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Arthritis in Cats
My fur baby Chaplin is getting old. He's a large-boned Ragdoll who
turns 14 this September and weighs around 12 lbs. Down from 16lbs last year. This past year has been hard on him. Some of you may remember about the lump in his tail I asked about. It's still there and I did have it aspirated. The vet said it may or may not be benign and only a biopsy would determine that. The biopsy could only be performed under anesthetic and would mean the removal of his whole tail. At his then late age of 12 1/2, we decided to just leave him be as the operation would be almost as traumatic and dangerous as taking our chances with the tumor. Well, the lump hasn't grown any bigger, he's been happy, eating, and still enjoying life. However, he's now developed a severe case of arthritis in his hind legs and hips. Poor baby has such trouble just getting up and down. It's one reason he's lost so much weight. Can't get up to eat as much as he used to. Anyway, the vet gave me something called prednistad and told me to apply heat to his hips and a little physical therapy a few times a day. I'm doing this, but I'm wondering if there's anything else I can do to alleviate some of his pain. It hurts me to see him struggle just to stand up to go to the litter box or grab a drink or bite of food. He's only getting 2.5mg of the medication with his dinner each night. Doc says if this doesn't work, at his weight we can up it to 2mg tops. But he only gave me 5 pills. At more than $1.15 a pill, I went to 1800-Pet-Meds to see if they had some a little cheaper, but couldn't find it there. Can anyone offer a less expensive alternative? I've been out of work for over 2 years and have a hard time paying for my own medication, but I can't stand to see this little, big guy suffer. Clara -- |
#2
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Arthritis in Cats
"Clara Semps" wrote in message ... My fur baby Chaplin is getting old. He's a large-boned Ragdoll who turns 14 this September and weighs around 12 lbs. Down from 16lbs last year. This past year has been hard on him. Some of you may remember about the lump in his tail I asked about. It's still there and I did have it aspirated. The vet said it may or may not be benign and only a biopsy would determine that. The biopsy could only be performed under anesthetic and would mean the removal of his whole tail. At his then late age of 12 1/2, we decided to just leave him be as the operation would be almost as traumatic and dangerous as taking our chances with the tumor. Well, the lump hasn't grown any bigger, he's been happy, eating, and still enjoying life. However, he's now developed a severe case of arthritis in his hind legs and hips. Poor baby has such trouble just getting up and down. It's one reason he's lost so much weight. Can't get up to eat as much as he used to. Anyway, the vet gave me something called prednistad and told me to apply heat to his hips and a little physical therapy a few times a day. I'm doing this, but I'm wondering if there's anything else I can do to alleviate some of his pain. It hurts me to see him struggle just to stand up to go to the litter box or grab a drink or bite of food. He's only getting 2.5mg of the medication with his dinner each night. Doc says if this doesn't work, at his weight we can up it to 2mg tops. But he only gave me 5 pills. At more than $1.15 a pill, I went to 1800-Pet-Meds to see if they had some a little cheaper, but couldn't find it there. Can anyone offer a less expensive alternative? I've been out of work for over 2 years and have a hard time paying for my own medication, but I can't stand to see this little, big guy suffer. Clara -- We have a 15 year old former feral cat with rather severe arthritis. (especially in his rear legs and hips) he never jumps, but climbs everywhere.....My wife occasionally crumbles 1/3 of an aspirin tablet up in his bowl of chopped, roasted chicken, and this takes his pain away for a while. but cat's livers have a lot of trouble metabolizing aspirin, so you can't give it to them every day......She has to wait at least two or three days between doses. |
#3
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Arthritis in Cats
On 2 Sep 2010 20:32:02 -0500, Clara Semps
wrote: My fur baby Chaplin is getting old. He's a large-boned Ragdoll who turns 14 this September and weighs around 12 lbs. Down from 16lbs last year. This past year has been hard on him. Some of you may remember about the lump in his tail I asked about. It's still there and I did have it aspirated. The vet said it may or may not be benign and only a biopsy would determine that. The biopsy could only be performed under anesthetic and would mean the removal of his whole tail. At his then late age of 12 1/2, we decided to just leave him be as the operation would be almost as traumatic and dangerous as taking our chances with the tumor. Well, the lump hasn't grown any bigger, he's been happy, eating, and still enjoying life. However, he's now developed a severe case of arthritis in his hind legs and hips. Poor baby has such trouble just getting up and down. It's one reason he's lost so much weight. Can't get up to eat as much as he used to. Anyway, the vet gave me something called prednistad and told me to apply heat to his hips and a little physical therapy a few times a day. I'm doing this, but I'm wondering if there's anything else I can do to alleviate some of his pain. It hurts me to see him struggle just to stand up to go to the litter box or grab a drink or bite of food. He's only getting 2.5mg of the medication with his dinner each night. Doc says if this doesn't work, at his weight we can up it to 2mg tops. But he only gave me 5 pills. At more than $1.15 a pill, I went to 1800-Pet-Meds to see if they had some a little cheaper, but couldn't find it there. Can anyone offer a less expensive alternative? I've been out of work for over 2 years and have a hard time paying for my own medication, but I can't stand to see this little, big guy suffer. Clara You vet is robbing you blind. That's just prednisolone, a close relative to prednisone. Both are REALLY cheap. Ask you vet for a written copy of a prescription for the same dosage of prednisolone, or the appropriate dosage of prednisone. You may need to cut a human tablet in half. I was getting 5mg tablets of prednisone for my cat, and cutting them in half; they cost like $5 for 30, at my local pharmacy. My elderly cat was on prednisone for about 6 months, and my vet recommended also giving her 1/4 of a 10mg Pepsid tablet daily, as corticosteroids are well known to be hard on the stomach, and my cat has a relatively delicate tummy. I bought the generic over the counter 10mg (NOT the more common 20 mg) Pepsid, and cut them with a razor blade. Buying human meds is FAR cheaper than buying them from your vet. If your vet objects, find a new vet. My vet encourages getting human meds at the pharmacy, because she knows how cheap many drugs are. Prednisone can take awhile to work; I assume that prednisolone is the same. Get aggressive about this with your vet. You cat is supposed to come first, and he didn't even give you enough medication to see if it works, thus FORCING you to come back, and run up another bill. He treating HIS wallet, NOT your cat. Grrrr! Many vets have seen a real drop in business, with the downturn in the economy. The honest ones tighten their belts, like everyone else is. The DISHONEST ones act EXACTLY like yours is. --- avast! Antivirus: Outbound message clean. Virus Database (VPS): 100902-0, 09/02/2010 Tested on: 9/2/2010 9:32:02 PM avast! - copyright (c) 1988-2010 ALWIL Software. http://www.avast.com |
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Arthritis in Cats
On Sep 2, 6:32*pm, Clara Semps wrote:
Can anyone offer a less expensive alternative? I've been out of work for over 2 years and have a hard time paying for my own medication, but I can't stand to see this little, big guy suffer. I have two recommendations. Royal Canin Mature cat food - I used this with my 17-19 year old cat. He had arthritis, and he went from walking slow to trotting again. He only slowed down once, when I ran out of the food for a few days). Metacam - by prescription. I used this for a year with my sheltie. I went out of town a couple months in, and I forgot to give it to my dad to give her. The day after I got home, she could barely stand up, couldn't even take the stair in and out of the house. I thought it might be the end, but I got her back on it, and the next day, she was back to following me up the long stairway, no problem. That stuff bought us a year we would not have had. I refer to it as liquid gold because it was worth so much to me to have my dog moving well. This is a liquid with very tiny amounts for cats. I would recommend trying one small bottle from the vet. If it works great, ask for a prescription for the larger 100mL bottle which will be cheaper in the long run. My vet sold the 10mL bottle for $30, and i was able to get the 100mL bottle at the grocery pharmacy for $100. |
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Arthritis in Cats
Clara Semps asked:
Can anyone offer a less expensive alternative? Amber (almost 16) was walking with difficulty and my vet suggested Cosequin. It comes in capsules that can be opened and mixed with canned food. Amber has improved a lot in the last year. Cosequin can be ordered from Amazon. ---MIKE--- In the White Mountains of New Hampshire (44° 15' N - Elevation 1580') |
#6
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Arthritis in Cats
First, I agree with Gandalf in filling human meds at a human pharmacy.
Call around for prices--I've found that Target has great prices, Walmart is good (though I've had to wait in long lines there), and have heard that Costco is reasonable too. Cosequin can also be helpful, but it does take some time to be effective, so don't expect immediate results. To help him, get some low-sided litter boxes so it's easier for him to get in and out. If you have more than one floor, have boxes on each floor for easy access. Another good idea is to have him on a high-quality, preferably grain free wet diet. Good nutrition is important for overall health. Rene |
#7
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Arthritis in Cats
Suddenly, without warning, Rene exclaimed (9/3/2010 9:11 AM):
First, I agree with Gandalf in filling human meds at a human pharmacy. Call around for prices--I've found that Target has great prices, Walmart is good (though I've had to wait in long lines there), and have heard that Costco is reasonable too. Cosequin can also be helpful, but it does take some time to be effective, so don't expect immediate results. To help him, get some low-sided litter boxes so it's easier for him to get in and out. If you have more than one floor, have boxes on each floor for easy access. Another good idea is to have him on a high-quality, preferably grain free wet diet. Good nutrition is important for overall health. Rene My 14 year old cat also has severe arthritis, plus other skeletal issues that cause chronic pain. I third Gandalf's suggestion, and concur that a glucosamine supplement such as Cosequin is a must. A low-sided litterbox - or a step up to his regular one - is helpful. In addition Meep is also on Metacam. As another poster mentioned, for cats it's a tiny, tiny dosage - Meep gets two drops once every three days. We've recently put her on Tramadol, which has done a lot more than the Metacam alone in controlling her pain. She absolutely hates the stuff - it's terribly bitter, apparently - but it quite noticeably helps with her pain. It's uses are not well known in cats. With her first dosage, she apparently had hallucinations and was quite freaked out, but only that first dosage. The only side effect it *may* be causing is urinary retention, but she has urinary tract issues so it's hard to say. With that we're in a catch 22 - without the tramodol it hurts for her to position herself to pee properly - so she doesn't. With the tramodol she can pee without pain, but does so less than normal. Because she's really hard to pill, I get the Tramodol compounded at a human pharmacy into a liver flavored liquid. It still tastes aweful, but it's easier on both of us as she gets dosed twice every day. With her other issues, this is really all we can do for her at this point. jmc |
#8
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Arthritis in Cats
---MIKE--- wrote:
Clara Semps asked: Can anyone offer a less expensive alternative? Amber (almost 16) was walking with difficulty and my vet suggested Cosequin. It comes in capsules that can be opened and mixed with canned food. Amber has improved a lot in the last year. Cosequin can be ordered from Amazon. ---MIKE--- In the White Mountains of New Hampshire (44° 15' N - Elevation 1580') How much do you add per day? MLB |
#9
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Arthritis in Cats
How much do you add per day? MLB
I feed one can (6oz) for Amber and Tiger twice a day. I mix one capsule into the can each time. Amber only eats about 1/3 of the mix. I tried adding one capsule into Amber's portion but she could taste it and wouldn't eat it. I don't think it tastes bad but Amber rejects anything that tastes "different". ---MIKE--- In the White Mountains of New Hampshire (44° 15' N - Elevation 1580') |
#10
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Arthritis in Cats
Our Alino was on Cosequin for his arthritis for the last 5 years of his life--he lived to be 19 years old. The Cosequin was easy to administer in his food (split the capsule and pour--as in the message below), and it certainly helped him. We also had heating pads on the bottom of favorite sleeping spots. You can get ones from the Doctors Foster and Smith catalogue that are not terribly expensive, but turn on only when the cat lies down on them. Alino loved them thoroughly, and they helped too!! Alino died from pneumonia--his arthritis was not listed on his certificate as having anything to do with his death. PegNDerek On Fri, 3 Sep 2010 07:54:55 -0400, (---MIKE---) wrote: Clara Semps asked: Can anyone offer a less expensive alternative? Amber (almost 16) was walking with difficulty and my vet suggested Cosequin. It comes in capsules that can be opened and mixed with canned food. Amber has improved a lot in the last year. Cosequin can be ordered from Amazon. ---MIKE--- In the White Mountains of New Hampshire (44° 15' N - Elevation 1580') |
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