cat question.
Posted by karone04 on Jun 11, 2007 · Member since Jan 2007 · 132 posts
my brother moved back in on saturday. he brought both cats. frisky is 11 yrs old and has arthritis in his back hip. i was wondering if we could give him baby tylenol and how much? frisky was originally mine but b/c zack and i werent able to take him michael (my brother) took him down to florida with him. lol, both frisky and smudge run away from merrick. merrick finds it funny to hear smudge (or any cat) hiss at him.
Do NOT give him tylenol! This can cause a very bad reaction, definitely not recommended. I would get him started asap on a glucosamine/chondroitin product. Cats don't generally respond well to non-steroidal anti-inflammatories that dogs can take (rimadyl, previcox, deramaxx, etc), they don't metabolize them well and frequently they cause unwanted side effects. The best thing you can do for your cat is to start on a joint supplement. Your vet likely has Cosequin or Chondroflex, both in a cat formula that is flavored to make them eat it (unless your cat is vegan, then you'll have to find a vegan source and try to get it down him with tasty coating). I am a vet tech and have seen cats get pretty sick from tylenol and non-steroidals, hope this helps the poor little kitty!
Let me just agree with this, Aspirin and Tylenol both are BAD for cats, cause liver and kidney damage. My vet was a feline specialist. I don't know what it was exactly he gave my cat when he needed the equivalent of aspirin for fever or whatever, but do NOT medicate a cat without consulting. Their metabolism and reactions are very different to dogs.
Most likely your vet gave your cat something called Ketoprofen when it had a fever, and only one dose. It's a non-steroidal, but not as dangerous and you only give it once. Most vets check a kidney value before using it, just to be sure.
wow. this is great information. thanks for the thread and the input.
my dear sweet kitty, whom i love and adore, is probably about 23 years old. she still looks pretty darn good for an old lady, but i have seen her waddling stiffly over the past year or two, her stretches have a very short range of motion, and the poor dear certainly can't jump up on the couch anymore. i'm not looking for any miracle restoration (unless anyone knows of one!), but i'm sure her little joints are all stiff and achey, and i would just like to be able to ease things a bit. when i had told my vet about it, he had said there was nothing they could really give her. maybe this was because of her age? anyone have any thoughts about the glucosomine/ chondroitin supplement and it's impact on kidney function?
This is great info, thanks!
I'm a bit of a hypo-cat-riac and race my indignant boy to the vet if I have a concern, but it seems almost more important to know what not to do - kind of like the "first, do no harm" principle.
thanx. i will talk to my brother about it and see what he says. i couldnt remember if u could give cats tylenol or not and thats y i asked.
just_eat_it, I do not know of any issues with glucosamine/chondroitin and kidney function. It can act as an anti-inflammatory, is often given to cats with urinary tract issues for that reason, and could potentially help her get around better. But, at her age, the arthritis likely quite severe, so keep that in mind. It's awesome that you have a 23 year old cat, though! Might be the oldest I've heard of recently. Fantastic. Do you have some stairs or a ramp she could use to get up to the sofa/bed/window? Just a thought, hope it could help!