Blip: possible arthritis

[Christine (Blip)]

Thanks everyone! Blip seems to be moving pretty normally again and I am provisionally thinking she had a sprain or similar after all. I shall continue to watch her carefully.

However, this episode has made me think that, given the amount of work her joints have to do, it would be wise to explore some of these preventative / protective options anyway. So I'm going to do that. I shall pad round to the vet armed with a list of everyone's suggestions (at a quiet time of day  , do a spot of online shopping and, with a bit of trial and error no doubt  , see what I can get her to take.

I'll report on our progress

[Janeyk]

Our Schui used to take Metacam a painkiller/antiinflammatory but he is now on steroid injections for his gum inflammation so our vet said that would be adequate.  She has in the past mentioned glucosamine which although given to humans seems to work well for cats too.  Also the fish oils are good supplements for joints I think sometimes it's a case of trial & error.  Good luck.

[Desley (booktigger)]

How is she doing Christine? Glucosamine and Chondroitin can help a lot - and both are in Cystaid, which is mainly for bladder issues, but I do know someone who has used it for arthritis in cats.

[Em]

Hi Christine - have you tried Salmon oil? You can get Salmopet online, we give it to our cats regularly and my partner's mum gives it to her arthriticky dog and it really helps. Most cats and dogs will just lick it off the spoon. It's quite pricey but lasts for aaaaages...and also gives them a beautifully shiny coat ...

http://www.salmopet.no/english/index.htm gives you some background

You can buy it from http://www.canineconcepts.co.uk/ and a few other places online.

I've been told that Shiatsu can help as well, there are some practitioners dotted about who work with animals - I've had some and it's amazing, you can find more about it here: http://www.shiatsu.org/ and they should be able to give you the name of someone who works with animals if you're interested. It's a kind of Oriental massage that uses pressure points (but no needles).

[Beanie]

Sorry to read this Christine. I don't have any experience of arthritis in animals but wish Blip well.

[fluffybunny]

I use this one designed for cats: http://www.healtheries.co.nz/page.php?id=25&prod=1233  Can't see how you buy it online from that site/link but I get it from my vets and I think it was around £6 for 100 tabs (dose is 1 tab daily for cats under 5kg, 2 tabs above that).

[Christine (Blip)]

Thank you very much indeed, everyone, for your advice.  It helps so much to have such access to intelligent, caring folk 

Reflecting on all of your suggestions, I think we'll definitely go for an X-ray if matters don't right themselves pdq (thanks Amanda and Nick  ), buy a Snugglesafe heatpad anyway (thanks Helen  ), discuss Amanda's cortaflex suggestion with our vet as well as the Glucoflex and try green lipped mussels - are there special feline preparations, Fluffybunny? .

Blip's life is full of leaps and jumps because of our set-up here (she's not allowed out the front, only the back garden - and our neighbours'! - and that's on two levels, surrounded by walls) so I'm trying to think of ways to make life easier for her as well, now that she's eight. I'm not against medication, Furbabystar (very, very far from it - pain is to be eliminated, in my book) but I'm hoping we can manage without prolonged use of drugs at this stage of her life.

[fluffybunny]

My 19 year old Sooty is on GLM for his arthritis and it is working brilliantly - took about 3 weeks to notice the effect but it was definitely noticeable - much less weak on his back legs, walking much more comfortably and able to move faster and less stiffly.  They are allegedly palatable (ha ha) but once you've broken it in half they do crumble farily easily so it's easy enough to just crumble it into food.  I sent a few to Rosella the other day but her cat won't eat them either  Maybe she could forward them on to you to try out?? 

[Nick (Peanut & Boo)]

I shouldn't rely too heavily on an initial external diagnosis before you have some xrays and other test results back first. It may not be arthitis it could be a torn ligament or sprain or several other reasons. Torn ligaments can take up to a year to fully heal. My shoulder took 15 months before I had no pain and full mobility and all I did was sleep akwardly on it 

I have done a little reading up from my books and the net and perhaps this may be of interest to some of you . Apologies to all the non anoraks amongst us lol
I should just say that this is not intended to be a substitute for veterinary advice . I have no veterinary qualifications it is just information only

There are 2 main types of feline arthritus
1.  Chronic Progressive Polyarthritus 
which is I believe almost exclusively suffered  by male cats generally 1-5 yrs old. effecting the carpal and tarsal joints .The two distinct  forms of this are new bone formation at the joints(most common ) and erosion of the bone . The first, like Reiters arthritis ( I have this form myself) and the second form more closely resembles the human form of Rheumatoid Arthritis . The condition was apparently found to be liked to FeLV in over 60% of cases. Teatment is with prednisolone daily reducing over 15 days .

And 2.   Acute Septic Arthritus . As the name suggests this form is treatable and is caused by infection generally by injury from  bite wounds or accident .This form of arthritus is usually indicated by enlarged lymph nodes and the effected joint is likely to be inflamed so hot and painful. Xray should reveal an enlarged joint gap due to the increased synovial fluid generated by the infection. You might be able to detect the increased temperature by using your lips or cheek . Hands would be too insensitive. Would suggest you apply this test with someone holding the cat lol

[Michelle (furbabystar)]

I would go with Metacam -
Although long term use can use kidney problems sometimes, the result with arthritis is great.

[Tiggy's Mum]

Don't have any experience of arthritis so can't offer any thoughts on medications but was wondering whether a heatpad might be beneficial for her?  You can get electric ones or ones like the snugglesafe which is heated in the microwave.

[Christine (Blip)]

I`ve always thought that Glycoflex tablets are just a bit too big for a cat to want to eat them on their own but i`m sure there must be some that will! If you crushed it do you think she would eat it in her food?

Very much depends whether it tastes like medicine, in which case the answer is NO , or like food, in which case the answer is possibly! That's why I was thinking about the green lipped mussels route. However, your link looks very interesting as the product comes in liquid form and I have had success with syringing medication into Blip in the past. I will definitely discuss this with our vet   

[Amanda (mad4moggies)]

I`ve always thought that Glycoflex tablets are just a bit too big for a cat to want to eat them on their own but i`m sure there must be some that will! If you crushed it do you think she would eat it in her food?

I`ve just found this link, http://www.cortaflex.co.uk/catdogproducts.html .I have heard of this product before but you would obviously need to speak to your vet to see if it is suitable. It comes in liquid form but it is the ratio of the components that is the important thing and will show how likely it is to make a difference. Maybe mention it to your vet and see what they think.

[Christine (Blip)]

Hi Amanda, thanks for the advice.

Our vet nurse reckons that the tablets they dispense are meant to be chewable and palatable, but as I said, Blip has Form on this. It's definitely her right hip which has the issue, whatever it is - that became apparent during the examination this morning. I will certainly go for an X-ray if we can't get obvious and speedy improvement.

I suppose I was wondering if there was any preparation that I could mickey finn her food with... She likes the smell of green lipped mussels, that's for sure.

For any human sufferers, btw, my elderly mother has arthritis and green lipped mussels have made an enormous difference to her.

[Amanda (mad4moggies)]

Hi Christine, the problem with this is that at present unlike for dogs there isn`t an anti inflammatory that a cat can be on longterm although Metacam would be about the only one that might be suitable if there was no choice. I`ve seen some dogs that have had good results on Glycoflex/green lipped muscle but i haven`t seen many people want it for their cat. This might be because the tablets are quite big and not very palatable so you would probably need to pop them straight down the hatch!

If it carries on and you feel that she`s in discomfort it might be worth an x-ray of her leg to see if it is arthritis or something else. My cat was doing what you described a couple of years ago and it turned out it was a ligament in his knee which was making that particular leg not as stable as his other one. The Glycoflex won`t actually stop any discomfort but it might improve the joints themselves.

[Christine (Blip)]

Blip had her annual check up and jabs this morning. I am proud  and happy to report that the vet said she is 'in wonderful condition and obviously a very happy and contented cat'

Less happily, I told him that I had noticed Blip favouring her right leg ever so slightly when she lands from a leap, just very recently. He thinks that, while it might be a simple muscle trauma, it is quite likely to be arthritis in her hip. I am to monitor her for a week or so and if the problem persists, he will prescribe Glucoflex (?). Obviously I am disturbed to think that she might be in any discomfort and will certainly be back before Christmas unless Blip's leg-favouring stops pdq.

Does anyone have any experience of arthritis, Glucoflex or green lipped mussels, which we also discussed, in cats? I understand that the Glucoflex (?) is a chewable tablet and history suggests that Blip will eschew rather than chew it