? Diabetic cat with Bad Arthritis

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MisMelzy

MisMelzy

Member Since 2013
I am pretty sure this topic has been had before on this board. My lucky is diabetic. She is controlled by food only. Her arthritis is getting bad (she's 17). She's been to two vets and both agree her issue is arthritis. She is having trouble eating. She has arthritis in her neck and spine. I have raised her eating dish as high as I can. Her arthritis pain is so bad that it is affecting her controlled hyperthyroidism. She has had to reduce her medication amount because the pain is suppressing her thyroid. She's had a full panel blood test done and a thorough check up with a 2nd opinion done by another vet. Both agree it's pain related. I had her on Maximum consequin. I gave dosage recommended on the box. Did not really help. So right now she is on Meloxycam every 3 days but she is not finishing all her food. She even has problems taking pills so she Shegets hers syringed. She gets to day number 2 (on the Meloxycam) and needs more but vet says every 3 days only. Looking for something liquid I can give her or can syringe to her that doesn't have a nasty taste. She is loosing weight because she is not eating enough. If I can get her pain reduced significantly I think she will do better. I did try gabapentin but even on a really low dose she would stop eating. So I had to stop it. Any thoughts? I am looking for something budget friendly and easy to give. No treats because she has trouble eating those.

Thanks in advance!

Mel
 
I am so sorry to hear that the arthritis is so bad for poor kitty.

I know some of the members do treat their arthritic cats with Adequan injections and I am looking at that in future for Idjit as/if his front leg arthritis progresses. He is currently getting Metacam (Metacam® Oral Suspension for Cats (meloxicam) is indicated for the alleviation of inflammation and pain) 1X a week, with Noden's Cat Hip & Joint Care Supplement (liquid) 2 X a day. Idjit also gets a miniscule dose of CBD crystal isolate for pain PRN in a little food. It's odorless and tasteless. The CBD is new for us, I was initially looking locally for transdermal CBD because Idjit does not like the taste or smell of capsules (and I figured he wouldn't like the oil either) and the Gabapentin makes him groggy and wobbly. This seems to be working and he is limping less and appears to be in much less discomfort.

I know @Bronx's dad uses Adequan injections for his Bronx.
@jayla-n-Drevon
@Panic
@JanetNJ
are a few others that come up in a search for Adequan here on the board and can probably tell you more, plus more about "Bupe" or buprenorphine for pain.
Found a thread about supplements for joint issues, arthritis, adequan and bupe here:
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/pain-med.217503/#post-2422300

I wish you and kitty well and sincerely hope you find some solutions to help her.
 
I do not give my kitty any injections at all. Her diabetes is solely controlled by food. I can ask about the adequan injections. My pet sitter is a certified veterinary technitian and she is helping me research other ideas for pain management as well.

Mel
 
Two other options that you may want to look into are massage and acupuncture. This may help with relaxing the muscles and reducing some of the pain.
 
Other options include fish oil and Duralactin which help treat inflammation. The latter is only good if kitty can tolerate milk and I would ask your vet too. Hyaluronic acid (helps joints) comes as drops and MSM (pain relief) as a powder. What worked best for me was Duralactin, Cartrophen (What is used instead of Adequan outside of the US), acupuncture, and buprenorphine.
 
Well Lucky is lactose intolerant. I can try the fish oil. I'd have to syringe it to her as she has trouble taking any oral meds, and she doesn't finish all her food.

Mel
 
I just reread your first post--I hope you will consider adequan it to my knowledge has no negative effects and has absolutely made my boys much more comfortable. My Rico had terrible arthritis in his spine but I had started him on adequan at about 16 ish-he was 21 he just passed:( recently and was still jumping on the couch and no hesitation with stairs.
Loading dose is a shot every 4 days for a total of 8 shots then anywhere from weekly (even every 4 days) to monthly depending on severity.:bighug:
 
jayla-n-Drevon said:
I just reread your first post--I hope you will consider adequan it to my knowledge has no negative effects and has absolutely made my boys much more comfortable. My Rico had terrible arthritis in his spine but I had started him on adequan at about 16 ish-he was 21 he just passed:( recently and was still jumping on the couch and no hesitation with stairs.
Loading dose is a shot every 4 days for a total of 8 shots then anywhere from weekly (even every 4 days) to monthly depending on severity.:bighug:
Click to expand...
So sorry you lost him. :(
 
Thank you @JanetNJ
It has been awful and Dre is so sad.
I know I should be grateful for 21 amazing years and I am but I miss him more than I could ever express.
 
I will call tomorrow and ask my vet about Adequan for Lucky. The other thing I was going to try was Hemp Oil. Has anyone used that in conjunction with traditional veterinary medication? I have a few I'm looking into, but I have asked for exact ingredients, and to make sure it's okay for a diabetic cat. At this point I'll try anything. She needs to eat more. I had to stop her Thyroid meds for two days to get her T4 to rise, and now it has. She's back on Methimazole but her T4 is really high so with her not eating right now (and waiting the three weeks for the methimazole to kick back in) she's loosing weight.
 
I give Dre canna pet
Rico got it too
I noticed they sprawled out more comfortable it seemed.
Might consider a appetite stimulate ?
 
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