NSAIDs for cats (Metacam Oral Suspension for Cats)

Member Name: Tracy_1127

Product:	Metacam Oral Suspension for Cats
Date:	06/02/09 (1026 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: see review

Disadvantages: see review

I suggested this product and wanted to write a review due to the results I encountered when I researched it. Although I take on board what my vet says I like to research any suggestions they make before I decide, unless it's an emergency and there isn't time, because I have all the knowledge of my boy's (cats) conditions stored in my head and the vets have to scour their records for it. So when this product was suggested for one of my lads I came home and got myself on google to have a look.

I'll start from the beginning. One of my lads is 14 and had been limping for some time and although I'd mentioned it several times at the vets I just kept getting the same answer, glucosamine or cod liver oil. Now, I'd tried both of those with him but neither made a difference and I hated seeing him struggling. He had also put on a bit of weight despite me changing his diet to a lower calorie version because he could no longer run about much.

A few months ago I took them both in for their quarterly thyroid check ups and mentioned this again to the vet. The vet in question is young, very forward thinking and up to date with products and was the one who gave my other lad some tablets to prevent him having strokes after all the others never mentioned there was anything we could try. So I discussed his leg with her, she examined him and found it to be "creaky" and said there was something we could try. She gave him an injection and told me to watch him for the next 48 hours to see how he went and if he wasn't sick and improved there was a liquid version of the injection we could give him.

I took him away expecting no improvement and we went about our normal daily routine. The next day however, 24 hours after the jab, I let him out to play in the garden like normal and went back inside to hoover. We have a huge pen in our garden where my lads are safe from the road but can get a good run about and some grass, fresh air, watch the fish in the pond etc. As I passed the window I saw a blur of black and white flash across the pen.

I instantly though this must be my other boy and stood and watched for a few minutes. It wasn't, it was my lad who normally limped everywhere! The longer I watched the more I saw! He was running, jumping up and down on things he'd previously not been able to manage, chasing his brother and engaging in play fights and generally looking how he had years ago. He was always very active until his leg started hurting.

Amazed I realised this was the effect of the jab he'd been given. As the day progressed he showed no signs of slowing down and no limping. The following day he was the same so I spoke to the vet and asked her what he'd been given. Metacam was the reply and she offered to put a bottle out for me to collect so I agreed.

Onto Google. I typed in "metacam for cats" and was greeted by truly scary results. The first being a website dedicated to the subject and called "metacam kills cats" dot com. I don't believe everything I read online but there were pages of examples of cats that died from kidney failure rapidly after being given Metacam on this site and on many others too and I started to feel the panic building.

I researched for an hour or so and then decided it was time to harrass my vet! The vets at our practice are used to me being an over-anxious parent so she took it in her stride and listened while I blithered on about these sites and then told me the facts.

Metacam is, as I already knew, a Non Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory (NSAID) for cats. Like Ibuprofen or Declofenac for humans. It is used to treat musculoskeletal conditions and reduce pain and inflammation. There is a very slight risk of gastrointestinal bleeding, as with the human versions which is why it is given with food, and with the cat version a very small risk of kidney failure. She was amazed I had found so many bad accounts of Metacam and said she had a number of feline patients on it with no problems and if I didn't want to go ahead that was fine.

So, do I or don't I? I decided to do more research. After a couple of hours I found some positive results and then I found the reason for the negatives. This review is to save people having to do 3 hours of research to find these! Apparently a few years ago Metacam was only licensed for dogs but vets thought it would be ok for cats too so some were prescribing the dog version for cats at a low dose. Because the dog version is much higher in strength the line between correct dose and overdose was literally part of a drop so many owners accidentally overdosed their cats and this led to many going into renal failure and dying very quickly.

The strength of the dog version is 1.5mg per ml and the cat one is 0.5mg per ml so that's a big, big difference and you can see how these overdoses occured. This reassured me slightly but I was still aware there was a slight risk of kidney failure and gastrointestinal bleeding so I rang my vet back and asked her how slight this was. She said it's tiny, so far she'd never seen a cat go into renal failure on Metacam for cats and was horrified some had been given the dog version in the past. She told me to watch out for apathy, loss of appetite, any blood in his stools, excessive drinking or diarrhoea and if I noticed anything like that stop the treatment and take him in. These are typical adverse reactions to NSAIDs and usually disappear once the medication is stopped. Only very, very rarely do they progress to renal failure. Overdose is usually the cause of renal failure.

So, I picked up the bottle of Metacam. The bottle is 15ml in size and looks like a bottle of eye drops. It comes with a very small syringe that has no nozzle or needle and you push the bottle nozzle into the flat ended syringe to get the liquid out. Once in place tip the bottle upside down and draw the plunger back slowly to take the liquid to the mark indicated by your vet. The dose goes on weight so it's 1 ml of metacam for every kg of body weight. I can't tell you my boy's dose, he's put a bit on and would be embarrassed to find out I'd revealed this!!

So, you need to have your cat weighed prior to giving this so the correct dose is given, if this is not offered ask! And you need to ensure they have no existing kidney problems or they can't have Metacam, again if a blood test isn't offered ask! You're their voice after all.

We had weighed my lad at his last check up so that was fine and he'd had a recent full blood panel too with no signs of kidney problems so technically we were good to go!

But I still fretted about this. I had the Metacam in my possession for a few days before I did anything with it except keep glancing at it in a worried fashion. My boy's injection took several days to wear off so we could give him 2-3 doses a week and that would be enough. Once he started limping again he seemed a bit down about it and I realised I needed to try the Metacam.

I had an idea, I would give him one millilitre less than the prescribed dose to see how he fared. I drew the liquid into the syringe ad mixed it into food, gave it to him and he sniffed it and walked away. So now you know it must smell nasty to cats. Not a probem, I threw that away and fed him non-medicated food then syringed some directly into his mouth. I'm used to being near their mouths because they have tablets daily so this holds no fear for me!

I syringed it in carefully and then let him go. He pulled such a disgusted face I now knew it tasted bad too! Then we waited for any reaction.

He didn't have any adverse effects at all and by the following day had got rid of his limp and was back to racing around. I stuck with the dose of one ml less as it worked fine and my vet okayed this, I give him a dose a couple of times a week and it's enough to keep the pain away and he's happy to report he's lost a little bit of weight from his extra running around! This of course means I now need a lower dose so that's what we do.

So in summary it was well worth us trying it and I'm glad the reviews online that aren't up to date or relevant didn't stop me from giving my lad some pain relief. Obviously some small risk still exists and he has regular blood tests to check his kidneys, he did anyway though. I also check his "produce" for blood and haven't found any.

Metacam is only available with a vet prescription and costs about £12 for a 15ml bottle. The length of time this lasts will depend on the frequency of the dose and the weight of your cat.

Things to know about Metacam:
1. Get your vet to weigh your cat before a dose is decided. If they don't offer ask!

2. Have a full blood panel done to check for any unknown problems first, especially kidneys. Again if not offered ask!

3. Be 100% certain you know how to measure out the correct dose, overdose seems to be the issue with Metacam so if you don't know ask, ask, ask! Your vet would rather you didn't overdose your cat because you didn't bother to ask so make sure you do.

4. Get your cat weighed regularly while giving Metacam as if their weight changes the dose does too so make sure you are up to date on weighing to avoid overdose.

5. Never give it without food, much the same as the human versions food is to be given with the dose or immediately before.

6. It's best if only one person gives the Metacam, you don't want to accidentally overdose by not knowing who's giving the medication and give it twice.

7. Keep an eye on your feline baby and any unusual symptoms should be taken seriously.

I know it still sounds a bit scary but all medications have the capability to produce adverse reactions and overdosing of most is dangerous so it's just a case of being careful and making sure you pay attention. The reason I went for it, and I'm glad we did, is to give my lad some pain relief. If you could see the difference it has made you'd be amazed.

Thanks for reading.

Summary: It's helped my lad