Arthritis

So my kitty is 14 & 1/2 years old.  She was just at the vet and diagnosed with arthritis, she is having a hard time getting on things and grumps & grouches a lot.  The vet ran bloodwork and everything was good, her BUN was 38 (normal is 36) but Crea was fine.  The vet wants to put her on Metacam (doing lots of research before I decide) and Prescription Diet J/D.  She has been on Glucosamine for a month but I have not seen any improvement.  Is there anything else I can do to make her comfortable?

I'm sorry your cat has arthritis. 

I would try to avoid Metacam; it can cause acute renal failure.  What other pain relievers have been tried.

And does the Glucosamine have chondroitin in it, like this one ?

You might try Dasuquin  ,  My vet recommended this brand specifically for a 2 year old cat I was fostering, and I believe one of the members on TCS said the ingredients were more bio-available than generic Glucosamine.

You could also try acupuncture.  And perhaps heat (heating pad set on low, monitor closely).

The prescription food the vet recommended is made by Hills, and has lots of bad ingredients in it (rice is the second ingredient), and glucosamine is one of the last ingredients.  Interestingly, L-lysine is in the food.  L-lysine is a good addition, though to my knowledge affects the immune system not the joints.  If anything, I'd increase the dose of Glucosamine and wait a few more weeks to see if it helps.  I believe it takes that long to show improvement.

Good luck.

I used Adequan injections for my old cat. It really made a difference when oral supplements didn't. Might be worth asking the vet about.

The increased BUN with normal creatinine numbers usually indicates dehydration. ldg wrote an excellent article here at TCS on getting more water into your cat. Dehydration can make one a grump too.

One of my kitties has serious deterioration of the ball joints in her hips. She also has asthma and high blood pressure. Her asthma isn't bad enough that it requires treatment (knock wood), but she is on medication for her BP. A number of arthritis treatments are contra-indicated for her. So after extensive research, I decided to try Krill Oil. I use NOW Foods 500mg krill oil capsules. I tried puncturing the capsule and putting it on her food, but she hates it. The pill is a little large, but I just pill her with it, it goes down pretty easily. I saw an improvement in her mobility quite quickly. I highly recommend this, as it can be used in conjunction with everything else you may want to try.

There is an extensive discussion of supplement options for arthritis in this thread: http://www.thecatsite.com/t/265881/best-remedy-for-feline-arthritis

Oh - and here is the article on increasing your kitty's water intake: http://www.thecatsite.com/a/tips-to-increase-your-cat-s-water-intake

How much glucosamine should she be getting a day?  The stuff she is on has 250mg in it.  Is Chondroitin equally as important?  As the stuff I am giving her doesn't have it in it.  I give her an all canned food diet and am actually trying to get her to gain weight (right now I can't get her to eat more than about 4.5-5oz per day.  She is REALLY Sensitive to taking medications, so will she take the Krill oil willingly in her food?  I doubt I could get one down her throat otherwise.