Arthritis in Cats

classic67

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A couple of days ago my 12 yr old kitty ran to jump on her kitty condo and fell off landing on her hip, which resulted in her dragging her hind leg when trying to walk. We raced her to the 24 hour emergency vet and she was diagnosed with severe arthritis in her hips and knees. They gave her Gabapentin 100mg capsules and told us to "watch her" and make sure she didn't jump on things. Also to get her on some sort of pain management and weight loss diet. She's 13 lbs. She recently saw our regular vet and got a clean bill of health. My question is, does anyone have any hopefully positive input on treating arthritic cats? What has worked for you, what supplements or meds have been helpful. Anything you could share would be greatly appreciated. My kitties (4) are my children, and they are the world to me. Seeing her in such pain is horrific. The first evening she got a full dosage of the pain meds and it wiped her out, so I've been trying a half dose as they suggested. She just doesn't seem to be feeling any better.
 

neely

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TCS has an Article about Arthritis in Cats which may have some helpful information for you:
Arthritis And Joint Pain In Cats – TheCatSite Articles

Our 10 year old guy has arthritis in his back end and one of the things our vet recommended was cold laser therapy which is non-invasive. Here's an explanation about it: Cold Laser Therapy for Dogs and Cats

These two threads from members with arthritic cats may also have some helpful advice and links:
Arthritis at 11...
Senior Cat Arthritis Help, Please
 
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mrsgreenjeens

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Did they do an xray just to make sure she didn't break anything? (I'm guessing they did, but if she wasn't in pain prior to the fall, and is now in serious pain, it seems that something else aside from arthritis could be causing the pain). Also, what do you mean your regular Vet gave her a clean bill of health? If she is in pain from severe arthritis, your regular Vet should prescribe the proper pain meds for her. If too much Gabapentin wipes her out, and too little does nothing, then they need to find something else. There ARE other pain meds available.

In the meantime, for arthritis, heat is good. Also, you can use Cosequin or Dasoquin to add to her food, although that's normally used for milk to moderate, not severe. You'll probably find those above articles more helpful.

As to losing weight, what did the Vet say she should weigh? Or how much did they say she should lose? It's calorie driven just like with humans, but with cats, it's best if those calories are mainly meats, not carbs. Wet food seems to be more satisfying to cats who are dieting. If you start up another thread JUST for the weight loss, we can give you more information on this
 

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If you can, initiate a multimodal approach to decrease inflammation (through medication, diet, cold laser therapy, CBD, etc.). The links in Neely's post provide a ton of great information! I recently purchased a heated bed/pad for my girl, and she really enjoys it.
 
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classic67

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TCS has an Article about Arthritis in Cats which may have some helpful information for you:
Arthritis And Joint Pain In Cats – TheCatSite Articles

Our 10 year old guy has arthritis in his back end and one of the things our vet recommended was cold laser therapy which is non-invasive. Here's an explanation about it: Cold Laser Therapy for Dogs and Cats

These two threads from members with arthritic cats may also have some helpful advice and links:
Arthritis at 11...
Senior Cat Arthritis Help, Please
Thank you so much. I will read these articles first thing in the morning. I'm getting her settled into her heated bed, so that I can go to bed now! I'm calling our regular vet in the morning to have her check on her too. I appreciate your help so much. I'll let you all know how we make out.
 
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classic67

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Did they do an xray just to make sure she didn't break anything? (I'm guessing they did, but if she wasn't in pain prior to the fall, and is now in serious pain, it seems that something else aside from arthritis could be causing the pain). Also, what do you mean your regular Vet gave her a clean bill of health? If she is in pain from severe arthritis, your regular Vet should prescribe the proper pain meds for her. If too much Gabapentin wipes her out, and too little does nothing, then they need to find something else. There ARE other pain meds available.

In the meantime, for arthritis, heat is good. Also, you can use Cosequin or Dasoquin to add to her food, although that's normally used for milk to moderate, not severe. You'll probably find those above articles more helpful.

As to losing weight, what did the Vet say she should weigh? Or how much did they say she should lose? It's calorie driven just like with humans, but with cats, it's best if those calories are mainly meats, not carbs. Wet food seems to be more satisfying to cats who are dieting. If you start up another thread JUST for the weight loss, we can give you more information on this
Thanks so much for your reply! Yes, they did do X-Rays. When our regular vet gave her a clean bill of health, she was referring to senior blood work, etc. I've suspected that she was getting stiff in the hind end for a bit, I've been giving her Glucosamine/Chondroitin supplements in the past, but haven't lately because they are in a treat form and I didn't want to add the calories to her diet. Now I regret that. Yes, she has a heated bed, and has been enjoying it for years! In fact with four kitties in the house, we have a total of 6 heated beds, throughout the house! Anything for our girls! I'm going to read the articles in the morning and then call our regular vet for an appt. She had mentioned Shelby needed to loose weight, but didn't say how much, or what a good weight would be. So I'll be sure to get that all worked out. All our cats are on Holistic and natural food and occasionally some freeze dried raw food if they will eat it, and I'm very reluctant to put her on any of the commercial diet foods like Hills R/D. I know that they aren't the best quality, and the vet want's them on grain-free food. Thank you so much for your thoughts on the situation, and I'll let you folks know how we make out.
 
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classic67

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TCS has an Article about Arthritis in Cats which may have some helpful information for you:
Arthritis And Joint Pain In Cats – TheCatSite Articles

Our 10 year old guy has arthritis in his back end and one of the things our vet recommended was cold laser therapy which is non-invasive. Here's an explanation about it: Cold Laser Therapy for Dogs and Cats

These two threads from members with arthritic cats may also have some helpful advice and links:
Arthritis at 11...
Senior Cat Arthritis Help, Please
Thank you, thank you! I will read these articles in the morning. It's almost midnight and I just got Shelby settled into her heated bed, so now I can go to bed knowing she's comfy! I plan on calling our regular vet in the morning, and will let everyone know how we make out. Thanks again!
 
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classic67

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If you can, initiate a multimodal approach to decrease inflammation (through medication, diet, cold laser therapy, CBD, etc.). The links in Neely's post provide a ton of great information! I recently purchased a heated bed/pad for my girl, and she really enjoys it.
Thanks, I plan on reading the articles in the morning before I call our vet. We have 6 of those heated beds for our 4 girls and they love them. They are a great investment even for the other 3 that don't have arthritis! There is nothing I won't do for my girls! Nothing but the best for our cat kids!
 
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classic67

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Thank you so much. I will read these articles first thing in the morning. I'm getting her settled into her heated bed, so that I can go to bed now! I'm calling our regular vet in the morning to have her check on her too. I appreciate your help so much. I'll let you all know how we make out.
Wow, I just read the article! It sounds amazing, and reading it has made me feel so much better! We have an appointment with the vet today at 3:30 and I will definitely bring the therapy up to her. Thanks so much!
 
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classic67

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How's your girl today? Did you get her to the vet?
Hi Stephanie! Thanks for asking. I did get her to the vets and she said that Shelby's hips are in bad shape. She thinks that she possibly was born with bad hips, but now the arthritis has complicated things. She gave her NSAIDS for 3 days and I will continue the Gabapantin until it's gone. She also gave her Glucosamine supplements. I got her a low sided litterbox which should be easier for her. And I have to watch her closely for 2 weeks to make sure she doesn't jump up on furniture. She's already moving much better after her first NSAID. Vet says we should see improvement shortly. She also has arthritis in her little knees. It just breaks your heart.:sigh:☹ I
pray that in the next few days we'll see improvement, and she'll be acting like my old girl again!
 
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classic67

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To everyone who's been following my post on my Shelby, we did go to see our regular vet today. She said that her hips are in bad shape structurally, and she was probably born that way, but the arthritis has made things worse. She also has arthritis in her knees. So she has put her on anti inflammatory meds for 3 days, and I have to continue with the Gabapantin. She expects that will help a lot. If not we will look into back issues, but she doesn't think that she has any back problems. Just her hips and knees. She also gave us Dasuquin supplements. I have to keep her quiet and not let her jump up on furniture for two weeks. Also I bought her a new litter box with lower sides. We discussed Cold Laser Therapy and she's open to that once we locate the exact location of all the pain. either the knees or the hips. We have a recheck appt. in 2 weeks, so I'll know more then. But she's already walking much better after only one of the anti inflammatory pills. It's hard with 3 other kitties in the house that are "grazers" and are always eating, because Shelby want's to get up to investigate every time she hears someone else crunching on something! How to you make a kitty "rest" for 2 weeks! I'm going to give her a dose of her pain meds now. I mg in liquid form with a syringe. We've tried pill pockets, ham, treats...........she's too smart for that! This will be our first attempt with a syringe in the mouth. I'll probably end up bleeding! LOL!!
 

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My 15 yr old has arthritis and we give her Cosequin and Dasuquin Advanced supplements. That has helped with her mobility. We also got her a heated bed. I hope the NSAID and pain meds help your girl feel better. Keep us updated!
 

neely

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This will be our first attempt with a syringe in the mouth. I'll probably end up bleeding! LOL!!
Actually I prefer giving our cat liquid meds since I find pills more difficult. I thought this short video might be helpful for you:
 
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classic67

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Wow, this is so helpful. I did give it to her, and it went well. After seeing this I hope I didn't tilt her head back too much, but I did get it in the corner of her mouth and cheek area. She got a treat right after, so she's happy! I'm going to watch her for a while to make sure all is well. I've been spending a lot of time on my couch sleeping the last few nights so I can be close to her. I know a lot of people would think I'm crazy, but we don't have kids, and these kitties are our world. When they are miserable, so am I!! Sometimes I wonder how it's possible to love these babies so much. Thanks so much for the video. You folks are incredibly supportive and knowledgeable. :lovecat4:
 
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classic67

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My 15 yr old has arthritis and we give her Cosequin and Dasuquin Advanced supplements. That has helped with her mobility. We also got her a heated bed. I hope the NSAID and pain meds help your girl feel better. Keep us updated!
I forgot to tell you that Dasuquin Advanced is what the vet gave us too! The heated beds are the greatest! We have six of them in the house for 4 cats! Wherever they decide to go they have a heated bed! Not too spoiled!!
 

mrsgreenjeens

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I've been spending a lot of time on my couch sleeping the last few nights so I can be close to her. I know a lot of people would think I'm crazy, but we don't have kids, and these kitties are our world. When they are miserable, so am I!! Sometimes I wonder how it's possible to love these babies so much. . :lovecat4:
I'm pretty sure everyone here on this site can relate to this :lol: :redheartpump:

So glad she is showing signs of feeling better
 

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I gave my 17 year old cat who was limping and stiff You Move from Lintbells as she wouldn't touch the one from the vets. I sprinkled the capsule on her regular food she loved it and it helped a lot after a few weeks. The vet tried her on Metocam at first which after a few days gave her diarrhoea and then tried codeine which cat wouldn't take and vet wasn't happy at giving steroids.
 
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classic67

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That sounds wonderful, thank you! May I ask where you purchased it? I'll try anything for my girl! She seems to be showing improvement, but she's still on meds and I don't want her on them for the rest of her life. I'd rather go the natural route. Thanks again for your input.
 

Felix19+

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I purchased You Move from amazon uk (I live in UK)- you can get it at some pet stores (in UK) I believe but it's more expensive than getting it on the internet ?
 
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