Metacam in Canada...

jlgagne · Feb 27, 2016

My cats, aged 4 and 2, have been prescribed Metacam a couple of times orally for pain. Most recently my 4 year old male got 2 rounds of it orally for interstitial cystitis. I'm now freaking out because I'm reading all over the place that it causes renal failure in cats... I gave the correct dosage each time and am usually very confident in my vet. The last time he had any was about 2 days ago. Please help?! What should I be looking for?! Please note this is in Canada where there is no "black box warning".

denice · Feb 27, 2016

I used to be in the no Metacam ever camp but I have softened my view a bit. I don't know enough about medications to know when Metacam is a good choice other than it's use for arthritis. If you trust your vet then I would go with what he recommends. I do know that a proper low dosage is important.

jcat · Feb 27, 2016

Relax! Metacam is a widely used pain medication, and the problems reported were primarily due to it being used at too high a dosage in the U.S.. You can read more about it here:
[article="33232"][/article]

jlgagne · Feb 28, 2016

It just comes with a little syringe and it says "give the 5.5kg" dose, which is just massimos weight. I don't know how much Metacam it is per kg for the cat though.

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jlgagne
Feb 28, 2016

jlgagne · Feb 28, 2016

I should also add that my vet is a huge proponent of not giving unnecessary meds, especially antibiotics, but is very supportive of pain meds as needed from an empathetic perspective. This is for cystitis, not arthritis.
If he was having an adverse reaction what should I be looking for? This was the first perscription FYI, he received another right after. He hasn't had any Metacam going on 3 days now.

rickr · Feb 28, 2016

One of my cats has been on Metacam Oral for a few months (twice a week). My vet told

jlgagne said:
<snip>
If he was having an adverse reaction what should I be looking for? This was the first perscription FYI, he received another right after. He hasn't had any Metacam going on 3 days now.

One of my cats has been on Metacam Oral. My vet told me to watch to make sure that he is eating normally and drinking water. I would suggest that you talk to your vet to see if there are other symptoms you should look for.

jcat · Feb 28, 2016

jlgagne said:
If he was having an adverse reaction what should I be looking for?

This is what's "officially" listed:
Metacam 0.5 mg/ml oral suspension for cats

Typical adverse reactions of NSAIDs such as loss of appetite, vomiting, diarrhoea, faecal occult blood, lethargy and renal failure have occasionally been reported. In very rare cases elevated liver enzymes have been reported.
These side effects are in most cases transient and disappear following termination of the treatment but in very rare cases may be serious or fatal.
If adverse reactions occur, treatment should be discontinued and the advice of a veterinarian should be sought.

LTS3 · Feb 28, 2016

Ok, that prescription label is not helpful at all

Give 5.5 kg dose? How is the average pet owner supposed to figure that out with a syringe that measures in ml?? The 0.5 mg/ml is just the medicine strength per each ml of liquid.

Call the vet and ask exactly how many mls you need to give to your cat. I don't know what a typical Metacam dose is but it's likely around 0.5 ml or less. Please do not give your cat any Metacam until you have confirmed with the vet about the proper dose. While underdosing is probably safer than overdosing, you still don't want to risk it.

jlgagne · Feb 28, 2016

LTS3 said:
Ok, that prescription label is not helpful at all :uuh: Give 5.5 kg dose? How is the average pet owner supposed to figure that out with a syringe that measures in ml?? The 0.5 mg/ml is just the medicine strength per each ml of liquid.

Call the vet and ask exactly how many mls you need to give to your cat. I don't know what a typical Metacam dose is but it's likely around 0.5 ml or less. Please do not give your cat any Metacam until you have confirmed with the vet about the proper dose. While underdosing is probably safer than overdosing, you still don't want to risk it.

Oh he's already finished this.... Before I gave him any I phoned the emergency vet and clarified that I was supposed to fill the syringe they provide to the 5 and a half line. The syringe in the package goes from 0 to like 10 with halfway lines between; these are the kg dosage lines.

jlgagne · Feb 28, 2016

LTS3 said:
Ok, that prescription label is not helpful at all :uuh: Give 5.5 kg dose? How is the average pet owner supposed to figure that out with a syringe that measures in ml?? The 0.5 mg/ml is just the medicine strength per each ml of liquid.

Call the vet and ask exactly how many mls you need to give to your cat. I don't know what a typical Metacam dose is but it's likely around 0.5 ml or less. Please do not give your cat any Metacam until you have confirmed with the vet about the proper dose. While underdosing is probably safer than overdosing, you still don't want to risk it.

AND when he was on it I often underdosed it, filling only to the 4kg line.

LTS3 · Feb 29, 2016

Syringes measure volume, like ml. Kg is a measure of weight. I'm not undersanding how you can use a syringe to measure a weight

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LTS3
Feb 29, 2016

That makes sense now.

jlgagne · Feb 29, 2016

LTS3 said:
Syringes measure volume, like ml. Kg is a measure of weight. I'm not undersanding how you can use a syringe to measure a weight :confuse3:

Editied: Apaprently Metacam has a specific syringe for dosing.

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LTS3

Feb 29, 2016

That makes sense now.

Haha yeah the little one...
Update: since stopping the Metacam my boy has been drinking a lot more.... I got a urine collection kit from my vet, which I will do and submit tomorrow, to test his urine concentrating abilities. I hope to God he isn't having kidney issues now. I've spoken to the vet about this and she said his urinary food has more salt to make them drink more. And she didn't seem to concerned about it. She also assured me the usage of Metacam was safe....

Metacam in Canada...

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