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Expert: - 3/20/2010


Question
Dear Jana, we have an older house kitty with very sore knees in the rear legs.  X-ray has shown arthritis .Do you remember our kitty who died in January of renal failure?  This girl with the bad knees was second oldest and now is our oldest cat.  One vet has told me of success with glucosamine given to cats and dogs. He apparently has used the substance with success  and believes it works much better in dogs and cats than in humans.  The problem is we have no idea what sort of dosage to give a small cat and where to get the stuff.  Glucosamine made for people is more clear in labeling as to actual content of the working medicine.

Any thoughts you might have will be appreciated.Thanks so very much, Thomas.

(The text box is applying a strange format as I type so I hope it is readable).

Answer
Hi Thomas,
I hope that you and your wife are doing better with the loss of your sweet girl.

It is very easy to get a glucosamine/chondrotin combo from the vet in the form of Cosequin. It is made is small capsules for cats that you can put into wet food I believe.

There might also be some safe pain meds for cats now that can help. If your vet told you about it doesn't he carry it?

Ask him to get you some Cosequin for cats. There are a lot of brands on the market but Cosequin was one of the first and is very good.  

Here is a page about the supplement right from the manufacturers:
http://www.nutramaxlabs.com/Vet/Products/Cosequin-for-cats.aspx

And you can buy it on Amazon.com if your vet doesn't carry it:

http://www.amazon.com/PACK-Cosequin-Cats-count-CAPSULES/dp/B00155WETE/ref=pd_sim...

I hope that helps Thomas! Please let me know how it works for her.  

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Jana Connell RVT, CVT

Expertise

PLEASE READ BEFORE SUBMITTING TO ME: I am NOT a vet and do NOT diagnose diseases. That is only for a licensed Veterinarian to do. I will give you suggestions and steer you toward calling your vet for help. You can call the vet's office and talk to the technician there or the vet at times. Don't be afraid to call them! If you have a serious issue with your pet please post it to one of the veterinarians in here- I will tell you the same thing in my answer. IF your pet is injured or in an emergency situation, CALL YOUR VET- Do not wait and post in here. Just call the vet's office and get them in to see the vet right away. Critical treatment time is lost if you seek answers here when you should have your precious pet at the vets!! Don't sit at home waiting for an answer when your pet is critically ill or injured!! I can answer most questions about small animal and wildlife care as well as small animal nutrition. I can also answer questions about all phases of dental care for small animals. I DO NOT answer questions about birds (unless it is wildlife or songbirds) or HAMSTERS/GERBILS/CHINS/GUINEA PIGS/REPTILES/FROGS/RABBITS/PET BIRDS OF ANY KIND so please submit these questions to the appropriate sections. I, as well as other experts in here, do NOT do homework questions- that is for YOU to do! Please respect these rules for all of us. Thanks!

Experience

I have over 35 years experience in the field of veterinary medicine. I specialized in small animals and did wildlife rehab for over 25 years, mostly raptors, squirrels and opossums. I am a Small Animal Nutritional Consultant with 6 certificates from Hills Pet Foods, CNM and Purina. I also specialized in Small Animal Dentistry which is a field I truly love.

Organizations
Audubon,World Wildlife Federation, American Society of Veterinary Dental Technicians.

Education/Credentials
Licensed with California and Oregon, RVT and CVT. Certified Veterinary Dental Technician Have over 500 logged hours of Continuing Education Credits(that means I keep up to date!).

Awards and Honors
Nominated for Expert of the Month for the last 5 years.

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