I have an older gentleman at home who has days where his arthritis is really bad in his hips (from what I can tell it’s the hips anyway).
Overall he is still doing well enough where I think euthanasia would be rather premature. He’s still doing the stairs, eating with gusto, using the litter box, and playing. Is there something that you can give elderly cats on an as-needed basis for pain?
I actually use Gabapentin on an old kitty daily and it works great…
Is it something you can trick them into eating? Liquid or pill? He is a monster about takng meds (tries to bite/scratch). I have to do the whole traumatic wrap him in a towel thing and if you don’t get it in there perfect he will spit it out.
I forgot to mention that before.
This is really one of those things you should talk about with your vet 
Treating pain in kitties can be tough since they’re so sensitive to medication, and they usually require monitoring to make sure their liver or kidneys don’t get hammered.
You could always start with some cosequin (sprinkle it in his food) and see if that helps. You can also use Adequan in cats–nice because there’s no pilling and you know they’ve gotten it.
I planned to get it from the vet–I assume most things are perscription?
Just looking for some info before I make the appointment. My kitty vet makes the horse vet look cheap.
There really aren’t any NSAIDS that are for cats-- they are typically developed for dogs.
There is something in the works that is feline specific and coming out soon, but it’s not developed yet. I think they are currently using it in Europe. I forgot the name of it, unfortunately, and I’m not sure when it will be approved here.
Typically vets will use Metacam for cats as an NSAID. It’s a liquid form, so is hopefully easier to give than a pill. It was just approved for cats for post-surgical pain, and it is what they use for spays and other surgeries. Like all NSAIDS, it can have certain risks for the kidneys and liver, but I think it is a fairly rare problem, and in general is a safe NSAID to use regularly.
I think if the kidneys go from pain meds then it is just time. I’ve been thinking about this and quality of life is more important at this point for him, imo. He is a very old little man. He cries for me to pick him up to pet him now because he can’t jump onto the couch without pain. Jumping down doesn’t seem to be an issue, so I think it is the back end that is bothering him.
We have a pharmacy that makes the gabapentin in liquid form and I give it orally.
Buprenorphine works really well in cats. It’s readily absorbed through the mucous membranes of the mouth, you can give it under the tongue or between the cheek and gum-if your dvm doesn’t carry it he/she can write you an RX for a compounder that makes an OM version.
Try the Greenies Pill Pockets, small size. They are very soft, very palatable, and you can pull them apart to make a smaller “pocket” that you can totally wrap around a smaller pill, to make it less likely they will chew and bite into something bitter and not finish it.
[QUOTE=Tegan;5796695]
Typically vets will use Metacam for cats as an NSAID. It’s a liquid form, so is hopefully easier to give than a pill. It was just approved for cats for post-surgical pain, and it is what they use for spays and other surgeries. Like all NSAIDS, it can have certain risks for the kidneys and liver, but I think it is a fairly rare problem, and in general is a safe NSAID to use regularly.[/QUOTE]
This is what my vet prescribed my older kitty for her arthritis in her front paws. She would lick it right off the dropper, she seemed to like the sweet flavor.
My kitty pulled something in her shoulder and was limping around. The vet “prescribed” 1/4 of a baby aspirin every two days. And said I could use up one aspirin that way, and if it didn’t help to quit.
When giving pills to cats I use a little cheese or liverwurst to wrap them in. But, it’s wise to give them an “empty” cheese or liverwurst often enough that they don’t get wise that there will be a little cherry flavored bomb inside each one.
Yep, our kitties get a bedtime treat every night, partly to count heads and make sure everyone’s in :lol: and partly to keep them used to a yummy :yes:
[QUOTE=Grataan;5798661]
Buprenorphine works really well in cats. It’s readily absorbed through the mucous membranes of the mouth, you can give it under the tongue or between the cheek and gum-if your dvm doesn’t carry it he/she can write you an RX for a compounder that makes an OM version.[/QUOTE]
I have used this on quite a few cats/kittens, usually as a post-spay pain med but it was given to me for a cat who had a fox tail removed from her eye. I see no obvious effects and the cats are comfortable and cheery in no time. Great drug.
Cerenia! It’s actually labeled for dogs as for vomiting and nausea, but they was it works also makes a a great pain reliever! We have been using it in cats, it’s a pill every other day, so you don’t have to figt with them as often either. So far it seems to actually be a better pain reliever than buprenorphine in the cats we have tried it in. It’s totally off label, but so is everything else discussed, except buprenorphine, and has less side effects than metacam and such
Katherine
Vet Tech
I like Metacam in cats. The surgeons next door to us just finished participating in a blind trial for pain meds in cats with arthritis. Turns out it was Metacam.
Metacam isn’t labeled for oral use, or repeated use, in cats in the US. But it is frequently used off label just this way. You just can’t treat the cat like a dog with it.
My rule of thumb, starting protocol, is the normal dog dose on day 1 as a loading dose, then 1/2 of the dog dose of a couple more days. If it needs to be as a long term treatment I usually drop to 1/4 the dog dose and go every 2-3 days.
As long as he is hydrated, its adverse kidney effects are not an issue. The reports of problems with in cats (and dogs) is when it is used in higher doses, esp longer term, and the patient is either dehydrated and/or has low blood pressure.
Oh, the other thing I have used in older cats THAT I HAVE SEEN, is 1/2 of a low dose aspirin (ie children’s aspirin) every 3rd day.
Note: ASPIRIN, not tyelnol.
every 3rd day, not every day and definitely not 3 times a day.
Ideal? No.
Should you try it without YOUR vet’s recommendation? No. Need to be sure kitty is otherwise healthy before you self medicate it.
Horsegal beat me to it. My cat’s arthritis is night and day with Cerenia vs without it. I’ve done the experiment several times of putting her on, taking her off, putting her back on, and it really does make a difference. Without it, she is visibly lame at the walk on her RF (her R elbow radiographs are not pretty). My cat is like the OP’s - it takes divine intervention to give her oral meds repeatedly, as she remembers her grudge after a couple doses and does the alligator roll while biting and struggling, and she also will not eat treats if she is at all suspicious of something going on - so I use the injectable Cerenia, diluted in saline and given SQ. I currently give it 3-4 times per week; the most that you want to give it is 5 days in a row, then 2 days without, because continuous use can cause side effects due to disruption of dopamine signaling in the brain.
My cat is also on Adequan every few weeks and got the loading dose again this past winter. I don’t think it’s making as much of a difference as it used to, now that her arthritis is more advanced, but I have been happy with it in the past (she is my third cat that I have had on Adequan). Adequan is also cheap when you’re using cat-sized doses and extremely safe. While it’s labeled for IM use in dogs and horses, and some people use it IM in cats, the unofficial scuttlebutt from the vets who recommended Cerenia to me is that Adequan works just fine when given SQ to kitties, and that’s how I’ve used it in the past.
I should note that neither of these practices is supported by much in the way of actual research, and they are definitely off-label uses of these drugs.
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