Is there such a thing as cortisone shots for kitties?

[TygrBright]

My old boy (almost 19) seems to be having more trouble with his joints these days and it seems clear that he's experiencing considerable discomfort periodically, poor baby.

He's on grain-free Wellness tins and packets of food, and also gets a couple tablespoons of go! natural crunchies. Eating and excreting seem fully functional, although he eats very slowly and in small amounts at a time. Per the Cat Lady at the Critters n' Me, I've been putting a couple of drops of cider vinegar into his fountain whenever I fill it from the Britta pitcher. (We have VERY alkaline water here in the desert.)

I think he still enjoys life and is in pretty good shape other than the joints, but those have definitely been getting worse. He's duck-footed and his hips are definitely giving him trouble, when he moves a lot he has to lie down and his breathing is rapid. He has a little tremula when he stands.

He will NOT take pills. Period. And I think at this point, attempts to make him take pills would simply cause him more pain than the relief might be worth.

So I'm thinking, have the mobile vet call and try a cortisone injection? Has anyone tried that with a senior kitty? Is it even an option?

worriedly,
Bright

[Stinky The Clown]

1. At the vet the other day, on the waiting room cork board, they had an ad for chondroitin and . . . .

. . . .glucosimine. It is a widely accepted over the counter joint medicine.

I know they suggest this for humans. The ad I saw was for dogs. Not sure if this is for cats, too.

[Coyote_Bandit]

9. Has worked wonders for some of my dogs

Don't know how it affects kitties.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

2. Yes. I don't know if they give cats cortisone for joint problems, but

I had a cat who was given cortisone to treat an allergy. He'd licked a big patch of fur off his belly, and the vet gave him cortisone to stop the itching so he'd quit licking. It worked.

[japple]

3. My elderly persian (RIP) was prescribed baby aspirin for arthritis.

If I recall correctly, she was given 1/2 baby aspirin every 3 days, and it seemed to work very well. Now, I think they give Rimadyl.

[virgdem]

4. My cat Sammy is 19 also...

for the past 3 years or so, I have given her Cosequin for cats, readily available at Petsmart, Petco or your vet. It comes in a capsule that I break apart, sprinkle in her food and mix it up. It is odorless and has a chicken/tuna flavor to it. It seems to help Sammy, as she moves about with little to no pain that I notice, at least. Good luck with whatever you try.

[Curmudgeoness]

5. I have also had a cat who got cortisone shots, but also not for joint

pain. Speak to your vet, just to find out your options. As to pills, have you ever tried Pill Pockets? They do not work on my cat any longer, but did for at least a month. If you have to pill the cat, this may work. I am pilling my cat twice a day now and he hates it, but it is done as quickly as possible. Throw the pill in and have a syringe with water at the ready, squirt some water to make the cat swallow right away. Also, it may be possible to get a med that can be given in a liquid form. Again, talk to the vet, this may be easy to give relief.

[TygrBright]

6. Just for the record, YES, there is such a thing.

Although I don't know if it's actually cortisone per se, the mobile vet gave him a steroid shot which she said should ease his joints, and might help with his breathing as well.

Kitty cortisone, anyway.

Hopefully it'll work. He's actually in decent shape for an old boy.

relievedly,
Bright

[japple]

7. I hope this will help your poor old boy. When my girl was that age,

she started having litterbox problems. My vet said that when their joints are stiff, they have trouble climbing over the side of the litterbox if the sides are too steep, also problems with squatting. I had to rig up a "pee deflector" around 2 sides of the litterbox (the sides that were in the corner of the bathroom) to keep the walls clean.

[badgerpup]

8. Meant to answer this weeks ago...

...but my donation got lost in the mail and I lost my posting priveleges. :banghead:

Yes, kitties can get cortisone injections. My old Alpha-cat Misha used to suffer from periodic psychogenic alopecia...meaning he'd get stressed out about something and start licking holes into his fur- usually on his belly or his hips. If I didn't catch him right away he would lick himself raw...and then lick the raw spot to try to make it feel better...and then lick off anything I tried to put on it to heal it...
I had to sedate him one night until I could get him to the vet's office the next day; poor guy was so uncomfortable but he could...not...stop...LICKING!

By the time he was 10 years old he had decided he wasn't going to take any more pills. Misha didn't fight, bite, or get nasty about it, but he'd elevated "NO thank you!" into an art form (and he was big and strong enough to make it stick) so we had to resort to injections.

The cortisone helped stop the licking behavior.

Good luck with your furbaby...hope it helps!
And...ask about baby aspirin. You know, St. Joseph's sort of thing?
Depending on your cat's weight, he may be able to tolerate half a baby aspirin
(NOT TYLENOL! THIS IS POISONOUS TO CATS!), but ask your vet first before administering.

Before Esme got so thin (due to funky kidneys) she weighed 14 lbs, and was able to take one baby aspirin (with the Sainted Vet's knowledge and approval) every so now and then when the arthritis in her hips was really bothering her.

She even made the connection between "pill stuck down my throat" and "I feel better".

Clever girl...