elderly cat and pain medication

[furrybear]

Hi All,
I have a 19 year old male cat. Last year, he had dental surgery to remove three teeth. Unfortuantely, one of the cavities never properly healed up. This has resulted in him eating even less than before, and he had had many trips to the vets to check his mouth, including an xray to check if any of the root was left in.

Recently, he has been displaying signs of further discomfort, such as walking in circles before settling down, then getting up a few minutes later to change position. I thought his mouth was the cause, but the vet thinks it might be arthritis in his back legs. I'm thinking now that it is both. She also mentioned that it could be related to pododermatitis which he had years ago.

He had a full blood test done and nothing showed up. In fact, the vet said the results were really good for a cat of his age. She also tested for FIV/FelV and it came back negative. Urine sample was fine as well.

I was prescribed metacam but he vomitted after the second dose, so I stopped it. He was put on buprecare and now gabapentin. He's been on gabapentin for three days, but it doesn't seem to be making much difference. I have contacted the vets about possibly changing the dosage, but haven't had a reply as yet.

I'm at the stage now of wondering if it might be time to let him go as I can't bear the thought of him being in constant pain. Maybe I'm clutching at straws, but if I can get his pain under control then he might have a chance to live a while longer.

I've tried him on loads of different kinds of food to encourage him to eat. He looks interested, but mostly just licks at it and turns away. He won't eat wet cat food at all now and only eats a few small cat biscuits here and there. Other foods I've tried is eggs, baby food, meat and fish pastes, soft cheeses and commercial cat pastes, amongst others.

Does anyone have any advice they could offer, especially with regards to pain medication.

If his time has come then so be it, but I'd like to explore all the options first.

Thanks in advance.

 

[di and bob]

I'm so sorry to hear this, you always suffer when a loved one is in pain. I have tried about every pain, stress, and discomfort med out there for a cat with hyperesthesia, where her nerves make her painful and so jumpy. I have spent literally thousands and nothing worked, from pain meds to seizure meds. the best so far is CBD oil. It is known to help with arthritis too so may help your little one also. NOT hemp oil! It is NOT the same, believe me I tried both. The hemp oil did nothing. it cost about 35.00 a bottle, 450mg, around here, but lasts a long time, you only give .25mils twice a day. it is behind the counter at our local pharmacy and is USDA organic, by JOY organics. Pet formula. Most pet med sites go to hemp oil when you type in CBD oil and they are not the same. Only the CBD oil brings some relief to my cat. another one that works is Pet Wellbeing Comfort Gold, but it is only supposed to be given when the pain is bad for a while, not routinely. i give all my meds in delectable Lickables in the stew flavors, a lickable treat, they absolutely love them. i also keep them around when one of them gets sick and stops eating. I hope this help, all the luck!

 

[furrybear]

Many thanks for your reply and I will definitely get some cbd oil for him. I did think of getting some a while ago but wasn't sure if it would work or not. It's worth a try, anything is worth trying at this stage.
Like your cats, he also likes the lickable treats as well. Do you mix the cbd oil in with this?

 

[di and bob]

I just put it on the bottom of a small plate and put a small amount of treat over it. i have three cats so they each get a part of the pouch. Put a small amount over the medicine and give him the rest after he eats it all with the medicine if you want. I give all my cats DMG too, to support their immune systems. You might want to research it. They have leukemia and have survived going on 4 years now!
Prescription pet meds for pain are usually better, so see what the vet says. You might try some glucosamine for joints too. Cats hide pain, so if he hides, refuses to eat, he still is in pain.......

 

[NekoM]

I just put it on the bottom of a small plate and put a small amount of treat over it. i have three cats so they each get a part of the pouch. Put a small amount over the medicine and give him the rest after he eats it all with the medicine if you want. I give all my cats DMG too, to support their immune systems. You might want to research it. They have leukemia and have survived going on 4 years now!
Prescription pet meds for pain are usually better, so see what the vet says. You might try some glucosamine for joints too. Cats hide pain, so if he hides, refuses to eat, he still is in pain.......

It’s good advice particularly in older Cats. CBD will generally get a response that it’s not approved by the FDA, instead opting for liquid gabapentin - which no one tells you also hasn’t been approved by the FDA.

 

[furrybear]

Interesting that a widely distributed drug such as gabapentin is prescribed for animals, despite not being approved in the uk, and yet an alternative approach to pain relief for animals, such as cbd oil isn't available.

I've found out that cbd oil for animals in the uk is not authorized. Ridiculous that I cannot source it here, but will ask my vet about obtaining a prescription for human use cbd oil.

 

[NekoM]

Interesting that a widely distributed drug such as gabapentin is prescribed for animals, despite not being approved in the uk, and yet an alternative approach to pain relief for animals, such as cbd oil isn't available.

I've found out that cbd oil for animals in the uk is not authorized. Ridiculous that I cannot source it here, but will ask my vet about obtaining a prescription for human use cbd oil.

Here’s the thing it that people in the US aren’t aware of - Veterinarian liquid Gabapentin (the most commonly prescribed) hasn’t been approved yet by the FDA, and it’s seeking approval for only Analgesia (pain Management) and panic attacks. Vets can use it off label however and have been for a number of conditions including renal disease, despite the pharmaceutical company that compounds the Gabapentin strongly disapproving. Its well known that in people with preexisting kidney disease it has a fatal toxicity and Cats have a much weaker renal system. And if that’s not enough it’s sweetened with xylitol which is extremely toxic to dogs though its recently been given the all clear for Cats.

I’m actually from the UK ( Bristol ) my Brother in Law sourced it for my mum who had Breast Cancer, probably from some back alley wine bar