experiences with Solensia?

Kate & Willow

Kate & Willow

Member Since 2024
My Willow just turned 17, and is chugging along smoothly with her diabetes- on insulin for over two years now. Recent bloodwork was good!
Last week, she jumped down from a chair and (I believe) tweaked her back. She was wobbly and crying out in pain. I immediately rushed her to our veterinary urgent care to get checked out. Of course at the vet, she was walking normally but I've noticed she's generally much more stiff in her back legs, and when she jumps down she loses her balance a bit. She's very stoic (as most cats are) and I think she has probably been hurting in her back for awhile. I've got stairs now to every surface she likes to jump up on, and we've been doing a little Gabapentin since the incident. My vet recommended we try Solensia, and I'm curious what people's experiences are with that? I've read the horror stories so it makes me hesitant. Any advice/first-hand experiences are appreciated!
 
My Neko was very arthritic due to her acromegaly, but it was in the time before Solensia came out. As a result, I did learn about quite about other options. One of my later cats also stopped being able to jump up and her vet suggested Solensia, so I did get a chance to try it. It worked wonders for her. Back to being able to jump all the way up on the bed. My vet at the time said she though it was about 70% of cats who get really good benefit out of it like I was seeing. There are contraindications, so make sure to check those out.
 
Wendy&Neko said:
My Neko was very arthritic due to her acromegaly, but it was in the time before Solensia came out. As a result, I did learn about quite about other options. One of my later cats also stopped being able to jump up and her vet suggested Solensia, so I did get a chance to try it. It worked wonders for her. Back to being able to jump all the way up on the bed. My vet at the time said she though it was about 70% of cats who get really good benefit out of it like I was seeing. There are contraindications, so make sure to check those out.
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Thank you so much for your reply! I'm happy to hear it did wonders for your kitty :)
 
Loki has been diabetic for five years. Around the time of his diagnosis we started Solensia. He receives a shot around every quarter and it seems to help him a lot. A couple days following administration he becomes quite active. In fact he received one last week and it is obvious he is more comfortable and mobile.
 
My cat is one who had a pretty dramatic bad reaction to Solensia. I also know of several others. I’ll never try it again. As Wendy said, pay attention to the contraindications. You might also consider Adequan injections or acupuncture.
 
My cat had a horrible reaction to Solensia. She's doing great on Cartrophen, which I've used on several other cats with great success. My cat's probably around 17 now and is jumping around like a kitten.
 
My kitty Hoodoo was on it for about a year and it helped her a lot at first but tapered off after a year or so so we eventually stopped. It worked well for my senior foster kitty for a few months as well.
 
We've just taken Luci to the vet for her 2nd monthly shot of Solensia. She's 18 now and has slowly developed arthritis, and we were hoping to see some improvement soon. She's really slowed down and walks very carefully. I noticed that when she tries to get down off the sofa (she can't get on the sofa herself anymore, so I have to pick her up to put her there, but she wants to get up there with me, and sometimes when there's no one there; but coming down is another matter. I put a little footstool near the sofa to help her, but she doesn't seem to be able to figure it out. She stumbled and fell down...and I thought I caught her out of the corner of my eye one day, appearing to stumble. But not since she's been on the Solensia. I'm just wondering how long before she starts to feel better and has a little more stability when she walks? I'm worried about her and talked to the vet tech today (at her shot) about her behavior lately (she's started snapping at us, so odd, because she's so used to the routine of getting testing/shots, etc). I've been treating her for nearly 10 years (Jan 2027) will be her 10th year anniversary. But lately we've noticed that her pupils are enlarged and she acts as if she can't see. I put down a couple of little treats this morning and she couldn't see them. So I'm not sure if it's old age that's caught up with her or the diabetes, or perhaps a side effect of Solensia? But she's scheduled to go back on Friday for a thorough exam, blood work, etc. The vet tech said she'd never heard of Levimer but Luci's numbers have been quite good lately on Levimer! She said it's preferred if we switch to a 'pet insulin' like Vetsulin. I don't think so. Vetsulin may be ok for some, but it doesn't last as long as Levimer. We'll see what they have to say on Friday. If you have had any experience with Solensia, please let me know what side effects you've noticed. Thank you!
 
Good to hear from you Sue. Kisses to Luci.

It took until after the second shot of Solensia for my kitty to real see a difference. Have you tried a ramp down from the sofa? I'm wondering if she's feeling some arthritis pain? Acupuncture treatments really helped Neko's mobility and pain from arthritis.
 
Sue and Luci said:
But lately we've noticed that her pupils are enlarged and she acts as if she can't see.
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Please have her blood pressure checked. High blood pressure can cause retinal detachment and blindness.

Years ago, one of my elderly girls had chronically enlarged pupils. That was the only symptom that she had high blood pressure. By the time I realized there was something wrong, she was mostly blind and had a partial retinal detachment. BP meds helped prevent a full detachment and fortunately she did recover some of her vision.

Just spitballing here, but Luci’s problems with getting on/off the couch could be vision related. Same for not using the steps you provided. It’s possible that the problem isn’t figuring out how to use them—rather that she can’t see them well or has limited depth perception.

Older cats can lose muscle mass and be more wobbly in general, so that could contribute. Kidney disease can exacerbate muscle loss and weakness (and is also a cause of high blood pressure).

I’d also pay attention to the potassium level and check thyroid levels.

Edited to add: Solensia caused extreme mentation and neurological problems with one of my cats. He was disoriented, wobbly, distressed, even almost irritable (totally not his personality). He would fall over and seemed to be in a brain fog. I seriously thought I had killed him by allowing the Solensia injection. It took a long time for him to get through it. I’m not sure whether he had a seizure or some type of event, but it’s possible. I do know of cats who did after Solensia.

Please post an update re: what you find out. Good luck, and good to see you around again.
 
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