Severe arthritis

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molly92

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We're going to the vet on Monday, but I wanted to see if anyone else had experience with pretty bad arthritis in their elderly cat, and what that looked like? Wendy (17+) has it in her hips and it's been an issue since I got her a few years ago, but these past few weeks have gotten worse. It's likely a combination of things, since we also suspect kidney disease, but she seems to be struggling and falling over a lot more. I've tried supplements, but the problem is it's so easy to turn her off of her food and getting her to eat is always my number 1 priority (she's under 5 pounds now), so she rarely gets a full dosage if any. At this point I'm going to be asking about serious pain medication (I have been giving her CBD oil because the vet thought that might be easier on her kidneys, but the effect seems minimal). I hope we can find something that causes minimal stress with maximum pain relief. What did your vet prescribe for your arthritic cats? Has anyone seen good results from acupuncture?
 

daftcat75

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I don't know if it's recommended for cats with kidney disease. But my 15 year old is getting good arthritis relief and a good boost in her appetite from steroids. She's taking them for her IBD and possibly lymphoma. We're trying the prednisilone first.
 

FeebysOwner

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Hi. I would be concerned that the struggling and falling over more are more related to her kidneys than her arthritis. So, I hope you are taking her back to the vet for a check up on all aspects. I am having success with Glyco Flex Plus for Feeby's (15+ yo) arthritis. They are chews, but I do have to cut them into about 4-5 pieces for her to eat them. They contain glucosamine, chondroitin, and green lipped mussels, and one chew is given daily. Feeby eats them pretty well all by themselves for the most part. She has been on them for a year, and hasn't limped at all as she was beforehand.

Are you using nutrition supplements in addition to her food. How about some baby food meats added to her food, KMR, nutritional pastes, high calorie kitten food? I am sure you have tried them all, but just in case... I would worry the falling over might also have to do with her nutrition and/or absorption.
 
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mrsgreenjeens

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As for giving her the CBD oil (for pets, specifically, I hope) have you tried putting the drops on little treats to get her to take them? That's what I do for my guy and he eats them right up so I don't have to worry whether or not he got dosed. This is what I use as the rreats, and they soak up the CBD really well: Life Essentials Chicken Freeze-Dried Cat & Dog Treats, 5-oz bag - Chewy.com. Some of the pieces are huge, so I just break them down into decent sizes.

I also use the above to get both my guys to start eating. I give each of them one of two pieces as an appetizer, then I also sprinkler some of these crushed on top of their food. It really helps. If your old girl doesn't like chicken, this type of treat does come in other proteins as well.
 
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molly92

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Hi. I would be concerned that the struggling and falling over more are more related to her kidneys than her arthritis. So, I hope you are taking her back to the vet for a check up on all aspects. I am having success with Glyco Flex Plus for Feeby's (15+ yo) arthritis. They are chews, but I do have to cut them into about 4-5 pieces for her to eat them. They contain glucosamine, chondroitin, and green lipped mussels, and one chew is given daily. Feeby eats them pretty well all by themselves for the most part. She has been on them for a year, and hasn't limped at all as she was beforehand.

Are you using nutrition supplements in addition to her food. How about some baby food meats added to her food, KMR, nutritional pastes, high calorie kitten food? I am sure you have tried them all, but just in case... I would worry the falling over might also have to do with her nutrition and/or absorption.
Interesting, her hips have always been in bad shape, but it's possible the kidney disease is getting worse. Her numbers had been holding steady but they haven't been checked in 6 months. She's been an ambivalent eater since her hyperthyroidism was cured. I'm not sure which problem is causing which-the weakness/eating/feeling bad, or something else entirely!
 
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molly92

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Thank you for all the food suggestions! I have tried...pretty much all of them. My theory is she's making associations between not feeling well and the food, because I can get her to eat a few bites of a new food once...and then she stops touching it. Baby food, cheese, etc are no longer interesting. I've broken all my rules and even tried fish, dry food, high carb food, treats (including similar freeze dried ones!)...same results. She reliably throws up chicken so that's the one ingredient I've stayed away from.

We'll see what the vet has to say tomorrow. My vet is really wonderful and I have a lot of trust in her diagnoses and recommendations. Wendy's a tough cat who has clearly always been a fighter, but I'm definitely not interested in prolonging suffering so I'm prepared for whatever the options are.
 

stephanietx

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We give our senior girl Dasuquin Advanced soft chews, only available through the vet. The vet also recommended Onsior which is an anti-inflammatory and pain medication. We have not tried those as the Dasuquin seems to be working for now. We also give her CBD oil which seems to help some, but not completely. My girl is also better when the weather is not quite so cold, even with a heated bed.
 

Furballsmom

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Something that worked regarding food, the only thing that did actually, when my boy was sick was to use a popsicle stick/tongue depressor. He would not eat anything.

Scoop a little food onto the end of the stick, open her mouth by gently pressing at the hinge of the jaw, and scrape the food onto her tongue.

:vibes::crossfingers::grouphug2:
 

stephanietx

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You can also try elevating her food bowl so that she doesn't have to bend over as far to eat. We use a disposable plastic dish with a lid, put some water or marbles in the bottom about halfway up to provide some stability and then put the dish on top of the lid.
 
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molly92

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FeebysOwner FeebysOwner guessed right. It was a systems failure after all. Vet said her heart and kidneys were shutting down. Fortunately she did not think she was in that much pain, and it's good she didn't eat too much because that would have made her feel worse. She's crossed over the rainbow bridge now. Thank you all for your help. My only goal when I adopted her 2 years ago was to improve her quality of life, so I'm glad she had that.
 

FeebysOwner

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Thank you for letting us know. But, under these circumstances, I am SO sorry I was even remotely on the right path.:frown: You did right by her while you had her, and she knows that! RIP little Wendy. :angel3: Bless you for what you were able to give her.
 

Furballsmom

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Oh, babycat!!

If or when you feel up to it, you could post in the Crossing The Bridge forum. It might be helpful for you, it would be a lovely way to honor her, and a way to tell us more about her.

 

Norachan

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I'm so sorry to hear this molly92 molly92

We always lock the threads when a cat passes, so I'll lock this one now.

When you feel ready please start a thread for Wendy in our Crossing The Bridge forum. I'm glad she had the chance to spend her final years in a home where she was obviously loved and well cared for.

Rest In Peace Wendy.
 
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