5/11 Simon PMPS 70 +4 103 question abuot Onsior

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Georgia and Simon (GA)

Georgia and Simon (GA)

Member Since 2010
Sorry I have been off the board for a little bit. As always, crazy times! Simon has been having quite a tough time with his back legs lately. He is also looking quite old and a little sluggish. After the last pancreatitis episode, it seems like he is not bouncing back as quickly. I took him to the vet today to check him out. His weight is stable and he is eating, although I have to coax him at times. He is taking Pepcid, Ondansetron, and Cerenia daily along with subq fluids. I also have a little bit of bupe left from the pancreatitis flare-up and have been giving him a small dose 1x/day. He also just got a B12 injection and will get one every week. Poor Simon, in order to lie down, he has to flop down because his legs probably hurt to bend. He has trouble going up and down stairs.

Here is my question: the vet doesn't think Bupe or Tramadol are the best for arthritis pain and wants to try Onsior. He says it is having great results in Australia and Europe as far as pain relief. It doesn't sound like he has used it on many of the cats he treats and I really don't want to be the guinea pig. Has anyone else tried the drug and had good pain-relief results? I know it just recently got approved by the FDA. Thanks for any help!
 
Onsior is an NSAID; it is a pain relieving, anti-inflammatory drug. My vet gives it for 3 days after dental extractions. If there are no contradictions to using it, you could give it a trial and see how it goes.
 
I believe the instructions are for 3 days dosing, max. There is always the potential for renal failure with using NSAIDS with cats. I don't believe Onsior is meant for long term use.
 
Check out the 2015 AAHA/AAFP Pain Management Guidelines for Dogs and Cats. A quote from there:
Robenaxocib (Onsior) is a COX-2 selective NSAID approved for surgical pain in cats. It has not been studied for either feline DJD or in older cats...
Click to expand...
Emphasis is mine. Neko has been on buprenorphine for almost a year and a half for her arthritis. She also tried gabapentin, but without success. She has also been getting acupuncture which is helping.
 
Onsior is very similar to metacam in that it is a NSAID. I live in Australia and my cat Sheba has been on the cat specific metacam for a year and has done really well on it. It definitely reduces the pain levels and I can tell this because her need for insulin increased when I stopped it to see if she was ok without it. Her mobility was poor before she started the metacam (from arthritis and peripheral neuropathy) and after only a couple of days I saw a marked improvement in her mobility and general demeanour. Recently she had a course of 4 injections of cartrophen a week apart for each and that improved her even more. She has gone from a cat who had trouble walking up the stairs and couldn't jump up on chairs etc to running up the stairs and jumping on beds etc.

I know metacam is disliked in the US but we have a cat specific one out here which is dosed especially for cats.
It is up to you what you choose to do, but I chose quality of life, because she couldn't have gone on the way she was. I was apprehensive in the beginning too.
If you do choose to go with the Onsior you will need to make sure Simon is well hydrated and is eating. I give Sheba extra fluids in her food to ensure she is hydrated. If her appetite is down ( which doesn't happen unless she is sick with a pancreatic flare is similar) I just skip that daily dose.
To give it to her, I wait until she has eaten half her food then put it onto a little bit of food and watch her eat it. That way I know she has food in her tummy which is important.
I hope this has helped.
 
Our vet prescribed this for our civvie Tillie for spinal and hip arthritis. She was having a difficult spell getting around and was spending most of her time hiding out and not eating. After just a day on the Onsior she was feeling better, and was pretty spunky for an old girl after the three days. We also started Cosequin which after about 10 days seemed to keep her steady. Our vet had us get a second round of Onsior, because at the time it was hard to get, and we have not had to use it again. {{{anti-jinx}}}
Anne
 
Thank you everyone for all your great advice. I am feeling a little better after hearing about some of your success with the Onsior. Simon's vet wants to start with how he does on a 3 day dose but if there is any adverse reactions after the first dose, he would recommend stopping it. I still question any long term use with it and Simon has done well with bupe in the past. Not sure why I can't just use that long term. Vet said he has no problem with bupe for long term use but doesn't think it really helps that much with arthritic pain. I think I am going to wait a few days and see how Simon is doing and if no improvement, I may try the stuff. I also am open to acupuncture but just don't know if I can swing the cost. I just hate playing around with so many med when my baby is already very frail with multiple issues. Thanks again for your help.
 
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