Urgent Advice on Elderly Cat's Condition

[Garden of Eden]

Originally Posted by FiveHorses

It also takes a tremendous amount of courage OP.

You bet it does. And THEN some!

[rifleman]

Seems we do likely have a case of "feline hyperesthesia", or "twitchy cat syndrome". [Thx tilli! You in the vet. or cat biz?] Causes may be arthritic pain which she in fact does have...) or a sort of snowballing oversensitization of her back skin, coupled summertime hair loss (skin itchyness)and the extreme daytime heat here now (+95 - 98˚F).

So we're trying a v. small dose of prednisone (0.5mg every other day, orally), as well as 10 mg of Metacam analgesic daily to block any possible arthritic pain stressors. I'll be watching her like a hawk for any new, oddball symptoms.

The vet says if this is indeed the cause (and he's seen it quite a few times on older cats), the prednisone will at the very least desensitize her and quiet her down. Her skin should be a lot more calm.

Hope this is right. Even if these treatments are potentially a bit hard on her, she is, after all, 19+ yrs old. It's kinda like worrying that some 95 yr old geriatric human might get "hooked" on Vicodin "for the rest of their lives!"!

Oh. No!

(I'll let you know, folks. and thx for the kind thoughts. I'm glad there are so many cat lovers out there!)

[catman]

Best of luck with Dottie, rifleman. Keep us informed. Congratulations on having a 19+ year old cat! Most don't make it that far.

[rifleman]

My vet confirmed that MetCam is in fact in somewhat common usage for cats now, though my read this afternoon of a good vet's website (www.2ndchance.info; Dr. Hines) about cat analgesics in general is not so confident.

One always has to balance the pain your cat is or might be feeling (and it's so hard to tell... they are such stoic and brave sufferers, God bless 'em...) with the possible life-shortening or threatening side-effects.

I at least confirmed that Tylenol is an ABSOLUTE NO-NO (1 Extra-Strength Tylenol WILL kill your cat), that aspirin is also a bit tricky because of some missing metabolizing enzymes in the cat's liver, which seems to be a broad-based problem with many human drugs you'd give cats.

However, some seemingly safe possibilities are: Methocarbamol, a rather tame and apparently safe muscle relaxant used for arthritic pain relief, and even more interesting:

Most all of the narcotics, like Vicodin, Demerol, Morphine and OxyContin!. Wow, huh Dottie! doin' your Golden Years on a buzz! I may have to shave a bit of Vicodin off my dose (also arthritis. "god" punishes atheists, eh catman?) and see if she's willing to do Trix for Hydrocodone! Yee-Hah!

We also have wild catnip in our garden and this may stimulate her. Hey; a cocktail of Oxy and Kitty-wanna! Yippee.

(Hmmm... I seem to be getting a bit carried away here. OK: Breathe. Breathe. There. I'm better now.)

She also had some dermatitis on her lower (rearmost) upper back from, apparently, a lack of general grooming. There's some smalll open lesions that were very sensitive. As per the vet, we've applied some cortisone creme mixed with the analgesic version of topical OTC antibiotics, and within two days these spots have almost disappeared.

As well, he noticed that she was not effectively grooming herself past about halfways down her spine, due entirely to arthritic stiffness and/or pain. So now I'm brushing this area with a very finely toothed flea comb which removes all easily lifted hair. That will cool her back (it's been hot here) and will also relieve the itchiness or possible twitch-causing pain.

So there we have it for now. I hope this helps her for another few months, perhaps even a year. I realize she can't live forever, but hey; I'm trying!

[Garden of Eden]

(((HUGS))) Rifleman!!! Dottie is one very fortunate feline with you as her "Dad"! Hang in there!!!

....said with quiet reflections......."God" punishes no one. Only you punish yourself.".......

Be gentle with you. May peace be with you......

[FiveHorses]

Originally Posted by rifleman

that aspirin is also a bit tricky because of some missing metabolizing enzymes in the cat's liver,

FWIW - I recently had cause to discuss aspirin with my feline vet (in our case as a blood thinner for a cardiomyopathy case).

What he said was interesting - the lowest dose OTC aspirin you can buy (baby aspirin) is about 80 milligrams. The correct dosage for a cat is FIVE milligrams and because of the missing enzymes, it also can't be given more than once every three days (ie, the length of time it takes a feline system to evacuate the drug). He gets a compounding pharmacy to make up special 5 milligram kitty doses for his patients which is used twice a week.

I asked about any side effects (digestive was what I was thinking of) - but he said there don't seem to be any.

In the end, our cat is not on it (yet), but I thought I'd mention it as I know aspirin is very effective at helping arthritis pain - so it's something you can ask about or file away for future reference should you need it.

[Garden of Eden]

Some of my cats contend with joint problems and I have had great success with a product by Earth Animal called Achy Joints. I combine this with Bach Flowers Rescue Remedy. This may be an option you would like to consider and here is the link below for more information:

Organic Herbal Remedy: For Achy Joints | Organic Herbal Remedies | Pet Health | Earth Animal