My goodness, I am achy today! I tell you what, getting old is the pits. I remember when I could jump strait up to the top of the microwave with no problems. Now, I have to use the chair. Kind of depressing.
But, the good thing is, even though I can’t reach the top of the microwave in one jump, at least the doctors got me on some medicine to help me feel better. At first, I tried aspirin (the Bayer kind). They gave me 1/2 of an 81mg tablet every three days. I’ve hear that people can get aspirin every day, but us cats don’t break it down like people and dogs do. It stays in my system for a LOT longer, so I only got it every 3 days. But, I got kind of a belly ache with that aspirin. Aspirin helped the legs, but it gave me a stomach ulcer! I heard from Lilly (Dr. Reynold’s dog) that it gives dogs stomach ulcers too. She said that almost all dogs that are given aspirin will get stomach ulcers. Ouch! We may not show it, but it’s not comfortable. Not to mention what aspirin can do to our livers and kidneys over time. Aspirin can be good in an pinch, or for certain medical conditions, but it is not a very focused pain medicine.
So, the aspirin thing was kind of a bust. Then, Skye (Dr. Preston’s dog), told me about some supplements that she’s been getting. Glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate helped to lubricate her joints and made her feel better. There are also some fancy formulations that have MSM or ASU or Turmeric or other fancy things that help to naturally decrease the inflammation that arthritis can cause. I convinced Dr. Kibuik to get me some of that Cosequin. She sprinkles it on my food every morning and night. It did seem to make the old joints feel better. Skye said she tried Dasuquin, which helped some, but the Synovi G4 really seemed to do the trick. Now, all of those fancy things are prescriptions, so it’s a good thing I have the veterinarians here to to write me one. If you don’t have a doctor, I probably would have gotten one of the people supplements or one of the supplements at PetCo or PetSmart. Even if you don’t have a veterinarian, mine are nice enough to talk to anyone about over-the-counter medicines.
Speaking of over-the-counter medicines, one other one that I really like (‘cuz it’s tasty) is fish oil. Ok, ok, it’s actually the Omega 3 fatty acids that help my joints, but the fish oil is pretty tasty. I had to be careful when I got them from the store – the labels are a little misleading. 1000mg of fish oil may only have 50mg of the good stuff – the Omega 3 fatty acids (also known as Essential fatty acids)! I know, what the heck? Since then, I make sure I get the good stuff from the veterinarians. We have Wellactin at the Hospital, but there are other options as well. The Wellactin liquid makes my food that much tastier!
So, after getting started on all of these wonderful supplements, I thought I’d be in the clear. You darn squirrels better watch out! Well, the squirrels laughed. I only go out on my leash and it’s kind of embarrassing so they really had nothing to worry about. That, and while I didn’t feel quite so bad, I still couldn’t quite make it all the way to the top of the microwave in one jump. Dr. Kibiuk told me I probably needed an anti-inflammatory medicine. “Supplements can only do so much, Waldo,” she said.
Well, the story of my OTHER medications probably should wait for another day. It’s nap time! ZZZZZzzzzz
