How to help my senior cat with chronic back pain and arthritis?

Cats are very sensitive to pain medication so only use it if it’s been prescribed by your veterinarian. Giving omega 3 supplementation wiill help reduce the pain and inflammation from arthritis. Switching to Hills J/D diet, a prescription cat diet formulated for cats with arthritis helps also. In addition I find massage, laser and acupuncture to be effective for pain relief without medication. Also CBD oil can reduce arthritis pain. Please use a veterinary brand that has been tested and is correctly dosed for cats. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Anabel.

Definitely pursue those x-rays. That is a good idea. I also recommend that you have his blood and urine tested for abnormalities. Drinking excessive amounts of water and urinating excessively can indicate kidney disease, hyperthyroidism, liver disease or diabetes. Blood tests and the urine testing should give you some answers. Try to get these tests done ASAP. At home you can start him on an omega-3 fatty acid supplement, as well as a joint supplement for cats. Both of these will act like natural anti-inflammatories and improve the health of the joints in the spine. Best of luck and please feel free to post any additional questions.

If Felix is having problems with his back legs and has arthritis and joint pain, giving him stronger medications may help. As for the back leg brace support, I'd ask his vet about that. That may be something that needs to be specially ordered for him. Best of luck.

Hi there. Older cats can sometimes develop arthritis or other chronic orthopedic issues as they get older. You don't mention if she is declawed or not, but if she is, this would be even more common. I would recommend taking her to the vet for an exam when you're able to - if she does have arthritis, there are prescription pain medications that can be used long-term to make her much more comfortable, just like an older human with arthritis issues. In the meantime, you could also try adding a daily joint supplement such as Cosequin along with an omega-2 fatty acid supplement such as Welactin to her food each day. These can both be helpful for arthritis issues in both dogs and cats.

It's a very difficult decision to make as to when to put a cat to sleep or not, and pain certain is a factor to consider. You've done the right thing by trying pain medications, and I'm sorry they have given him diarrhea. I don't know what kind of pain medication was used, but maybe you could talk to the vet about doing a different kind of pain medication to see if that helps him. Arthritis would make it painful for him to crouch down in a litter box to poop, especially if it's covered. You can remove the litter box top if it's covered to see if that helps. Should there be no other pain medications that are suitable for him and you really feel he is in pain, then putting him to sleep would be the best idea. Examine his quality of life, and if you feel it's poor, then letting him go would be the kindest option. I would first talk with your vet about other pain medications before making this decision. I hope this helps!

At his age, he likely has some arthritis. I suggest you get him started on a joint supplement. https://worldtails.securevetsource.com/itemView/view/198944_HomeDelivery.pml?productId=120626 Give it a good 4-6 weeks to see if it helps him. If not, then please post again and we'll see if we can give you some more suggestions.

I am very sorry to hear about your kitty! We do sometimes resort to steroids in cases where quality of life is suffering but try to avoid when possible. I would ask your vet about starting a glucosamine chondroutin joint supplement and starting Adequan injections. These can help many of these cases be more comfortable with no ill effects.