limping - meloxicam / metacam

mmin

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Hello!

My 3 year old scottish fold has been intermittently limping for probably the past 2 months, on and off, inconsistently. It's usually worse when he just wakes up, and then he walks the limp off, and then becomes okay. It hasn't affected his activities, still the same, he is still jumping to the same height, still playing and running and dashing around.

But because i got worried, i bought him in the vets. first vet i went to about 1 month ago couldnt find any findings and she just gave me antinol (a supplement for joints) to give him. i just bought him into the vets again yesterday because it hasn't fully recovered yet. he is still doing the intermittent limping.
background, my cat hates the vets with a passion and always always growls and hisses at the vet. yesterday, she started off by checking his hind legs, and he started hissing/ growling, but still within normal limits. then she moved onto his left front leg, and the hissing got louder. and by the time she got to the last (right) front leg, the hissing was +++. That led the vet to believe his right front leg was in alot of pain. she told me she believed its more likely a sprain because of his age and the way he was hissing when she moved his leg.

I was worried about arthritis because of his breed, but the vet didnt think of it as likely as he is only 3 years old + she said she did not feel any crepitus/ crackles while movinghis limbs. So she gave him anti-inflammatorys + pain meds (meloxicam/metacam for 5 days) + gabapentin 2 pills daily for 5 days. she said to do that and monitor for 2-3 weeks,and if it still doesnt get better, or worsens, then to sedate him for an xray.

The thing is...
When he's at home, calm and all, i'm able to move his limbs all 4 of them without any issues and he does not hiss or tense up significantly at all. So i'm worried that i'd be giving him too much medications for his pain when he may not be in that much pain? (like the way he presented at the clinic, i'm not sure if its pain or just anger at being at the vets). also the way the vet worded it, that it is to rule out her differential diagnoses, would that be worth it to give my cat metacam/meloxicam for this issue, knowing the potential side effects if he is not truly in that much pain?

also if its a sprain like the vet thinks, wouldn't it have healed by now after 2 months? and why is it intermittent? the vet says a sprain can be intermittently symptomatic.

I have videos of him limping, and videos of him running all within the same hour! I will upload it asap.


Limping video #1: limping video #2: normal running: (scroll towards end of video)
 
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mrsgreenjeens

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Did you tell the Vet that you are able to manipulate all four of his legs with no problems from him and ask if the growling +++ could simply have been anger? If not, I would do that before medicating him.

Did they want you to give him the Metacam and Gabapentin on the same days, or Metacam for the first five days, then Gabapentin for the next five days. I don't quite understand giving him two pain meds at the same time . Not sure what that would accomplish :dunno:

I agree with you that if it were merely a strain, I would think it would be healed after two months, but I supposed if he continues to use the leg, it might never have a chance to heal. Since you have videos of him limping, does it appear to be the right front leg that is the problem? (just curious ) Or is it even consistant?
 
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mmin

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Hi! Thank you for replying!

yup i did tell the vet that i’m able to move his limbs without much growling/hissing, he would occassionally pull his limbs away, but definitely nothing like what was seen at the clinic and no aggression. But the vet simply said that cats can hide their pain at home.
They wanted me to give the metacam and gabapentin together! Simultaneously. Thats why i don’t know if it is because of how aggressive my cat was during the review that led her to think kitty was in alot of pain.

she did say though that the metacam is the more important medication as its anti inflammatory and gabapentin is a “if you can give, give, if cannot, it is also okay”

i can’t quite tell from vids i posted which leg it is but it seems to be both right and left at different times from my opinion (which may very well be wrong because i cant quite tell which is the limping one ><) i’ve uploaded the vids in the youtube links above!’
 

mrsgreenjeens

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Interesting. In video 1, it appears to be the front left and in video 2, it seems to be the opposite front leg. Curious :dunno:

Does she limp often enough that you would be able to tell if the Metacam works within the five days? ALL medications come with risks, but they are low if given exactly as prescribed. We cannot tell you what to do, but that is a pretty pronounced limp, in my opinion. If she is, indeed, in pain, and it's been two months, it might be worth giving her at least ONE of the pain relievers to see if they help. This would probably only work if she limps fairly regularly (at least every day or so)
 

silent meowlook

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Hi. Personally, I wouldn't give the Metacam to any cat, let alone a Scottish Fold. Meloxicam (Metacam) is not labeled for cats. Although there are many medications used off label in cats, Metacam is really rough on the kidneys.

Scottish folds have some hereditary issues like polycystic kidney disease and the below I copied from a site:


What’s SFOCD?

SFOCD is characterized by skeletal abnormalities. Due to this disease, the cartilages do not grow strong enough to support ears as they normally do. SFOCD not only affects ear cartilages, but also other bones in their bodies, such as carpal, metacarpal bones, phalanges, and caudal vertebrae. These abnormalities make affected cats lameness, stiff and reluctance to jump. When they want to walk, run or jump they will feel painful, because of narrow joint spaces and new bone formation around the joints. These abnormalities also explain why they stand and sit like human, keeping their legs straight.

SFOCD is caused by genetic mutation and all Scottish fold cats more or less suffer from this disease. Severity of SFOCD is different among affected cats. Homozygous cats with two copies of mutant gene will show abnormalities from about 7 weeks of age, earlier than heterozygous cats with only one mutant gene. The homozygous also suffer more than the heterozygous.
 

StanAndAlf

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Hi. Personally, I wouldn't give the Metacam to any cat, let alone a Scottish Fold. Meloxicam (Metacam) is not labeled for cats. Although there are many medications used off label in cats, Metacam is really rough on the kidneys.
I agree that metacam used for long term pain treatment can be rough on the kidneys. I would, however, like to ask where you found out that it's not labelled for cats? Just interested, never heard that before 😊
 

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I agree that metacam used for long term pain treatment can be rough on the kidneys. I would, however, like to ask where you found out that it's not labelled for cats? Just interested, never heard that before 😊
i agree. i just read that it is not good for cats . a doc gave me an rx for my foot and i wont take it. my 18yo has been on a lo dose gabapentin for a yr. it helps somewhat but the adequan helped her a lot. then she came back with bad liver values and i have been hesitant since. i gave her denamarin advanced for cats and subsequent blood test showed liver normal again. but she is not active at all so i am going to give adequan another try. it is just a challenge to give her the adequan. she sees an oncologist ev 6 mo and even tho they shave her belly-they r very good with her and she lets them. thankfully
 

nanniecat

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Hello!

My 3 year old scottish fold has been intermittently limping for probably the past 2 months, on and off, inconsistently. It's usually worse when he just wakes up, and then he walks the limp off, and then becomes okay. It hasn't affected his activities, still the same, he is still jumping to the same height, still playing and running and dashing around.

But because i got worried, i bought him in the vets. first vet i went to about 1 month ago couldnt find any findings and she just gave me antinol (a supplement for joints) to give him. i just bought him into the vets again yesterday because it hasn't fully recovered yet. he is still doing the intermittent limping.
background, my cat hates the vets with a passion and always always growls and hisses at the vet. yesterday, she started off by checking his hind legs, and he started hissing/ growling, but still within normal limits. then she moved onto his left front leg, and the hissing got louder. and by the time she got to the last (right) front leg, the hissing was +++. That led the vet to believe his right front leg was in alot of pain. she told me she believed its more likely a sprain because of his age and the way he was hissing when she moved his leg.

I was worried about arthritis because of his breed, but the vet didnt think of it as likely as he is only 3 years old + she said she did not feel any crepitus/ crackles while movinghis limbs. So she gave him anti-inflammatorys + pain meds (meloxicam/metacam for 5 days) + gabapentin 2 pills daily for 5 days. she said to do that and monitor for 2-3 weeks,and if it still doesnt get better, or worsens, then to sedate him for an xray.

The thing is...
When he's at home, calm and all, i'm able to move his limbs all 4 of them without any issues and he does not hiss or tense up significantly at all. So i'm worried that i'd be giving him too much medications for his pain when he may not be in that much pain? (like the way he presented at the clinic, i'm not sure if its pain or just anger at being at the vets). also the way the vet worded it, that it is to rule out her differential diagnoses, would that be worth it to give my cat metacam/meloxicam for this issue, knowing the potential side effects if he is not truly in that much pain?

also if its a sprain like the vet thinks, wouldn't it have healed by now after 2 months? and why is it intermittent? the vet says a sprain can be intermittently symptomatic.

I have videos of him limping, and videos of him running all within the same hour! I will upload it asap.


Limping video #1: limping video #2: normal running: (scroll towards end of video)
how is your kitty feeling? what did u decide to do abt meds?
 
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mmin

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how is your kitty feeling? what did u decide to do abt meds?

Hi!

Thank you for checking up on us!
Update from that last input, i've bought him in to the vet again as it didnt seem to be easing. We got referred to an ortho specialist, who then said that he felt that it was early arthritis from congenital bone alignment issues + that he's a scottish fold, so his cartilage isnt the best to begin with. However, these are from just seeing kitty, and we have yet to take xrays.

He's been fine the past month or so, the same really. Limping inconsistently, very intermittently and each time only about few seconds, he walks it off, and then there's no more limp. So i havent' really started on medications.

However :(( 2 days ago, i dont know why it was so sudden, but 2 days ago, he started limping quite badly, on the same bad leg that the vet said was the bad leg (right leg), and it took a very long time before he walked it off (about few hours), he wouldn't walk much that day. walk a few steps then choose to lay down. that night he went back to normal, however since then, 2 days ago, he seems to be limping more consistently, and more often, and more pronounced? usually when he limps, my family and me would be all questioning if that is even considered limping, and we would ask if he's limping or if thats normal cause its not easy to tell at all! but these 2 days on, its been obvious...

Just wanted to ask... is it possible for it to get worse so suddenly? out of nowhere, suddenly worse? :((

i'm quite at a loss actually because he's still so young.
thinking of laser therapy/ physiotherapy and some supplements? any one has any experience in that / suggestions to offer for supplements?

Thank you!
 

nanniecat

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Hi!

Thank you for checking up on us!
Update from that last input, i've bought him in to the vet again as it didnt seem to be easing. We got referred to an ortho specialist, who then said that he felt that it was early arthritis from congenital bone alignment issues + that he's a scottish fold, so his cartilage isnt the best to begin with. However, these are from just seeing kitty, and we have yet to take xrays.

He's been fine the past month or so, the same really. Limping inconsistently, very intermittently and each time only about few seconds, he walks it off, and then there's no more limp. So i havent' really started on medications.

However :(( 2 days ago, i dont know why it was so sudden, but 2 days ago, he started limping quite badly, on the same bad leg that the vet said was the bad leg (right leg), and it took a very long time before he walked it off (about few hours), he wouldn't walk much that day. walk a few steps then choose to lay down. that night he went back to normal, however since then, 2 days ago, he seems to be limping more consistently, and more often, and more pronounced? usually when he limps, my family and me would be all questioning if that is even considered limping, and we would ask if he's limping or if thats normal cause its not easy to tell at all! but these 2 days on, its been obvious...

Just wanted to ask... is it possible for it to get worse so suddenly? out of nowhere, suddenly worse? :((

i'm quite at a loss actually because he's still so young.
thinking of laser therapy/ physiotherapy and some supplements? any one has any experience in that / suggestions to offer for supplements?

Thank you!
i would start with the expert-the orthopedist. xrays is the only way to know for sure. he will give u a plan! at this point u dont know what will work. my research shows no scientific proof on supplements working. but a lot of ppl swear by them. he is so adorbs! my cat has arthrisitis(xray proof!) i did try laser therapy and then accupuncture but it all stressed her out so we quit. she is on 25 mg gabapentin. not sure if it really helps her arthritis. the adequan helped but the stress of going to a vet 2xwk caused other problems. let the ortho take xrays, get an accurate diagnosis while he is so young! he can overcome whatever the prob is or get it corrected. he is worth that. cute lil baby!
 

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Where I work, we sell the vial of adequacy and teach the owners to do it.
 
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