Painkiller questions

Well, poor Meep is feeling her age these days (she's 14 now), but
neither I nor the vet can *quite* put a finger on what's wrong. She
doesn't eat well (she's about a pound or so underweight), and has taken
to spending most of her time sleeping in the upstairs bedroom. She's
had a battery of tests and everything comes up roses.

We can't quite figure out if her problem is digestive in nature (she's
on pepsid, which seems to help a little), or general pain from her back
end - she has a malformed vertebrae in her spine, the one the legs
attach to. She has luxating patellas both hinds, but not horrible as
her legs rarely lock, and her leg bones behind curve slightly. Because
of all this she also now has mild to moderate arthritis in her back end.

She is on two drops of Metacam once every three days, and also gets
Joint Care 3 Glucosamine Chon/MSM twice a day, every day.

What we do know is when she was on bupamorphine (?) during her cystitis
attack a few days ago, she ate well the whole time she was on it (in
fact I was able to give her extra food, and she put on weight), and
gradually went back to her old eating habits about two days after the
last dose. And here all this time I thought she was being fussy,
because she's ALWAYS ready for dry treats, it's the wet she won't eat.

Well, we can't really keep her on morphine continuously, so the vet
suggested two other drugs we might look at:

Tramadol or Gabapentin.

Tramadol sounds promising as it's for cronic pain and is also used to
treat acid reflux. However, a common side effect is constipation, which
is already one of Meep's problems.

Gabapentin doesn't have much to say about veterinary use in it's
wikipaedia entry.

Does anyone have any experience, good or bad, with either of these drugs
in treating chronic pain in cats? Any other suggestions?

It's hard to tell what's going on here. She has a soft, shiny coat, her
expression is usually quite cheerful (though I catch her with an inward
look sometimes), and her general demeanor is quite normal. However,
I've also seen her lick her lips a lot, and watched her tail jerk in an
odd manner when she walks.

Any thoughts welcome!

jmc

Suddenly, without warning, jmc exclaimed (6/1/2010 4:55 PM):
Well, poor Meep is feeling her age these days (she's 14 now), but
neither I nor the vet can *quite* put a finger on what's wrong. She
doesn't eat well (she's about a pound or so underweight), and has taken
to spending most of her time sleeping in the upstairs bedroom. She's
had a battery of tests and everything comes up roses.

We can't quite figure out if her problem is digestive in nature (she's
on pepsid, which seems to help a little), or general pain from her back
end - she has a malformed vertebrae in her spine, the one the legs
attach to. She has luxating patellas both hinds, but not horrible as
her legs rarely lock, and her leg bones behind curve slightly. Because
of all this she also now has mild to moderate arthritis in her back end.

She is on two drops of Metacam once every three days, and also gets
Joint Care 3 Glucosamine Chon/MSM twice a day, every day.

What we do know is when she was on bupamorphine (?) during her cystitis
attack a few days ago, she ate well the whole time she was on it (in
fact I was able to give her extra food, and she put on weight), and
gradually went back to her old eating habits about two days after the
last dose. And here all this time I thought she was being fussy,
because she's ALWAYS ready for dry treats, it's the wet she won't eat.

Well, we can't really keep her on morphine continuously, so the vet
suggested two other drugs we might look at:

Tramadol or Gabapentin.

Tramadol sounds promising as it's for cronic pain and is also used to
treat acid reflux. However, a common side effect is constipation, which
is already one of Meep's problems.

Gabapentin doesn't have much to say about veterinary use in it's
wikipaedia entry.

Does anyone have any experience, good or bad, with either of these drugs
in treating chronic pain in cats? Any other suggestions?

It's hard to tell what's going on here. She has a soft, shiny coat, her
expression is usually quite cheerful (though I catch her with an inward
look sometimes), and her general demeanor is quite normal. However,
I've also seen her lick her lips a lot, and watched her tail jerk in an
odd manner when she walks.

Any thoughts welcome!

jmc


Nobody? Or is this one of those times when my original post went poof?

On Wed, 02 Jun 2010 18:07:00 -0400, jmc
wrote:

Suddenly, without warning, jmc exclaimed (6/1/2010 4:55 PM):
Well, poor Meep is feeling her age these days (she's 14 now), but
neither I nor the vet can *quite* put a finger on what's wrong. She
doesn't eat well (she's about a pound or so underweight), and has taken
to spending most of her time sleeping in the upstairs bedroom. She's
had a battery of tests and everything comes up roses.

We can't quite figure out if her problem is digestive in nature (she's
on pepsid, which seems to help a little), or general pain from her back
end - she has a malformed vertebrae in her spine, the one the legs
attach to. She has luxating patellas both hinds, but not horrible as
her legs rarely lock, and her leg bones behind curve slightly. Because
of all this she also now has mild to moderate arthritis in her back end.

She is on two drops of Metacam once every three days, and also gets
Joint Care 3 Glucosamine Chon/MSM twice a day, every day.

What we do know is when she was on bupamorphine (?) during her cystitis
attack a few days ago, she ate well the whole time she was on it (in
fact I was able to give her extra food, and she put on weight), and
gradually went back to her old eating habits about two days after the
last dose. And here all this time I thought she was being fussy,
because she's ALWAYS ready for dry treats, it's the wet she won't eat.

Well, we can't really keep her on morphine continuously, so the vet
suggested two other drugs we might look at:

Tramadol or Gabapentin.

Tramadol sounds promising as it's for cronic pain and is also used to
treat acid reflux. However, a common side effect is constipation, which
is already one of Meep's problems.

Gabapentin doesn't have much to say about veterinary use in it's
wikipaedia entry.

Does anyone have any experience, good or bad, with either of these drugs
in treating chronic pain in cats? Any other suggestions?

It's hard to tell what's going on here. She has a soft, shiny coat, her
expression is usually quite cheerful (though I catch her with an inward
look sometimes), and her general demeanor is quite normal. However,
I've also seen her lick her lips a lot, and watched her tail jerk in an
odd manner when she walks.

Any thoughts welcome!

jmc


Nobody? Or is this one of those times when my original post went poof?

I'm on Gabapentin for chronic peripheral pain. It works. I have no
idea what it does in cats though.

Have you ried distracting Meep with nip or giving her Rescue Remedy?
Every little bit helps.

Suddenly, without warning, John Ross Mc Master exclaimed (6/2/2010 6:37 PM):
On Wed, 02 Jun 2010 18:07:00 -0400, jmc
wrote:

Suddenly, without warning, jmc exclaimed (6/1/2010 4:55 PM):
Well, poor Meep is feeling her age these days (she's 14 now), but
neither I nor the vet can *quite* put a finger on what's wrong. She
doesn't eat well (she's about a pound or so underweight), and has taken
to spending most of her time sleeping in the upstairs bedroom. She's
had a battery of tests and everything comes up roses.

We can't quite figure out if her problem is digestive in nature (she's
on pepsid, which seems to help a little), or general pain from her back
end - she has a malformed vertebrae in her spine, the one the legs
attach to. She has luxating patellas both hinds, but not horrible as
her legs rarely lock, and her leg bones behind curve slightly. Because
of all this she also now has mild to moderate arthritis in her back end.

She is on two drops of Metacam once every three days, and also gets
Joint Care 3 Glucosamine Chon/MSM twice a day, every day.

What we do know is when she was on bupamorphine (?) during her cystitis
attack a few days ago, she ate well the whole time she was on it (in
fact I was able to give her extra food, and she put on weight), and
gradually went back to her old eating habits about two days after the
last dose. And here all this time I thought she was being fussy,
because she's ALWAYS ready for dry treats, it's the wet she won't eat.

Well, we can't really keep her on morphine continuously, so the vet
suggested two other drugs we might look at:

Tramadol or Gabapentin.

Tramadol sounds promising as it's for cronic pain and is also used to
treat acid reflux. However, a common side effect is constipation, which
is already one of Meep's problems.

Gabapentin doesn't have much to say about veterinary use in it's
wikipaedia entry.

Does anyone have any experience, good or bad, with either of these drugs
in treating chronic pain in cats? Any other suggestions?

It's hard to tell what's going on here. She has a soft, shiny coat, her
expression is usually quite cheerful (though I catch her with an inward
look sometimes), and her general demeanor is quite normal. However,
I've also seen her lick her lips a lot, and watched her tail jerk in an
odd manner when she walks.

Any thoughts welcome!

jmc

Nobody? Or is this one of those times when my original post went poof?

I'm on Gabapentin for chronic peripheral pain. It works. I have no
idea what it does in cats though.

Have you ried distracting Meep with nip or giving her Rescue Remedy?
Every little bit helps.

She has a catnip thing that she really likes, but recently it's started
to fade - I can't get a new one until September. She doesn't react to
most 'nip but I found one seller at the National Cat Show that grows her
own, apparently extra-strong catnip...

Will Rescue Remedy help with the pain? I've tried using it for stress
events, but I don't think it has much effect.

jmc

On Wed, 02 Jun 2010 20:07:30 -0400, jmc
wrote:

Suddenly, without warning, John Ross Mc Master exclaimed (6/2/2010 6:37 PM):
On Wed, 02 Jun 2010 18:07:00 -0400, jmc
wrote:

Suddenly, without warning, jmc exclaimed (6/1/2010 4:55 PM):
Well, poor Meep is feeling her age these days (she's 14 now), but
neither I nor the vet can *quite* put a finger on what's wrong. She
doesn't eat well (she's about a pound or so underweight), and has taken
to spending most of her time sleeping in the upstairs bedroom. She's
had a battery of tests and everything comes up roses.

We can't quite figure out if her problem is digestive in nature (she's
on pepsid, which seems to help a little), or general pain from her back
end - she has a malformed vertebrae in her spine, the one the legs
attach to. She has luxating patellas both hinds, but not horrible as
her legs rarely lock, and her leg bones behind curve slightly. Because
of all this she also now has mild to moderate arthritis in her back end.

She is on two drops of Metacam once every three days, and also gets
Joint Care 3 Glucosamine Chon/MSM twice a day, every day.

What we do know is when she was on bupamorphine (?) during her cystitis
attack a few days ago, she ate well the whole time she was on it (in
fact I was able to give her extra food, and she put on weight), and
gradually went back to her old eating habits about two days after the
last dose. And here all this time I thought she was being fussy,
because she's ALWAYS ready for dry treats, it's the wet she won't eat.

Well, we can't really keep her on morphine continuously, so the vet
suggested two other drugs we might look at:

Tramadol or Gabapentin.

Tramadol sounds promising as it's for cronic pain and is also used to
treat acid reflux. However, a common side effect is constipation, which
is already one of Meep's problems.

Gabapentin doesn't have much to say about veterinary use in it's
wikipaedia entry.

Does anyone have any experience, good or bad, with either of these drugs
in treating chronic pain in cats? Any other suggestions?

It's hard to tell what's going on here. She has a soft, shiny coat, her
expression is usually quite cheerful (though I catch her with an inward
look sometimes), and her general demeanor is quite normal. However,
I've also seen her lick her lips a lot, and watched her tail jerk in an
odd manner when she walks.

Any thoughts welcome!

jmc

Nobody? Or is this one of those times when my original post went poof?

I'm on Gabapentin for chronic peripheral pain. It works. I have no
idea what it does in cats though.

Have you ried distracting Meep with nip or giving her Rescue Remedy?
Every little bit helps.

She has a catnip thing that she really likes, but recently it's started
to fade - I can't get a new one until September. She doesn't react to
most 'nip but I found one seller at the National Cat Show that grows her
own, apparently extra-strong catnip...

Will Rescue Remedy help with the pain? I've tried using it for stress
events, but I don't think it has much effect.

jmc

It may have limited worth with the pain. Not much. Get gabapentin if
you can.

John Ross Mc Master wrote:

[concerning Rescue Remedy] It may have limited worth with the pain. Not much.

You might say. :-)

Rescue Remedy, like all of the Bach flower essences, is prepared at a
dilution of 5X, which means it has no active ingredients and can have no
effect whatever.

Maybe jmc could use the kind that employs alcohol as carrier and get her
kitty so drunk she is "feeling no pain". :-P
--

Wayne M.

I don't have experience with those drugs. I was thinking that it might
be worth perusing the Only Natural Pet web site (I am not affiliated).
They carry all types of herbal-based supplements. I currently use two
of their supplements on our oldest cat (one for joint health and one
for asthma), and they really help.

Read the reviews from customers too--they provide lots of first-hand
information.

On Thu, 03 Jun 2010 10:27:45 -0400, Wayne Mitchell
wrote:

John Ross Mc Master wrote:

[concerning Rescue Remedy] It may have limited worth with the pain. Not much.

You might say. :-)

Rescue Remedy, like all of the Bach flower essences, is prepared at a
dilution of 5X, which means it has no active ingredients and can have no
effect whatever.

Maybe jmc could use the kind that employs alcohol as carrier and get her
kitty so drunk she is "feeling no pain". :-P


That's one school of thought. Others believe homeopathy works but are
at a loss to explain exactly how it works. I think it would help a
bit.

She should get gabapentin IF it works in cats as well as it does in
humans (me).

On Tue, 01 Jun 2010 16:55:11 -0400, jmc
wrote:

Well, poor Meep is feeling her age these days (she's 14 now), but
neither I nor the vet can *quite* put a finger on what's wrong. She
doesn't eat well (she's about a pound or so underweight), and has taken
to spending most of her time sleeping in the upstairs bedroom. She's
had a battery of tests and everything comes up roses.

We can't quite figure out if her problem is digestive in nature (she's
on pepsid, which seems to help a little), or general pain from her back
end - she has a malformed vertebrae in her spine, the one the legs
attach to. She has luxating patellas both hinds, but not horrible as
her legs rarely lock, and her leg bones behind curve slightly. Because
of all this she also now has mild to moderate arthritis in her back end.

She is on two drops of Metacam once every three days, and also gets
Joint Care 3 Glucosamine Chon/MSM twice a day, every day.

What we do know is when she was on bupamorphine (?) during her cystitis
attack a few days ago, she ate well the whole time she was on it (in
fact I was able to give her extra food, and she put on weight), and
gradually went back to her old eating habits about two days after the
last dose. And here all this time I thought she was being fussy,
because she's ALWAYS ready for dry treats, it's the wet she won't eat.

Well, we can't really keep her on morphine continuously, so the vet
suggested two other drugs we might look at:

Tramadol or Gabapentin.

Tramadol sounds promising as it's for cronic pain and is also used to
treat acid reflux. However, a common side effect is constipation, which
is already one of Meep's problems.

Gabapentin doesn't have much to say about veterinary use in it's
wikipaedia entry.

Does anyone have any experience, good or bad, with either of these drugs
in treating chronic pain in cats? Any other suggestions?

It's hard to tell what's going on here. She has a soft, shiny coat, her
expression is usually quite cheerful (though I catch her with an inward
look sometimes), and her general demeanor is quite normal. However,
I've also seen her lick her lips a lot, and watched her tail jerk in an
odd manner when she walks.

Any thoughts welcome!

jmc

Tramadol is an opioid, although somewhat different than many; it is a
relatively recent (1970's) synthesis, compared to most of the opioid
family; (Codeine, morphine, demerol, hydrocodone etc.), which have been
in use far longer.

Gabapentin is an even newer drug, and there is a good deal of
controversy concerning it's use.

I looked it up in wikipedia.org, and all I can say is, I don't think I
would use it for MY cat.

Here is a very general article on: Pain Control In Dogs And Cats
(Google is your friend..). It mentions Gabapentin only briefly.

http://www.2ndchance.info/pain.htm

Good luck with your cat.

Gandalf


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