Cole had his checkup today

[Catty1]

All was well except he has ballooned to almost 20 lbs in spite of having mostly weight loss food in his diet!

My vet attributed this to his arthritis. He and Oscar both have it in their hips. Oscar was caught in time - the fish oil added to his food really helped and his weight is fine. With Cole, however, the pain makes him less active, so he gains even more.

He is on wet food - the Hypoallergenic food - for now (no dry) and has 2. ml of Metacam per day. I have a free sample dose and we'll see how he does on that. He had to have his back end shaved. My vet thought he even might start grooming himself when he realizes there is no pain involved. And hopefully he will get more lively.

The Metacam may be long term, but at a much lower dose. As for the kidney and liver concerns, Cole had major bloodwork for a dental last year and it was all excellent. I was told that if he develops any kidney or liver issues, Metacam will make it worse.

Sure glad my boy will feel better!:love:

[Karen]

Aww, hopefully all this will help!

[Catty1]

Thanks, Karen. I had really been measuring his food - and that of the other cats - and felt badly. That so much of the weight gain could be caused by the arthritis which becomes its own vicious circle was somewhat of a relief to me. Easing or stopping the pain may break that cycle and allow Cole to get healthier. And of course, no pain is a real gain for my fluffy boy!

Next week Oscar goes in. A small wart-like growth on his neck/chin area was checked last year and we decided to keep an eye on it. I noticed recently that it has about tripled in size. It doesn't bother him at all, even if I touch it while giving chin rubs. I can afford for the vet to use a general for about 10 minutes to scoop it out and stitch Oscar up. Of course, that nasty lump will be sent away for tests. I guess older cats - and people too - get funny bumps here and there. ;):D

[phesina]

Hi Candace, I hope the new food and the Metacam will help Cole feel better and lose weight.

And best wishes that Oscar's growth will prove to be benign.

:love::love::love::love::love::love::love::love:

[Queen of Poop]

The metacam should make Cole feel better. Hoping Oscar's little lump is nothing serious. Hugs for all your babies. :love::love::love:

[smokey the elder]

Please be careful with the Metacam. It can be toxic for cats over the long term.

[Pinot's Mom]

Hope Cole feels better and that Oscar's check up comes out fine. {{{hugs}}} all 'round.

[Catty1]

smokey, I did know that - actually, thanks to Pet Talk, I know a LOT of things to ask my vet! :D Pet Talk rocks!

So I mentioned it to her. We are going to reduce his dose after a time - perhaps the wild salmon oil will do the job by then (as it did for Oscar). What my vet said is that while Metacam won't actually cause problems by itself, if and when kidney/liver issues develop the Metacam will make it worse.

We'll see how Cole does; this is kind of an emergency use in this case to get his weight down by easing the pain. My vet is not a med pusher and we have good discussions about how to proceed.

As for Oscar, this growth does not bother him at all. I'll be glad to have it gone though, if it's just gonna keep growing. Thanks for the good thoughts; I'll keep you posted.:love:

[Jessika]

I know you have him on a hypoallergenic diet....... but just wanted to throw out there, there is a new rx diet called Metabolic Diet made by Hill's... we have seen AMAZING results with weight loss on this food, and better yet, cats (and dogs) LOVE it. Owner compliance is usually the hardest thing with getting pet's to lose weight.... this diet is a God-send to the vet med world for safe weight loss in pets. And it's not a "starvation" diet, either, like all of the other weight-loss or light diets on the market today.

[Catty1]

Thanks, Jessika. I'll ask my vet.

Oscar's weight and arthritis were managed well by diet and fish oil. Cole was always a bit heavier, and the most rigid monitoring seemed to do little. My vet thought that the pain he was in was a major factor in him not moving more, though he will ask me to come play with him!

He has been so much calmer, not over-grooming. We'll stay with the Metcam and hypo food for a while. What I want to ask my vet is if the food you mention can be tolerated by a cat who is food-allergic. Cole threw up another hairball over a week ago and gagged up two mornings in a row. My vet said that can indicate food allergy, even if there ARE hairballs. I was dosing Cole with the Petmalt from the vet! Since he's on the hypo food - no problems whatsoever.

So we'll see.:)