But Metacam can also shorten their life - Zi had bloods done 8 months apart last year, and went from fine to CRF - she had only been on daily Metacam for a couple of those months with occasional metacam for the rest of the time.
Could that not be down to age anyway tho?
Theres a alot of negativity towards metacam when its the only thing for the job, any human who suffers joint issues can say how much it knocks on quality of life, they certainly wouldnt just take supplements for chronic pain!
It could be, but her drinking was noticeably more when on Metacam, hence me stopping it more than once before allowing the vet to persuade me to put her on it daily. And yes, I do suffer with chronic joint pains, and do try to cope without painkillers whenever possible as your body becomes used to them, and then needs higher and higher doses.
The other problem with using Metacam is the situation I am in with Zia - Metacam has likely caused the CRF, but because she is on MEtacam, it limits treating CRF, as you can't give Fortekor (the two react and make the kidneys worse), and as Metacam is known to kill kidney cells, it will speed up CRF - not something I would want to put a young cat through if supplements can help them have a good quality of life.
There is also Onsior available now which isn't as harsh on the kidneys, which while only licenced for 7 days, can be used off licence on a one week on, one week off basis (as long as you sign a disclaimer) - the tablets aren't that big, but Zi twigged after 3 days.
Good luck with the xrays on Thurs Sharon.
