Medication for arthritis?

Hans is going to the vet's office in two weeks for his senior exam. I plan on talking to the vet about ways to help control Hans' arthritis. He's a grump constantly now, but for the one week he was on pain meds after his bladder surgery, he was the sweetest thing ever.

What I just wanted to know is what do you all know about pain meds/anti-inflammitories for arthritis? I only know about Metacam, but I want to know what the options are. I like to be prepared before I go into the vet's office, so that I don't have to agree with whatever they present without knowing all the facts.

Also, did the meds work for any of your cats with this problem?

Thank you!

I've been using glucosamine with my oldest for a few years. It works extremely well. She had started having trouble going down the stairs and was getting grouchy from being stiff and painful. I saw results very quickly soon after I started using the glucosamine. My cat's running up and down the stairs now, so I highly recommend you try it for Hans. You can get it at the health food store, either the HCL or sulfate version is fine. I use just plain glucosamine, no chondroitin or MSM. My vet prescribed 250mg once per day.

Originally Posted by KTLynn

I've been using glucosamine with my oldest for a few years. It works extremely well. She had started having trouble going down the stairs and was getting grouchy from being stiff and painful. I saw results very quickly soon after I started using the glucosamine. My cat's running up and down the stairs now, so I highly recommend you try it for Hans. You can get it at the health food store, either the HCL or sulfate version is fine. I use just plain glucosamine, no chondroitin or MSM. My vet prescribed 250mg once per day.

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I use glucosamine and chondroitin with my oldest 500/400 once or twice a week... It works she runs like my one yr old

There are some powdered forms of Glucosamine designed for cats, called Cosequin and Recovery SA. If you feed your kitty wet food, you can mix them in and he won't even know.