5 drugs in my cat pain toolbox
It didnt pain us (were here all week, folks) to talk to physical rehabilitation expert Jane Huntingford, DVM, DACVMR, about what she uses to manage feline patients chronic pain.
“Chronic pain in cats presents a dilemma, because there are so few pain medications,” laments Janice Huntingford, DVM, DACVSMR, CVA, CVPP, CCRT, CAVCA, owner of Essex Animal Hospital in Essex, Ontario, Canada.
But here's what we got, she continues in an interview at a recent CVC show. Huntingford rattled off choices that today's practitioners may want to learn more about. In no particular order:
1. Onsior (robenacoxib), a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) for cats.
2. meloxicam, another NSAID. Huntingford says it's used in Canada for chronic pain in cats “at low doses,” for instance, 0.02 mg/kg.
3. buprenorphine, a partial mu opiate agonist, is a “main stay,” according to Huntingford.
4. gabapentin is another drug used in an off-label manner to treat chronic feline pain in cats, but Huntingford is hopeful that eventual FDA labeling for use in cats will “revolutionize pain control” for them.
5. amitriptyline, a tricyclic antidepressent drug used to treat a variety of feline behavioral problems, “is good for chronic pain at low doses,” Huntingford says.
Huntingford also doesn't shy away from alternative modalities like acupuncture for painful feline patients. “I use a lot of acupuncture, physical therapy and massage,” she says. “We even try things like underwater treadmills or laser therapy.”
