Timothy will be 15 in October. So not old, but a senior kitty.
He's had elbow arthritis (pretty destroyed) for quite some time, probably since we adopted him. He weighed 23.4lbs when we adopted him and is now a pretty healthy weight (we did start feeding Hill's oral care and both cats have since gained a bit of weight, but we're taking steps to get them back down, especially Timothy given his arthritis - I'd like him to be as light as is possible while remaining healthy).
He's taken cartrophen, it helped a bit, but sort of levelled out. Our other cat, Cordelia, is 10 years younger and while they're very close and he chases her occasionally (and he will terrorise the dogs when required), Cordelia and Timothy are definitely differently matched that way. He still is a bit stiff when he walks.
I took him to the vet Wednesday - I'd noticed some change to the colour of his iris on Tuesday, and I wanted it looked at to be certain it was melanosis and nothing worse. All good, it's melanosis, no signs of it being raised and no signs of glaucoma. We will continue to monitor for any changes of course.
While we were there, the vet mentioned there's a new medication for cats with arthritis now available in Canada and the owners of patients who have been given it have really found it helps.
Solensia is a monoclonal antibody that neutralises nerve growth factor so it helps stop the pain associated with arthritis. He had his first injection Wednesday, it's a monthly medication and if it helps him (I know it can take a few treatments) I'm hoping we can just do the injections at home rather than taking him to the vet every month.
There's going to be a dog version available here in a few months, which is also exciting as our husky/lab mix turns 15 in April and has arthritis.
Anyways, interested in hearing if you're cat(s) have taken solensia and what sort of changes you saw. I'm so excited that could make a real difference.
He's had elbow arthritis (pretty destroyed) for quite some time, probably since we adopted him. He weighed 23.4lbs when we adopted him and is now a pretty healthy weight (we did start feeding Hill's oral care and both cats have since gained a bit of weight, but we're taking steps to get them back down, especially Timothy given his arthritis - I'd like him to be as light as is possible while remaining healthy).
He's taken cartrophen, it helped a bit, but sort of levelled out. Our other cat, Cordelia, is 10 years younger and while they're very close and he chases her occasionally (and he will terrorise the dogs when required), Cordelia and Timothy are definitely differently matched that way. He still is a bit stiff when he walks.
I took him to the vet Wednesday - I'd noticed some change to the colour of his iris on Tuesday, and I wanted it looked at to be certain it was melanosis and nothing worse. All good, it's melanosis, no signs of it being raised and no signs of glaucoma. We will continue to monitor for any changes of course.
While we were there, the vet mentioned there's a new medication for cats with arthritis now available in Canada and the owners of patients who have been given it have really found it helps.
Solensia is a monoclonal antibody that neutralises nerve growth factor so it helps stop the pain associated with arthritis. He had his first injection Wednesday, it's a monthly medication and if it helps him (I know it can take a few treatments) I'm hoping we can just do the injections at home rather than taking him to the vet every month.
There's going to be a dog version available here in a few months, which is also exciting as our husky/lab mix turns 15 in April and has arthritis.
Anyways, interested in hearing if you're cat(s) have taken solensia and what sort of changes you saw. I'm so excited that could make a real difference.
