arthritic cats-what does your vet prescribe

My vet gave me cosequin for Pirate, who's been limping for awhile now on the front leg. The vet says it is arthritis. Pirate has been on cosequin for a week, but I see no difference in his walking yet.

Apparently, the one eyed wonder does not want to take it easy on his little self, and still jumps down off furniture. I worry about it, but cannot stop him.

What treatments has your vet prescribed for arthritis in your cat?

BTW, Pirate is about 14 years old.

Give it more time. It's like people taking glucosomine chondroitin. You'll need 30 days for it to make a really noticeable difference. This is what Mist, my 15 year old DSH spayed female is on.

She has osteoarthritis in both front elbows. In the X-ray they looked like balls of fuzz. Cats are so good at disguising pain that when I saw her head bobbing with each step I knew it must be excruciating.

Started on kitty joint gel but it was difficult to squeeze out consistent amounts. Both kitty joint gel and Cosequin labels note to give daily to load system, then back off to every other day,

Now Mist is supposed to get Cosequin every other day but that's awkward to remember (this week it is Mon/Wed/Fri/Sun, following week it's Tues/Thurs/Sat/Mon, by third week who knows where we are.) I just give it Mon/Wed/Fri/Sun and figure a little extra does no harm.

And if Pirate is a plump cat, slimming down will also help - less weight/pressure on the joints.

So just be patient, Sherry526. We hate to see our furbabies hurting and want immediate improvement. Just give the Cosequin some more time and you'll see, Pirate will be feeling better.

My vet prescribed a pain shot 5 years ago. He was really no help. I did my own research and started giving my Callie Cosequin. In the beginning, we just gave it to her during the cooler months when we'd notice she was a bit on the gimpy side. She started running around again and jumping. In the past year, we've started giving it to her twice a day every day because her arthritis has progressed. She is 14 yo after all! She still does lots of jumping and running around, but not as much as she used to. Having a new kitten in the house has helped some, too! We also have heated pet beds that we use in the cooler months and my husband is going to make some ramps for her to be able to get up onto some of her favorite higher surfaces without jumping. (She's not spoiled at all!)

You do have to give the Cosequin time to work.

The active ingrediants in Cosequin will take up to 4 weeks for the maximum results ...

here is what I use www.trixsyn.com so far it is the only joint supplement that has studies showing it is effective at the tissue level

Thanks for the info, Catapault, Stephanietx and sharky. I'm mashing the cosequin in a very tiny spoonful of wet food, and thankfully Pirate just thinks I'm giving him a treat. I'll be glad when I see a difference.

The vet says Pirate is okay weight wise but he's at the top of the range--meaning it would not hurt him to lose one or two pounds. I'll have to start thinking about it how to arrange it. I have two cats on the low end who could stand gaining one or two pounds, and then Pirate who could lose one or two. Hey Catapault, thanks so much for mentioning it to me. Makes perfect sense, geez why didn't I think of it?

I'll check that website link out, sharky. Thank you!!