Metacam after spay?

jezahb · Oct 2, 2012

Khaleesi just got home from her spay and I am supposed to start giving her Metacam in the morning to help with her pain. I had no issue with this until I looked up Metacam and saw people talking about how it can cause renal failure in cats. I am looking for advice here, as I am confused as to why my vet would prescribe a medication to my 5 month old kitten that is for dogs and only used off label, with stories of adverse effects, on cats.

Any experiences with this medication?

orientalslave · Oct 2, 2012

I've never had to give a cat painkillers after a spay - once what they've had at the vets wears off that is usually that. However I'm in the UK and as per usual UK practice they have all been done with a flank spay, rather than a midline. It might be different for a midline.

jezahb · Oct 2, 2012

Yea, I am not sure if I should give her the meds also because currently with the vets meds still in her she is being a manic running around. I am having one heck of a time trying to keep her at all quiet. I gave her rescue remedy but she is still hyper as can be. She is quite vocal so locking her in a room is a no no if I and my neighbors want to sleep at all. So, this may be mean to suggest, would no pain meds make her more aware of her ouchy incision and therefore quieter?

ilovemia · Oct 2, 2012

My cats have never been given pain meds after a spay. They have always done well without them. Up and going soon after getting home. The kittens wrestled with each other as usual. My puppies did also.

otto · Oct 2, 2012

I would not give your kitten the metacam. I am all for pain meds after a spay if needed, but NOT metacam.

Metacam does indeed cause acute kidney failure in cats. Don't use it, is my advice. If you think she needs something call and ask for something else, but, as the others have said she may not even need anything.

becbec709 · Oct 2, 2012

Ive seen Buprenex or Torbugesic given as a pain med, but not Metacam. Call and see if they can give you something else. You should want her to rest for a little especially if she is running around wild. Dont want to risk her getting a seroma or pulling stitches out.

white shadow · Oct 2, 2012

Jezahb said:
...I am looking for advice here, as I am confused as to why my vet would prescribe a medication to my 5 month old kitten that is for dogs and only used off label, with stories of adverse effects, on cats.

Why would a Vet prescribe this dog-only drug off-label???? My guess would be they s/he's uninformed, out-of-touch with current standards of care and just "plodding along" like s/he's always done with her/his head in the sand..........clearly a Vet to dump/throw under the bus etc etc

IF you've been prescribed oral Metacam post-spay, chances are that your kitten also received injectable Metacam before the procedure....this was the old standard of off-label use, before the FDA ordered that a letter be sent to all Vets on the dangers of this practice.....your Vet must have been living under a rock at that time. http://www.fda.gov/AnimalVeterinary/NewsEvents/CVMUpdates/ucm231254.htm

You are really going to need a pain control med....it would be inhumane not to do so. Ordinary spays, as done over here are extremely invasive and the result is extreme pain.

The easiest to administer will probably be Buprenex...it's placed in the mouth and is absorbed by mouth tissue, not swallowed (which does absolutely nothing if ingested that way) http://www.petplace.com/drug-library/buprenorphine-buprenex/page1.aspx

Back to this "doc".......did s/he not even hear about all this from the AVMA? https://www.avma.org/News/JAVMANews/Pages/101101e.aspx

Another great alternative is the Fenatyl skin patch...no fuss/no muss. It's applied to bare skin 3-4 hours before pain relief is needed (so pre-procedure) (too late for you, however).http://www.petplace.com/drug-library/fentanyl-duragesic/page1.aspx

If I were you, I'd return the Metacam and I'd expect that they would exchange it for (in my case) Buprenex.

otto · Oct 2, 2012

White Shadow said:
Why would a Vet prescribe this dog-only drug off-label???? My guess would be they s/he's uninformed, out-of-touch with current standards of care and just "plodding along" like s/he's always done with her/his head in the sand..........clearly a Vet to dump/throw under the bus etc etc

IF you've been prescribed oral Metacam post-spay, chances are that your kitten also received injectable Metacam before the procedure....this was the old standard of off-label use, before the FDA ordered that a letter be sent to all Vets on the dangers of this practice.....your Vet must have been living under a rock at that time. http://www.fda.gov/AnimalVeterinary/NewsEvents/CVMUpdates/ucm231254.htm

You are really going to need a pain control med....it would be inhumane not to do so. Ordinary spays, as done over here are extremely invasive and the result is extreme pain.

The easiest to administer will probably be Buprenex...it's placed in the mouth and is absorbed by mouth tissue, not swallowed (which does absolutely nothing if ingested that way) http://www.petplace.com/drug-library/buprenorphine-buprenex/page1.aspx

Back to this "doc".......did s/he not even hear about all this from the AVMA? https://www.avma.org/News/JAVMANews/Pages/101101e.aspx

Another great alternative is the Fenatyl skin patch...no fuss/no muss. It's applied to bare skin 3-4 hours before pain relief is needed (so pre-procedure) (too late for you, however).http://www.petplace.com/drug-library/fentanyl-duragesic/page1.aspx

If I were you, I'd return the Metacam and I'd expect that they would exchange it for (in my case) Buprenex.

My feelings exactly. I was thinking about (and worrying about) the shot, too, but forgot to mention it. While it is not uncommon for vets to use certain meds "off label", this is one that should not, ever, be given to cats, in my opinion.

I hope she didn't give the metacam to her kitten. I don't know what is wrong with vets, still dispensing this stuff to cats. I know it is approved for use in cats, in Europe. But not in the USA.

jezahb · Oct 2, 2012

Well I gave ONE dose against my own best advice because Khaleesi started to shake with pain and it was still before the vet opened. I feel awful now, it helped her pain but now I worry at what cost!

I will call the vet in the AM and ask them to prescribe Buprenex, which is what I gave to my other cat after surgery to remove a tumor last May and it worked like a charm.

This vet does hundreds of spays a month, and also works for the shelter doing THEIR cats....so he must use metacam on all of them without any issues so far I assume.

jlc20m · Oct 2, 2012

otto said:
I would not give your kitten the metacam. I am all for pain meds after a spay if needed, but NOT metacam.
Metacam does indeed cause acute kidney failure in cats. Don't use it, is my advice. If you think she needs something call and ask for something else, but, as the others have said she may not even need anything.

my vet recently prescribed metacam for my 7-year-old maya after a tooth extraction. she was given three doses before i seen this post. omg! why would a doctor give a drug for dogs and known to cause kidney faulure to a cat? i stopped this right away and hope my cat suffered no ill effects. i will watch her closely. thank you for this post...

regarding spaying, my kitten didn't receive any pain medication after her procedure. she's not quite three months old now. she was running around one after her surgery. good luck with your kitty...

jlc20m

stephanietx · Oct 2, 2012

No, no NO!! to the Metacam for anything except as a last resort and ONLY after consulting with you. I've never given pain meds to any of my kitties following spays/neuters. Metacam carries a black box warning and is not designed to be used with cats except ONCE (one dose) in the cats entire life. Please educate yourself on the dangers of Metacam. You can find good information on this site: http://www.metacamkills.com/

Metacam after spay?

jezahb

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orientalslave

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ilovemia

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otto

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becbec709

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white shadow

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otto

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