Meloxicam 0.5 in Australia

Hi,

My cat has recently injured her leg and the vet suspects that she has damaged a nerve and has prescribed Meloxicam 0.5 - once a day for a week to ease the pain and reduce sweeling around the nerve that should help it heal. There is a lot of information about this drug out there, some good, some very bad, so I just wanted to get some advice before I start using it. Hope someone can help. Thanks

Sorry your cat isn't feeling well.

Meloxicam is also known as Metacam.  Some people/users have had horrible horrible experiences with Metacam (as in:  death of the cat due to liver failure); others, not as bad.

Ritz had an injection of Metacam for a UTI.  She was extremely lethargic and had no interest in eating for over 12 hours.  I actually called an e-vet (they said wait 8 hours and if no change, call back) I was so worried.

Metacam is a one-time use drug in most cases; I'm a little surprised the vet told you to give it to her every day.  I note you're in Australia; perhaps your drug laws are different from USA.  I believe Tramadol is a much higher class--more restricted--drug for humans in your part of the world than in the USA; interestingly Tramadol is frequently prescribed pain med for cats.  Why did your vet prescribe Metacam/Meloxicam versus a 'weaker' drug.

Nerve damage can be painful; perhaps accupuncture would help?  (Don't worry:  the needles almost always go every place except where you actually feel the pain).

To some degree, some amount of pain is a good thing--maybe it will make your cat rest (yeah, against a cat's basic DNA, I know).

Hope your furball is feeling better soon.

inga83 said:

Hi,

My cat has recently injured her leg and the vet suspects that she has damaged a nerve and has prescribed Meloxicam 0.5 - once a day for a week to ease the pain and reduce sweeling around the nerve that should help it heal. There is a lot of information about this drug out there, some good, some very bad, so I just wanted to get some advice before I start using it. Hope someone can help. Thanks

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Meloxicam (Mobic) is basically a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory.  My doctor just prescribed it for me a couple of weeks ago for arthritis pain.  The advantage is supposed to be that it doesn't cause stomach upset or kidney issues like other anti-inflammatory drugs like ibuprofen.  As someone who doesn't like to take medicine, I checked out the side effects on drugs.com......they weren't really that bad as what you see on many meds.  It seems to be working for me, but I am not familiar with veterinary usage.  

My dog Ruby has been on these tablets for over a year, she's old and has a ligament problems.

She has shown no adverse reactions and is pain free.

Metacam and its derivatives are fine for humans, horses, dogs and some other animals. But cats react differently and it has been associated with many hundreds of deaths, which is why it was withdrawn for use in cats by the FDA. It is particularly dangerous taken orally. You can find the FDA directive if you google it.