Solensia! - new arthritis injection

[FeebysOwner]

i have discussed it with 2 reg vets, i cat vet. they shrugged it off. with the comment "well she's old" . i said im old too but i am not howling! 4 diff vet techs said they hear abt it fr owners with senior cats. one of the vets just upped her gaba. i think they r not too concerned cause they dont live with it. but one vet i know has an older needy cat that will only eat with someone with her. i did a lot of online research and the conclusion was old age if they cant find anything medically wrong. ?

Medically wrong would mean taking stabs at the possibilities - which mostly means pain meds - and then giving up to declare dementia. My opinion.

 

[FeebysOwner]

She does seem obsessed with her yarn balls, though. She even carries them in and drops them into the litter box when she pees. This usually happens at about 3 or 4 a.m. and then she comes into the bedroom and tells me all about it.

i used to cry watching placide. and she would try to get in the bed but fall. but i feel like the solensia will help iris. seems like most cats r on that 3-4 am schedule! placide eats her biggest meal then! she may still do the yarn balls tho

Feeby, years ago (no longer) would carry a toy around the house and squawk (muted howling I guess). That stopped some time ago. Don't know why or what it was about, but I kind of actually miss that. To me, it meant more interaction on some level than she has now.

 

[TootsRx]

Bandit had her 20th Birthday in March & her 4th Solensia injection today. I noticed the most improvement with the 3rd injection. She jumped off a chair onto her kitty pillow on the floor. I've had her for 3 years and have never seen her jump down from anything! She also did not act like it hurt to do that. She can't jump, so she uses stairs to get onto the bed, sofa, chair, & window sills. She walks up the stairs much faster now without stopping. She starts vocalizing at 3am, almost on the dot, but she's done that for at least 2 years. So, hers is not related to Solensia. Honestly, I haven't noticed any side effects. I hope it continues to give her relief!

 

[moonlitwoods]

Update on how my sweet Nova is doing on Solensia. After three injections (December, January, February) the vet has halted the treatments, at least temporarily, until further data is available on long-term effects.

I have mixed feelings about this. Part of me is frustrated by the decision to allow a cat to begin treatment only to stop it three months later out of fear, but at the same time understand not wanting to endanger a cat's health with potential side effects. I've been concerned about the unknowns of this drug from the beginning. And, of course, you can't get data and reveal the unknowns unless cats have the treatment. Sigh.

Hopefully the vet will allow Nova to continue. We are currently having a game of phone tag attempting to discuss how to proceed. Nova has shown zero negative effects from Solensia, at least that I can observe, and it has done her a world of good. It breaks my heart to think of her fading back to being in pain all the time and having limited mobility. I want her to continue unless there is a credible and serious threat to her health.

I wanted to add a note about vocalization. Nova was howling a lot before she began Solensia; mostly at night but also some during the day. Her vet attributed it to her age and potential dementia. After she started Solensia, the howling was the same at first. Then I tucked a calming pet collar into the igloo bed she sleeps in at night (I didn't want her wearing it all the time) and that helped. The past six weeks or so she has not been howling nearly as much.

The weird thing? The sound and pitch of her vocalizations have changed just in the past month. Her normal, conversational meows are often squeaks or she sounds like a kitten. The howling she does do now is very raspy -- as if she has a sore throat and is hoarse. It's bizarre. It changed suddenly and I'm still getting used to it. If I heard a recording of it, and didn't know better, I would never guess it was my cat.

In all other ways she's doing great.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Update on how my sweet Nova is doing on Solensia.

Feeby is due for her 6th injection, and I think I will go ahead and give it to her, despite the lack of long term studies. There are some that did go out 6 months, with no real changes in any of the cats from the 3-month studies. It is puzzling why your vet gave Nova any injections if they aren't willing to go past 3 months - would have been nice if they would have told you that to begin with. The most common thing I saw was a loss of efficacy over time - not much else.

The Solensia did not change anything about Feeby's howling. As a matter of fact, we wondered if that is what started it, since it seems the timing could coincide, but no way of knowing for sure. Feeby's howls are also much more raspy than what she used to sound like, but not as significant as Nova because Feeby never did have a soft, tiny type meow. I am almost inclined to think that is one of the characteristics of howling. It can be unnerving at times, that is for sure!

 

[nanniecat]

i noticed a difference around the 3rd shot.. she started jumping on the bed again,grooming herself.

i am sad. it has been a year? placide has been on monthly solensia. the shot does not seem to be lasting a month. she is not due til 4/28 but her walking is very slow, very shaky. she just sits while walking. she is gettingpoop on her legs again. that is because she cant get them out the way. maybe cant really squat? i have added a turkey bone broth to her food. because she lost interest in her food i found rc aging 12+. she likes it. i add turkey bone broth. she loves that! my heart is breaking and i am so worried. b4 i got the broth, she wasnt eating much AGAIN. started diarrhea.thursday i rushed to er at vet hosp. it got complicated. but she did get iv. that seemed to perk her up, in spite of vet saying she was fine, not dehydrated. unfortunately her onco was off. every time i watch her i cry. i do not have any exp with older kitties. nor sick children. seems all i do is watch her and worry. researching on line. she will cry and come looking for me. li used to try feeding her, that didnt work and i was worried she wouldnt eat. but now i realize that she wants to be by me. so i have to lie down and she will come lay on my chest and sleep. is this what geriatric cats do? is this old age in cats behavior? i wait til she is asleep to go to pet stores to pick up supplies. my heart is breaking for her. i want to help her but dont know what to do

 

[nanniecat]

Update on how my sweet Nova is doing on Solensia. After three injections (December, January, February) the vet has halted the treatments, at least temporarily, until further data is available on long-term effects.

I have mixed feelings about this. Part of me is frustrated by the decision to allow a cat to begin treatment only to stop it three months later out of fear, but at the same time understand not wanting to endanger a cat's health with potential side effects. I've been concerned about the unknowns of this drug from the beginning. And, of course, you can't get data and reveal the unknowns unless cats have the treatment. Sigh.

Hopefully the vet will allow Nova to continue. We are currently having a game of phone tag attempting to discuss how to proceed. Nova has shown zero negative effects from Solensia, at least that I can observe, and it has done her a world of good. It breaks my heart to think of her fading back to being in pain all the time and having limited mobility. I want her to continue unless there is a credible and serious threat to her health.

I wanted to add a note about vocalization. Nova was howling a lot before she began Solensia; mostly at night but also some during the day. Her vet attributed it to her age and potential dementia. After she started Solensia, the howling was the same at first. Then I tucked a calming pet collar into the igloo bed she sleeps in at night (I didn't want her wearing it all the time) and that helped. The past six weeks or so she has not been howling nearly as much.

The weird thing? The sound and pitch of her vocalizations have changed just in the past month. Her normal, conversational meows are often squeaks or she sounds like a kitten. The howling she does do now is very raspy -- as if she has a sore throat and is hoarse. It's bizarre. It changed suddenly and I'm still getting used to it. If I heard a recording of it, and didn't know better, I would never guess it was my cat.

In all other ways she's doing great.

is she continuing the treatment? how is she doing?

 

[FeebysOwner]

placide has been on monthly solensia. the shot does not seem to be lasting a month. she is not due til 4/28 but her walking is very slow, very shaky. she just sits while walking. she is gettingpoop on her legs again. that is because she cant get them out the way. maybe cant really squat?... lay on my chest and sleep. is this what geriatric cats do? is this old age in cats behavior?

I know the studies suggested some cats can build up an antibody to Solensia, rendering it less effective. It was also noted that stopping it for a period of time (I have no idea how long) will reverse the antibody effect. I didn't go back to re-read Placide's health condition, but are there other diseases/issues that she has that could be impacting her, rather than the just lack of effectiveness with Solensia? Did you look into Adequan - it is another injectable arthritic pain blocker that works differently than Solensia, and also contains a joint support supplement. Perhaps you can look into it?

I may have to do that myself, as Feeby may be having side effects from Solensia (howling and itchiness) that I cannot find another reason for. She just had her 6th injection a couple of weeks ago, and both of these issues have arisen since she started receiving Solensia back in October.

I think many geriatric cats, especially those with health issues, sleep a lot. Feeby (18+ yo) spends an exorbitant amount of time sleeping. But she has numerous diseases on top of arthritis, that probably contributes to it.

 

[Tobermory]

Iris had her second injection a week ago, and sadly, I can see no change in her behavior to indicate that Solensia is helping. And the apparent side effect--crying and pacing--was worse with this second shot. After the first shot, she cried and paced for about 8-9 hours. This time, it was double that amount of time and then with decreasing frequency over the next two or three days. She's back to normal (waking me up between 3-4 a.m. to let me know she's used the litter box ).

Given her seeming lack of response to Solensia and her discomfort/distress after she gets the shot, I don't think we'll continue with it. I wish it had helped.

My vet called after I sent him a message with an update about how she was doing. He thanked me for letting him know so that he could be on the lookout for a similar reaction in his other patients. He’s also going to provide feedback to the company that makes Solensia.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Iris had her second injection a week ago, and sadly, I can see no change in her behavior to indicate that Solensia is helping. And the apparent side effect--crying and pacing--was worse with this second shot.

It did take a 3rd injection to really see results in Feeby, but she too is experiencing howling and pacing, and a possible itchy reaction. I didn't connect the dots with the howling but in looking back it seemed to have started sometime around her first or second injection and has increased over time. There has never really been a pause in it between injections. The itchiness started maybe after her 4th injection, but we just realized that we are also experiencing a new rash of fleas, so I can't tell which is which, or if it is a combo of both.

Have a call into the vet to report these reactions, and I guess it is highly likely that her 6th injection, which was 2 weeks ago, was her last.

 

[nanniecat]

Iris had her second injection a week ago, and sadly, I can see no change in her behavior to indicate that Solensia is helping. And the apparent side effect--crying and pacing--was worse with this second shot. After the first shot, she cried and paced for about 8-9 hours. This time, it was double that amount of time and then with decreasing frequency over the next two or three days. She's back to normal (waking me up between 3-4 a.m. to let me know she's used the litter box ).

Given her seeming lack of response to Solensia and her discomfort/distress after she gets the shot, I don't think we'll continue with it. I wish it had helped.

My vet called after I sent him a message with an update about how she was doing. He thanked me for letting him know so that he could be on the lookout for a similar reaction in his other patients. He’s also going to provide feedback to the company that makes Solensia.

 

[ForTheLoveofPinkie]

We're considering Solensia for our precious old girl Skittles. She's nearing 19 now, is blind and has arthritis and a touch of dementia. She's been on every other day steroids for several months now, and that's helped with a few of her "senior" issues. She also has some of the howling that has been mentioned here, but it's only associated with "demands". She demands food at feeding time, whether that's breakfast, lunch, dinner or any of her snack times. We've given up on limiting her snack times any longer given her dementia and the fact that she's underweight. She sleeps a lot and has for the past 2 years, since we discovered the electric warming bed. She used to demand time in the dryer, but that also stopped with the "hot tub" as we call it. Now when she leaves the warmth of her hot tub, she takes up a specific spot in the house and bawls like a baby calf at fairly distressing decibel levels for several seconds and will continue on until she is acknowledged with a physical touch or she feels like she's done enough and discontinues on her own. She will also do this if she needs a drink or just wants "scritches". It can be a little off-putting at 4:20 AM, but we do love our fur-babies, don't we? I'm leaning towards going ahead and trying the Solensia. My hesitation is that we lost a dog to a bad reaction to another drug that was positively reviewed and recommended. It was only after we lost her that we discovered many others had also lost their dogs as well. So far, I haven't found anyone saying to avoid this drug. I'm still doing my research. I want to believe this is a good thing. I only want to do what's right for Skittles.

 

[Furballsmom]

ForTheLoveofPinkie hello, and welcome!

will continue on until she is acknowledged with a physical touch

For a blind kitty who might also have a little hearing loss, she sounds much less like having any dementia and a whole lot more like a cat who has learned to handle her physical disabilities rather well.

She demands food at feeding time,

If she's underweight, I think that instead of increasing treats/snacks you and she would be better off to increase her food or add another meal for her. Has her vet checked her thyroid and her blood pressure?

Speaking of vets, my vet told me that he never says this, but he considers Solensia a miracle.

 

[FeebysOwner]

ForTheLoveofPinkie - Hi and welcome to TCS. I've seen more positive comments on this site than negatives about Solensia. And from the negatives I did see, none were what I would consider 'life threatening'. Feeby (19+ yo) was on Solensia for 6 months, and I think it took about 2-3 months to see an improvement in her; others have seen results more quickly.

As I said earlier in this thread, she started howling soon after the 1st injection, and we have since recognized that was likely a coincidence, as it continues today and she hasn't had a Solensia injection since this past April. But, she also started acting itchy after the 3rd injection and once we stopped, the itichiness subsided, so I do contribute that to the Solensia. I wanted to try again anyway, but my husband thinks at her age and her health conditions that the itchiness would be more bothersome overall than the mobility problems.

If, for some reason, you have an issue with the Solensia, or it stops working as it can do with some cats, you can always ask about Adequan. It is also a pain blocker for arthritis, but also contains a joint supplement unlike Solensia. I believe start up shots are done more frequently before tapering off to once a month (like Solensia is done from the beginning). I also understand that if Solensia stops working, you can discontinue using it and restart it later with good odds it will work again for a while.

If the howling is what makes you think of dementia, it may not be that. I don't think Feeby really demonstrates any other signs of dementia, but she sure does howl - and sometimes at 4:20A too! Her howling does seem to be a bit like Skittles' from what you said.

 

[Twylasmom]

Twyla has been getting Solensia injections for a year now and has had no side effects. it does seem to help her (she was on the top of the cat tree this morning!). She does have to go to the vet each month for the injection.

 

[FeebysOwner]

She does have to go to the vet each month for the injection.

Right before I stopped Solensia, I was able to convince my vet to allow me to administer the shots at home. They are given subcutaneously, so no different than giving B-12 shots or sub-Q fluids. The only issue is keeping the med refrigerated, up to the point that my vet wanted me to bring a cooler with me when I was going to pick it up from them, even though my drive is only about 15 minutes. Maybe it is not permitted in all states and/or outside the US, but you might want to look into it if you are willing to give them to Twyla yourself.

 

[Twylasmom]

Right before I stopped Solensia, I was able to convince my vet to allow me to administer the shots at home. They are given subcutaneously, so no different than giving B-12 shots or sub-Q fluids. The only issue is keeping the med refrigerated, up to the point that my vet wanted me to bring a cooler with me when I was going to pick it up from them, even though my drive is only about 15 minutes. Maybe it is not permitted in all states and/or outside the US, but you might want to look into it if you are willing to give them to Twyla yourself.

Given how many meds I am already doing every day, including twice weekly fluids, I am fine with having the vet do it. I would still have to make a trip to pick it up and given I live in the Deep South I would definitely need to use a cooler!

 

[TootsRx]

Update on Bandit: She's 20.8 years old & has received 13 Solensia injections so far. I am convinced that she would no longer be able to walk without them. Her back legs start to give out when she's due for a shot. Last time, the shot only lasted about 3 weeks. Right now, we're at about 3.5 weeks & I can tell she needs another one. She's no longer howling at night, but she was doing that before the Solensia. She's now on compounded Mirtazapine cream for appetite. And she's about to be on compounded Cerenia cream for nausea. I still have noticed no negative side effects from the Solensia, except that it's no longer lasting 4 weeks. I know it hasn't been studied this long in cats, but if it causes cancer down the line, does it really matter at this point? I'm just trying to give her the best quality of life she can have at this age.

 

[TootsRx]

Update on Bandit: She's 20.8 years old & has received 13 Solensia injections so far. I am convinced that she would no longer be able to walk without them. Her back legs start to give out when she's due for a shot. Last time, the shot only lasted about 3 weeks. Right now, we're at about 3.5 weeks & I can tell she needs another one. She's no longer howling at night, but she was doing that before the Solensia. She's now on compounded Mirtazapine cream for appetite. And she's about to be on compounded Cerenia cream for nausea. I still have noticed no negative side effects from the Solensia, except that it's no longer lasting 4 weeks. I know it hasn't been studied this long in cats, but if it causes cancer down the line, does it really matter at this point? I'm just trying to give her the best quality of life she can have at this age.

I forgot to add that I do give the injections at home. I found a vet that would sell them to me 2 months at a time for a total of $130.00, which is the cheapest I've found so far.

 

[FeebysOwner]

T TootsRx - good news all the way around, IMO!!