Question about metacam

[ashekitty]

My 10 year old cat was prescribed metacam for a week at a 1.5mg/ml concentration with 0.08ml per day. One of her ears is inflamed, and she has some arthritis. We have tried glucosamine for her arthritis, and it helped a bit but we wanted to see if something else could help as well. (Aka this medication doesn’t HAVE to be given to her, it’s for added comfort) I knew she was getting prescribed an anti inflammatory, but I totally forgot to ask the actual medication and didn’t notice until I got home that it was metacam. I already payed for a weeks worth of the stuff. I know metacam has a bad wrap, how concerned should I be? Should I not give it to her?

 

[IndyJones]

Metacam is known to worsen some medical conditions such as renal failure and liver disease.

It is my understanding only the injectable form is approved for use in cats however the oral version is sometimes used off label. I personally would seek an alternative if it was my cat but some people have had success with using it off label. I just don't feel comfortable using it.

 

[IndyJones]

Not sure if this will help or not but here's what the fda says about it
Link

 

[sidneykitty]

As far as I know, Metacam can contribute to kidney disease in cats.

My vet recently recommended we put my cat on this for arthritis, too, and I have some doubts about it so I'll be watching this thread if anyone else has thoughts.

 

[stephanietx]

You should be very concerned as Metacam can actually cause kidney failure and even death in some cats. There are other things you can try such as Dasquin Advanced chews (rx only from vet) and Onsior which is an anti-inflammatory. Some kitties also have success with CBD oil, but it made my girl itchy and cause her to lick her tummy so we had to stop that.

 

[sidneykitty]

As far as I know, Onsior can only be given 3 days in a row at a time. At least that's what my vet said. I'm not sure of the longterm effectiveness/risks of it, either. We just did a 3-day trial with Amber that went well and it was easy to give, but hit our 3-day max and then the vet suggested Metacam.

I wonder if gabapentin can be used for arthritis pain. Anyone know?

 

[BlackCatOp]

Sorry your kitty is experiencing arthritis.

Several comments:
First metacam/meloxicam is an NSAID that is an anti-inflammatory that is FDA approved for a single dose at a rate of 0.3 mg/kg. NSAIDS work by targeting acute pain due to the inflammatory response.

As you will note, there is a HUGE difference in the FDA dose and the low dose your vet prescribed. Also, the labeling in EU countries is less “strict” and they allow for longer duration of use. There has even been studies with cats with CKD and the low dose of metacam did not cause worsening signs.

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Retrospective Case-Control Study of the Effects of Long-Term Dosing With Meloxicam on Renal Function in Aged Cats With Degenerative Joint Disease - PubMed

FWIW, I would chose to use the low dose metacam if my cat had a chronic painful condition such as arthritis.

Onsior/robenacoxib is also an NSAID and is FDA aproved for post-operative of up to 3 days use.
Gabapentin is a voltage calcium channel blocker that decreases neuropathic pain associated with chronic pain conditions. The dose is much less then the commonly prescribed dose for sedation and can take 6 weeks to fully work.
Omega 3s are anti-inflammatory and could be added to diet to help reduce inflammation.

To effectively treat arthritis, targeting both the acute and chronic pain is important so adding gabapentin to the metacam could be beneficial for added relief.

Hope this helps and hope your kitty feels better!

 

[Willowy]

I wonder if gabapentin can be used for arthritis pain.

Yes, my mom's dogs take it for that reason, but it's fairly mild and has a sedating effect (the dogs also have anxiety issues so it works for them).

I understand they use Metacam for cats in Europe fairly regularly, and see few side effects. Of course there will always be the possibility of side effects---NSAIDS for humans have tons of possible side effects but we rarely think about that when we pop an Advil!---but if she has pain that's lowering her quality of life it may be worth it.