Old guy is slowing down and arthritis

jclark

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The arthritis in my 16 yrs old Maine Coon has progressed rapidly with regards to his rear hips.  He's really stiff back there and as a result he doesn't do much anymore.  He's basically confined himself to the first floor as it's very difficult for him to climb stairs (he stopped sleeping with us about two weeks ago) so we've moved a litter box to the 1st floor for him which he uses.  He has also lost some weight probably due to inactivity from the arthritis and he's already thin being an elderly cat.   He can however still get up on his own and he doesn't really struggle to do it.     We have two younger Maine Coons (2.5 yrs old) and I think their presence has affected him both good and bad.  They want to play with him, but their size and strength are a bit much for the old guy so I think he tries to ignore them (He doesn't avoid them).

In his present position we've been trying to determine his quality of life and considering euthanasia. When I see him he just looks like he's miserable.   It's just that he still eats, drinks water, can still get up and use the litter box but it's just the damn arthritis.    He's one tough old cat . I love the old guy to death so I hate to see him go (he's my first pet as an adult and I've had him my entire adult life) and yet I don't want to prolong his discomfort. 

We had a similar situation with a Himmie almost 3 yrs ago, but he could no longer stand up and of course he couldn't use the litter box. Decision was much easier.

So, I've been thinking that we're going to try to see if the Vet can help with his arthritis and if they can't then we will euthanize, but I wanted to reach out to the community for any alternative suggestions.  We always talk about quality of life with our pets and I've read he mantra of being 'a little early instead of really late".   I just want to do what's best for him.

TIA
 
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ldg

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My kitty Flowerbelle has very bad hip arthritis. She is running around and jumping again using omega 3s and curcumin. I pill her with the NOW krill oil 500mg twice a day, one capsule of Swanson green lipped mussel oil (called.. EFAs something. Most GLM oil supplements are combined with other things. This is olive oil). She also gets 20mg of NOW's Longvida curcumin (Curcubrain) per lb, twice a day (total 40mg per lb). She won't eat any of this stuff on food (most do). I transfer the curcumin to an empty #3 gel cap to pill her with it.

These can take a few weeks to a month to work, but honestly, I saw an improvement within a couple of days.

The use of krill oil, not other fish oils, is important. I tried others.

It is also important the krill oil be given at the same time as the curcumin, it increases the efficacy.
 
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jclark

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My kitty Flowerbelle has very bad hip arthritis. She is running around and jumping again using omega 3s and curcumin. I pill her with the NOW krill oil 500mg twice a day, one capsule of Swanson green lipped mussel oil (called.. EFAs something. Most GLM oil supplements are combined with other things. This is olive oil). She also gets 20mg of NOW's Longvida curcumin (Curcubrain) per lb, twice a day (total 40mg per lb). She won't eat any of this stuff on food (most do). I transfer the curcumin to an empty #3 gel cap to pill her with it.

These can take a few weeks to a month to work, but honestly, I saw an improvement within a couple of days.

The use of krill oil, not other fish oils, is important. I tried others.

It is also important the krill oil be given at the same time as the curcumin, it increases the efficacy.
1k/mg of Krill oil per day?  That's a lot even for a human.

 Now the both of us can take Krill oil.  I'll take a look at it. 

 thanks.

UPDATE: I forgot to add that he's already on a low dose (.20 CC) prednisolone (1x every other day) for IBD.  So I'm not sure how the introduction of curcumin would interact with it.
 
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ldg

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It doesn't, not according to my vets. Flowerbelle is on steroids for her asthma. The curcumin alone controlled it for over a year, but not this wet, moldy, pollen-filled year.

And therapeutic doses of EPA/DHA fish/krill oil, what-have-you are completely different than daily supplementation. They tend to start at 40mg/lb. The dog studies show it is safe to use at 20mg - 55mg per pound. No studies in cats.
 

patient

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JClark,

Many years ago when our cat became stiff, we took her to the vet and got special supplements from her. It worked wonders. The cat lived for more years without any complaining. Please take your cat to the vet and ask about the supplements for arthritis.

Hope this helps.
 
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jclark

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Update: Unfortunately we had put the old guy to sleep. There were just too many other issues (Kidney, Liver, weight loss) that weren't going to be resolved.

We're of course deeply saddened but we were with him to the end and he'll forever have a place in our heart.

Thanks everyone
 
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