New warnings about Metacam

[smokey the elder]

A while back there was a thread about the dangers of using Metacam off label in cats. The company has reiterated this. http://veterinarynews.dvm360.com/dvm/Breaking+News/New-safety-warnings-added-to-Metacam-veterinary-la/ArticleStandard/Article/detail/693167?contextCategoryId=378

(Disclaimer: I work for this company, actually the human pharma part!)

[krazyaboutkatz]

I'm glad to hear this. Hopefully vets will also inform their clients of this risk so they'll be able to decide if they want them to use this on their cats. My Storm was on metacam oral suspension for a brief time and I didn't like how it made him so sleepy and loopy. I don't think I'd want this used on any more of my cats.

[smokey the elder]

The vet community had high hopes for this stuff, since there are very few painkillers suitable for cats. As far as I know there are no NSAIDs for cats, but quite a few for dogs. You're pretty much stuck with steroids or even narcotics, both of which aren't the best either.

[Catlady711]

I know we tried that with Dusty for her arthritis pain but eventually it stopped helping and had to switch to Tramadol. We don't normally use Meticam in cats at work except the one time injectable with certain surgeries. The big boss has never been convinced of it's safety in cats, unless like Dusty there are few alternatives or more like 'kitty hospice care' use.