed Metacam. I think the dose is 1.5 mg/ml or .15 mL per day. I warned my friend about Metacam, and she started looking into it. She’s now reluctant to use it, especially since Kitty had a minor kidney issue in the past. 
> 
> My friend knows about glucosamine and chondroitin, but these won’t really help with the pain. Does anyone know of alternatives for arthritic pain? Has anyone used Metacam to treat cats with arthritis? 
> 
> Thanks!
> 
> Lance
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