Kittehs

[feuervogel]

Señora Crankypants has this scrape on the back of her neck, between her shoulders kind of, near her scruff, that's been there for at least a week. It scabs over but it hasn't healed yet - the scab keeps coming off, it looks like. It looks like a patch of fur got stuck to something and pulled off. I don't know when it happened, because I found it when I was petting her last week. It doesn't bother her when we poke at it, at least.

She also is limping around a lot more lately. Then again, it's been raining for a week. I suppose I should call the vet and see about the spot on her neck and about some pain meds or something. Can't give her aspirin because cats don't metabolize it very well. Tylenol is poison. An anti-inflammatory would be tops, but the only option on that end is steroids, and I'd rather avoid that. We're giving her glucosamine & chondroitin kitty treats, which she likes. She mainly seems to have problems when it's rainy out. The vet said at her last appointment that she'd give her buprenorphine for pain, if we brought her in. O yey, a morphine derivative. A bit of overkill, and doesn't do much for the swelling.

NSAIDs for kitties, researchers, plz.

Comments

[faithful-summer.livejournal.com]

Some vets prescribe Metacam, but it really shouldn't be used long term in cats. Occasional use is probably OK, though. Some vets' opinions on this vary, but we've used it a bit at my clinic without any problems.

My best recommendation is to get her on kitty Cosequin. It's this flavored powder that comes in little capsules that you break and sprinkle over the food. It's going to have way more glucosamine and such than any treats you'll find.

[feuervogel]

We had her on the Cosequin, but we couldn't give her the full dose because the Evo feeding amount is so little. (We did Cosequin in the morning and treat in the evening until we ran out of Cosequin.)

The vet this morning mentioned something they use in dogs (I guess the Metacam?), but he didn't seem to think PRN dosing of it would be useful. They like the Buprenex there.

[faithful-summer.livejournal.com]

Could you split the dose over two meals, maybe?

Yeah, it's true that Buprenex is the thing most vets prefer for pain management in kitties. I figure it's better than nothing.

[feuervogel]

We tried, I think. Ben's in charge of the food. But getting 2 capsules' worth of the stuff onto < 1/2 cup of dry food is a losing proposition.

[kipple-n-bits.livejournal.com]

She beat me to the punch. If you can't give the Cosequin (I assume she tastes it and refuses it if you add it all at once to the food?), ask Mo if they have a good glucosamine/chondroitin/MSM supplement there at the store. We have a liquid one that works pretty well at sneaking past their sense of smell, otherwise continue with the powdered route. The treats just are not enough of a dose to do much at all. Could you mash it into a pill pocket since you said she likes those?

Worst case, if you can't get a good combo supplement in her, try to do the MSM alone in powdered form, since it's great for pain and inflammation even if it won't do as much for the arthritis as the three together.

If none of that works, I'm out of ideas, and it's like she said, back to some veterinary prescriptions.

[feuervogel]

They have 2 varieties of G/C at Phydeaux.

Hmm, Pill Pockets + powder. Interesting idea.