Senior Cat Arthritis Help, Please

i've read approximately one million threads on this subject, but could use recommendations and reassurance.

HK is over 20 years old and he's on the following -

• prednisolone for his IBS
• mithimazole for hyperthyroidism
• cerenia to minimize the vomiting caused by larger pooping due to IBS. also helps with light nausea from his conditions
• sub Q lactated ringers for his kidney disease
• he's also getting B12 injections every 4 to 5 days - he was low on B12, and when we started giving it to him, his wobbly hindquarters improved a LOT. we slowed it down, he got wobbly again, so he's on a maintenance dose.

in the last few days, his arthritis has gotten worse. he's getting up more to re-position himself and waking up more to do so. poor little guy! he's also less steady on his feet. he's been on cosequin, which really helped his arthritis almost miraculously but even a half dose gives him violent diarrhea, and it caused weight loss on top of some wasting.

our vet - the only cats-only vet's office in the area - prefers to give chemicals. they wanted to give him cancer chemo for his IBS and wanted to jump right to pain meds for his arthritis, which was helped for a long time by cosequin.

so here's where we're at. i've read about green lipped muscle powder and krill oil and a host of other things. i'd like to get him the one with the least side effects while understanding that everything could have a side effect. in humans, i believe that shell fish seems to have more allergic reactions than some other things - not sure if that's true and if that applies to cats. but HK has had enough problems that i hope to find something for him asap that's less likely to cause issues.

the folks here seem to have more real life experience than the vets at the office. they sort of tend to go with the thing that fits the widest group of cats, but HK often doesn't seem to fall in that group, so i do research, ask around and then ask one of the vets after i have some info. they tend to agree with whatever i come up with unless there's an issue, like something affecting cats with kidney disease.

any thoughts or suggestions gratefully appreciated!

Hello, I'm not a person with experience in this but let me see if I can get members who do to weigh in for you

Bless your heart for working so hard for your baby

he's family and we love him

he couldn't get off the couch easily last night (his poor hips), so i woke at 5:30 and brought him plates of food, held them so he could eat without getting off the couch, brought him some water and took him to the cat box after. but he'd rather do it all himself, and we want that for him.

Not that this will have anything new for you, but just in case, and for other readers/lurkers for a tad more information:
Alternative Treatments For Cats: How To Minimize The Risk

This has a little info as well in case you aren't aware;
URL="T-relief (traumeel)?"]T-relief

I'm sorry HK is experiencing so many health issues as a senior cat. Our guy also has some arthritis towards the back of his body and will sometimes reposition himself slowly and carefully. One of the treatments our vet recommended was laser therapy. It's non-invasive, drug and surgery free. You may want to check it out. What Are the Benefits of Cold Laser Therapy for Dogs and Cats? — Pet Central by Chewy

Here is an Article that discusses Arthritis and joint pain in cats:
Arthritis And Joint Pain In Cats

Best of luck, please keep us posted on his progress.

Apologies for my multiple postings

Arthritis And Hemprx - Has Anyone Used It?

Furballsmom said:

Not that this will have anything new for you, but just in case, and for other readers/lurkers for a tad more information:
Alternative Treatments For Cats: How To Minimize The Risk

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thanks - i'll go over it again, just in case. the big problems for us are financial (we've been averaging $700 or more per month on HK's health and food needs for quite a while) and the fact that our vets really aren't great. on the other hand, no vets we've used in the area are great. the stories we could tell

neely said:

I'm sorry HK is experiencing so many health issues as a senior cat. Our guy also has some arthritis towards the back of his body and will sometimes reposition himself slowly and carefully. One of the treatments our vet recommended was laser therapy. It's non-invasive, drug and surgery free. You may want to check it out. What Are the Benefits of Cold Laser Therapy for Dogs and Cats? — Pet Central by Chewy

Here is an Article that discusses Arthritis and joint pain in cats:
Arthritis And Joint Pain In Cats

Best of luck, please keep us posted on his progress.

Click to expand...

cold laser therapy sounds interesting. our vet's office isn't exactly cutting edge, but i've emailed to ask about it. i heard back, and they don't do it. they're willing to "discuss other treatment options", which we've done with them before without much help.

will read the other article when i wake up.

thank you for the articles, and hope your guy's arthritis isn't too bad.

You can also try Glyco Flex Plus (primarily glucosamine, chondroitin, and green lipped mussels). Feeby (14+ yo) has made good strides in that she has stopped limping and is now jumping up on her favorite spots that she had abandoned before taking Glyco. It seems like it took less than 2 weeks to see a difference in her. They are like chewable treats, which can be cut into smaller pieces, or even crushed to put on top of other food. 30 day supply is about $10, for me anyway. Available via the internet at several online retailers.

The initial dosage is two treats per day for 4-6 weeks, but I never did that - just gave her one a day. There is another member on this site who started the dosage at two treats per day and experienced some loose stools - however, in their case there are other health related issues that likely contributed to it, as might be your case as well.

I hope you find a good and successful solution for HK!!!

i considered glycoflex plus, but since glucosamine gives HK severe diarrhea, i'd be concerned about it. still, the glucosamine is from a different source, and maybe non-active ingredients caused the issue.

we're on the way to the vet. maybe she'll have useful suggestions this time.

thanks, all!

GlycoFlex is going to have the same side effects as Cosequin. Worse perhaps because it also has MSM which is another known to cause GI distress.

I'm in the same boat with Krista. GlycoFlex was working wonders but the side effects ("poop and soup", litterbox stress and aversion) weren't worth it. Cosequin was more of the same. Green-lipped mussels may be as well since it's the same compounds.

Krill oil is an interesting possibility that I may try with Krista. Keep in mind that the addition of any oil can grease the chute and loosen stools. But hopefully the dose will be small enough that Krista and HK can adjust to it.

I was trying CBD but she's been barfing the past couple of days. I don't think it's the CBD. But I need to settle her barfing (so far, so good), and I don't need another variable in the CBD.

Bone broth is another interesting option but Krista hasn't shown much interest in it.

daftcat75 said:

GlycoFlex is going to have the same side effects as Cosequin. Worse perhaps because it also has MSM which is another known to cause GI distress.

I'm in the same boat with Krista. GlycoFlex was working wonders but the side effects ("poop and soup", litterbox stress and aversion) weren't worth it. Cosequin was more of the same. Green-lipped mussels may be as well since it's the same compounds.

Krill oil is an interesting possibility that I may try with Krista. Keep in mind that the addition of any oil can grease the chute and loosen stools. But hopefully the dose will be small enough that Krista and HK can adjust to it.

I was trying CBD but she's been barfing the past couple of days. I don't think it's the CBD. But I need to settle her barfing (so far, so good), and I don't need another variable in the CBD.

Bone broth is another interesting option but Krista hasn't shown much interest in it.

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HK is fairly constipated without the cosequin, so perhaps krill oil would be something to try. i'll talk to the vet about it at our appointment - we're on our way now.

There have been some great suggestions here. I'd definitely look into some kind of omega 3 oil.
Traumeel is very good and very effective and very safe. The individual stuff in there I've used singly before, too, arnica especially is great for any kind of pain.
Also, if you add oils and powders and all kinds of stuff there's a good chance he won't eat it, or will eat around most of it. You know cats So I would add one thing at a time.

1 bruce 1 said:

arnica especially is great for any kind of pain.

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Thanks for mentioning Arnica, I remember this as a go to option for our dog.

neely said:

Thanks for mentioning Arnica, I remember this as a go to option for our dog.

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There are others, but it's a little dependent on other symptoms.

I used cosequin with smokey

What is HK eating if I might ask?
At 20 years young and IBS along with it a diet change might not be something to do, but I'm just curious

imagine my surprise - even though HK has been on sub-q fluids for years and his kidney values are unchanged, apparently he's been drinking and peeing more, and this is relevant.

apparently low potassium can cause weakening in the hindquarters, so the vet decided to check his potassium, and it's low. i asked if it was low enough to cause his problems walking and she said absolutely. ordinarily she'd send him to a local around-the-clock cat hospital, but we literally don't have the money and HK is a very sensitive kitty at this point who would freak out staying anywhere but home.

so we'll be giving him potassium orally. my husband takes potassium and says it's awful, so that should be a challenge. also we are to put liquid potassium in HK's lactated ringers solution. hope that will help sooner than the vet expects it to - so far, everything has.

the sad news is HK has lost 2 more pounds and considering he was already underweight, who knows how much longer he'll be around. the way we see it, as long as he's engaged and happy, we'll do everything we can.

T-relief (Traumeel) and a heated bed are the most helpful things I've found beside Cosequin. My senior cat seems to sleep deeper and more comfortably since I bought a heated med. Fish oil in general, not just krill oil, has always been highly recommended by my vets for older pets.

Burts said:

I used cosequin with smokey

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HK can't use cosequin. it works well but gives him diarrhea.

1 bruce 1 said:

What is HK eating if I might ask?
At 20 years young and IBS along with it a diet change might not be something to do, but I'm just curious

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nothing but fancy feast. the vet told us years ago not to switch anything since till recently he's been in good health outside of any long-running issues and has a sensitive digestive due to his IBS. and luckily fancy feast makes like a thousand flavors, so when HK goes through one of his "i'm not eating that flavor any more" things, there are many to try and replace the flavors he stops eating with.

interesting to note, they used to have a vet where we go who had three cats, all over 20, and all they ever ate was fancy feast.