 |
 | Home | Contact Us | FAQ | Search & Site Map | Link to Us |
 | Sign In | Join | Other 45 Sites in Network |
| HomeDiscussion GroupsGeneral TopicsCat AnecdotesHealth and BehaviorRescue CatKB.com Contact UsLink To UsSearch & Site Map |
Cat Forum / Health and Behavior / December 2003Tiggy's Vet Appt.
Just got back from the vet. Preliminarily her problem looks to be from her arthritis which has spread since last spring. The vet took blood for a full body scan and I'll have the results on that monday or tuesday. They also did an x-ray and all the organs appear normal and healthy. However, her arthritis has spread to the spine and is quite apparent on the x-ray. The vet said the Prednisolone is adding to the peeing problem as it makes her drink more and therefore pee more. She has lost more weight. She's down 1/2 lb. since Thursday a week. She has been eating all of her food most days so I didn't think she had cut back enough to lose that much weight that quickly. If there is something else brewing hopefully that will show up in the blood test results. They said we could try acupuncture. Has anyone else had any experience with this? Just wondering how effective it would be for long term pain relief. Wendy > They said we could try acupuncture. Has anyone else had any experience with > this? Just wondering how effective it would be for long term pain relief. > > Wendy I've only experienced human acupuncture, and it I would highly recommend it. It accomplished in 1 month what couldn't be accomplished in 3 months of physiotherapy (I had severe tennis elbow in both my elbows and acupuncture brought the pain down substantially in just a month). Tiggy might need frequent treatments at first (once or twice a week, depending on how bad it is), but then she can probably reduce the number of treatments to once a month, then once every other month, etc. Because arthritis is chronic, she will probably need treatments for the rest of her life, but once her pain is managed those treatments will be infrequent. You might also want to try massage therapy for her. If you're lucky the therapist will teach you some of the techniques so you can massage her on your own. rona  Signature***For e-mail, replace .com with .ca Sorry for the inconvenience!*** > They said we could try acupuncture. Has anyone else had any experience with > this? Just wondering how effective it would be for long term pain relief. Wendy, just a thought, perhaps homeopathic remedies could be an option? I only ask this because years ago I worked for a company down the road that sold an 'all around' remedy for arthritis, and oddly enough, we had a lot of repeat customers. Granted the OTC stuff for humans is *way* out of the question (it would probably be toxic to the cat), but perhaps you can find somebody that'll do that for the cat. SignatureDennis Carr - ke6isf@spamcop.net | I may be out of my mind, http://www.dennis.furtopia.org | But I have more fun that way. ------------------------------------+------------------------------- >From: Dennis Carr ke6isf@spamcop.net >> They said we could try acupuncture. Has anyone else had any experience with >> this? Just wondering how effective it would be for long term pain relief. [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] >probably be toxic to the cat), but perhaps you can find somebody that'll >do that for the cat. If you live in the U.S., you might want to check out www.altvetmed.com to find a vet who is certified in homeopathy, or one who does accupuncture. Good luck, Lauren ________ See my cats: http://community.webshots.com/album/56955940rWhxAe Raw Diet Info: http://www.holisticat.com/drjletter.html http://www.geocities.com/rawfeeders/ForCatsOnly.html Declawing Info: http://www.wholecat.com/articles/claws.htm > Just got back from the vet. Preliminarily her problem looks to be from her > arthritis which has spread since last spring. The vet took blood for a full [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > > Wendy Did they also suggest a glucosimine chondroitin additive to her food? It really does seem to help. If she is a calm cat that the acupuncture wouldn't bother her, it might worth a try, but I definitely would ask about the additive. Karen in article 7uSdnalvprtt2Eai4p2dnA@comcast.com, Wendy at wendypart@nospam.com wrote on 12/13/03 11:01 AM: > Just got back from the vet. Preliminarily her problem looks to be from her > arthritis which has spread since last spring. The vet took blood for a full [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > > Wendy Did they also suggest a glucosimine chondroitin additive to her food? It really does seem to help. If she is a calm cat that the acupuncture wouldn't bother her, it might worth a try, but I definitely would ask about the additive. Karen She's been on Glucosimine Chondroitin (Cosequin) for a little over a week It seemed to be helping (she started grooming herself again) until yesterday. We had a weather front coming through so that may have been what set her off. She's getting around today but not well although she did "jump" up in the chair with me on her own a little while ago. I wouldn't call her a calm cat. Not with strangers at least. She is with me and will let me do anything to her but doesn't trust others easily ever since she got shot with a pellet gun when she was really young. She's mellowed some over the last few years and does let people pet her if she's seen them around for a while. Do they need a lot of cooperation from her to do the acupuncture? Wendy W > in article 7uSdnalvprtt2Eai4p2dnA@comcast.com, Wendy at wendypart@nospam.com > wrote on 12/13/03 11:01 AM: [quoted text clipped - 34 lines] > off. She's getting around today but not well although she did "jump" up in > the chair with me on her own a little while ago. It can take up to 8 weeks to see the real benefit of GC. Just make sure you give it daily. Maybe there was extra damp in the air. You might try getting a heated pad or a microwave heated desk to put in her bed or where she likes to lay most. Check Dr.s Foster and Smith website. > I wouldn't call her a calm cat. Not with strangers at least. She is with me > and will let me do anything to her but doesn't trust others easily ever > since she got shot with a pellet gun when she was really young. She's > mellowed some over the last few years and does let people pet her if she's > seen them around for a while. Do they need a lot of cooperation from her to > do the acupuncture? Well, I would assume so anyway. I know that lots of dog owners seem to think it helps a lot. Don't know about cats. Karen > Wendy > > W <snip> > I wouldn't call her a calm cat. Not with strangers at least. She is with me > and will let me do anything to her but doesn't trust others easily ever [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > > W I would imagine they might. She would have to be at least a little still in order to get the needles in. If you have a pet acupuncturist in your area, maybe you could call for a consultation. They might be willing to come to your home to do it, if it would make it easier for Tiggy. I've talked to other people who have used acupuncture, and their acupuncturists taught them how to use the needles so they could do it themselves should they need to. That might be another option for you, should the acupuncturist be willing. rona Signature***For e-mail, replace .com with .ca Sorry for the inconvenience!*** Since there is no cure for arthritis, I would think the side effects and kidney problems from prolonged pred usage could be a large part of her problem. Is your vet a feline spcialist? Is there a veterinary college anywhere near you? Just a thought. Hoping for a good outcome. Paulette She doesn't get the Prednisolone every day. I only give it to her when she is having trouble getting around at all. The GC she gets daily. That stuff can also suppress her immune system so I give it to her as sparingly as possible. Since there is no cure for arthritis, I would think the side effects and kidney problems from prolonged pred usage could be a large part of her problem. Is your vet a feline spcialist? Is there a veterinary college anywhere near you? Just a thought. Hoping for a good outcome. Paulette > She doesn't get the Prednisolone every day. I only give it to her when she > is having trouble getting around at all. The GC she gets daily. That stuff > can also suppress her immune system so I give it to her as sparingly as > possible. Hmm. I have *never* heard that GC supresses the immune system. Do you have sources? Karen in article -eydnY0ktIeaGEGi4p2dnA@comcast.com, Wendy at wendypart@nospam.com wrote on 12/14/03 9:43 AM: > She doesn't get the Prednisolone every day. I only give it to her when she > is having trouble getting around at all. The GC she gets daily. That stuff > can also suppress her immune system so I give it to her as sparingly as > possible. Hmm. I have *never* heard that GC supresses the immune system. Do you have sources? Karen Sorry I wasn't clear. She's on the GC every day. That stuff has no negative side effects as far as I can tell. The Prednisolone can suppress the immune system as well as having liver implications if taken over a period of time. I've heard of steroid use to suppress the immune system in people as well. Wendy > in article -eydnY0ktIeaGEGi4p2dnA@comcast.com, Wendy at wendypart@nospam.com > wrote on 12/14/03 9:43 AM: [quoted text clipped - 18 lines] > > Wendy Gotcha. Sounded like someone told you GC can *also* supress. Thanks. Karen |
Reply to this Message |
 Sign In
 Join
 My Latest Posts My Monitored Threads My Blog My Photo Gallery My Profile My Homepage Start New Thread Enable EMail Alerts Rate this Thread
|
©2008 Advenet LLC Privacy Policy - Terms of Use
This website includes both content owned or controlled by Advenet as well as content owned or controlled by third parties.