Pudding and arthritis.

[farthing]

We've had a very stressful couple of weeks with poorly old animals- arthritis seems to be name of the game at the moment. Jack the goat, Doris the sheep and Corrie the collie have all been diagnosed with varying degrees of it- for Doris and Jack we are at the last options of trying to help it. We also lost a rabbit, Jessica, today after she damaged her leg- we have no idea how.
Molly Parkin the latest cat also had her mammary lump removed yesterday, and is recovering in a cage beside me.

Anyway, I took Pudding into the vet 2 days ago as she was very dowdy and making an awful noise when she ate. The vet said her teeth were bad but we would try a one off shot of metacam and antibiotic to try and avoid operating on her- she is hyperthyroid and in early stages of CRF.
She was no brighter yesterday so I took her back in, we ran bloods and her kidneys we actually better than previously so she was booked in the next day for a dental and was left there overnight on a drip. The vet has just called and said Pudding's teeth weren't that bad so she x-rayed her ( she knows me well enough to go ahead if she cannot get in touch, and Pudding wasn't great under anesthetic so they didn't want to wait). The x-rays show she has spondylosis in her mid back and the vet suspects she has arthritis in her jaw ( hard to see on the x-ray).
The vet has suggested putting her on metacam but understands why I'm not keen. I think I'm going to try cartrophen injections and possibly acupuncture first, leaving metacam as a last ditch option. Obviously if she is in pain and we cannot control it any other way we will have to go for quality of life rather than quantity.
So after all that- what do people think, any other ideas would be welcome. She's bright and ready to be collected at 6, and of course a dental may have done the trick but if not I would be interested in any input.

[Velvet]

I can understand your reluctance towards Metacalm.

I can only speak from the dogs aspect re arthritis and Spondylosis. Rosie (RIP) had this and we treated her with Glucosamine and later the vet added PLTs. She was covered tummy wise with Cimetidine.

Rosie had the x-ray as they thought she had a bladder tumour and they were able to see the spine and hips (hips were not good either) - the vet said she had never seen such a bad case of Spondylosis Rosie however compenstated quite well for her disability, instead of whipping round like most Boxers, she would turn her whole body at once - Boxers can be very stoic

It was liver disease that took her in the end. secondary complication of her hypothyroidism.

I think if you got Pudding stabilised on some sort of alternative regime it would help a lot, its just finding the right balance and what will help

Hiltonherbs are very helpful, perhaps you have used them in the past or know of them. www.hiltonherbs.co.uk

[angieh]

I am sorry not to be able to offer any experience here farthing. Poor little Pudding, I know that you will do the best for her and agree that quality is far better than quantity, and pain relief must be the priority for her.

[farthing]

Well my brain has been working overtime, and the latest additions to the plans are- blend Pudding's food into a cream like consistency with cat milk so she can lap her food and feed her on a raised platform, i'll also feed her in a cage do she can eat it without any other cat's stealing before she finishes!

[farthing]

Pudding is showing no great inclination to eat, she's lapping small amount off my hands but not showing any enthusiasm. She seems really weak but did lose a lot of blood after the op, I have a poc tomorrow with the vet who did the op, and she is an excellent vet so hoping we can find out what us going on- of course she may just be taking a while to get over the anesthetic at her age!