Cat Arthritis Treatment

My cat , Jaz , is fourteen years old. He’s had arthritis for a couple years. He wants to sleep in a dark quiet spot most of the day and night. I’ve noticed his fur seems very sparse, and he sheds alot when I brush him. His whiskers are even broken off on one side….His appetite is normal, he has a little potbelly, but I can feel his bones. He doesn’t groom himself like he used to, but when he does quite a bit of fur is licked off. I have two younger kitties also. They seem fine. Do you think a medicated shampoo is enough?

Thanks, Linda K.

First off cat is neutered and healthy, but we knew moving to the new house was going to start him marking. We have the black light and Nature’s Miracle (btw, fans of NM may find that their new “Urine destroyer just for cats” works better than the original if used as directed) Feliway diffuser refills are on the way, (have the spray, but that’s never worked…diffuser seems to)
He has his own room (only because this house had an extra room we didn’t know what to do with) with two recliners , one with a heating pad for cats for his arthritis, toys, a kitty condo, litter box, dry food and water…of course that whole room smells like him because it’s the furniture he always has slept on.
He doesn’t cry to get out until late in the day, but I still feel guilty leaving him in there almost all day even though I know he sleeps from about 9 – 5 with a little break for lunch. Whenever we are able to watch him, we allow him into the living room and kitchen keeping doors to all rooms except his closed. He’s normally a sweet cat who likes to be with people and I don’t want to make him lonely. Am I just projecting human feelings on to my cat? Could locking him up so much make him anti-social?…he’s never been a particularly independent cat.
Yes he has a history of phases of spraying and he’s alreayd proved we can’t trust him here yet. Hope aversion to the water spray bottle will help since cat’s aren’t allowed to run loose in this subdivision, per HOA. I just feel so darn guilty about locking him up even though I know he’s in there sleeping in his favorite chair.

My cat receives monthly arthritis shots and has to have surgery on her teeth. The vet said they are causing her a lot of pain, which is probably causing her vomiting. Even with monthly shots, she starts limping after two weeks each time.

We are getting a new kitten, which yes, I am worried about, but I want one around in case our cat doesn’t live much longer for my kids.

Once a cat does get arthritis, can they live many years with this or does that decrease their life expentency at all? I just want to prepare my younger kids if she will only have a chance of living another couple years, rather than another 10.

I took my cat to an Emergency vet the other night and they diagnosed her w/ some kind of arthritis and/or joint pain. Her only symptom was lack of energy and low mobility. All blood work came back normal. They gave her a 1mg dose of metacam and sent me home to give her .5mg for the next 2 days and then .1mg twice a week. The next morning after the 1mg dose, she was doing great. But now she has deteriorated again, even with the .5 doses. The original vet who saw her was not in the office today and the technician says they can’t do anything else without us coming back in. Why should I pay another $85 on top of the $300 I already paid when she was already diagnosed (correctly, in my opinion) and the initial treatment worked. Why can’t they just adjust the dosage or prescribe another anti-inflammatory? The vet who saw her will be in tomorrow and I’m hoping she will take care of it over the phone. Am I just being a bad kitty mother? Non-serious answers will be reported as abuse

I have a sixteen-year-old Abyssinian cat. He clearly has some joint problems, but is otherwise healthy. To the best of my knowledge, his renal function is good. I know that you can’t give aspirin to cats; is there any sort of over-the-counter anti-inflammatory drug that IS safe for him?
I know WITH CERTAINTY that aspirin is potentially fatal for cats. I’m looking for something *else* over the counter that might help.

I’ll admit my cat is overweight and very lazy. Whenever my cat lies down he does it normaly on his belly. For the past week he keeps on lying on his side. hes turning 8 this year he dosen’t look in pain but I’m getting worried with his age. other than that everything is the same. I thought maybe hes starting to get arthritis or some kind of joint pain now that hes older and overweight he keeps curling his front paws too when he does it. is this just relaxing or something more?

Recently I have lost a lot of mobility in my thumb – I can no longer “pinch” as it causes me a lot of pain. Writing, opening a jar – it all involves that grabbing motion that hurts. Does this have anything to do with the cat bite? Arthritis runs in my family so I’m thinking it could be realated to that. The cat bite was very deep – it went all the way through my palm and out the other side – ouch – and it took quite a while to heal. Could the kitty have done permanent damage to my hand?
I did not got to the doctor’s when it first happenend, unfortunately. My mom has regular arthritis, she blames it on getting old!

He is 14 years old and the vet diagnosed him with arthritis yesterday. She prescribed Glyco Flex II. Following the vets orders, I have been giving him 1 Glyco Flex 2 times per day. Each time he throws up everything he has eaten. I always give it to him on a full tummy.
Is he allergic to Glyco Flex? With time will he begin to tolerate Glyco Flex? Is there another alternative to the Glyco Flex?

I have had this cat for about 6 years I found her in the middle of a busy street and she has been with me ever since….She use to come in season EVERY month but because she got down in her back legs and had to take steriods every winter. I wouldnt let her out of the house. She is temperamental except when she came in season and then she loved every one…My father said she had to be hurting so I took her to the vet and had her fixed. Now the problem is she is losing hair in patches but no bald spots yet… she will only eat one kind of food…and the bowl can never be empty, either. She don’t like people touching her unless she wants you to touch her, and if someone in the house does something wrong to her she lets me know by coming to me and screaming MEOW. I think the hips where she broke them in the street has arthritis and it is hurting so she is pulling there to try and give herself some relief. And to this day she doesnt go outside I fixed a window so she can bathe in the sun.

My mom has a very old cat, between 18-20 years old. She is blind, she’s very thin, and I think she has arthritis in her hips. Is it more cruel to just let nature take it’s course or to put her down?