Just like us, our cats can get the degenerative joint disease (DJD) or arthritis as they get older. If you notice that your cat is a little limpy as they walk, seem to be having troubles jumping, isn’t as active as they used to be, and have discomfort when lying down or getting up, they may be suffering from chronic discomfort caused by arthritis.
Arthritis is caused by the cartilage in the joints to become damaged or degraded. In healthy joints, the cartilage is a buffer between the bones of the joints. It forms a cushion between the bones of the joints, keeping them from rubbing against each other.
When this cartilage buffer is damaged, the cartilage is further degraded and can lead to the destruction of the cartilage. Once the cartilage cushion is destroyed, the bones rub together and become damaged, resulting in arthritis.
Risk Factors for Arthritis in Cats
There are many factors that make it more likely your cat will get arthritis, including:
- Age-as with people, arthritis is more common in middle-aged and older cats
- Obesity-excess weight puts stress on the joints, making it more likely they will be affected by arthritis
- Injury-injured joints are more likely to develop arthritis
- Congenital abnormalities-a particular joint affected by an abnormality can develop arthritis.
And just like in humans, there is no cure for arthritis, and it worsens over time. The best thing you can do for your cat is to alleviate the pain and help your cat feel better, slowing the progression and improving their quality of life.
Pain in cats — both chronic and acute — is hard to treat because cats:
- Break down some drugs slowly, which can potentially increase the risk of adverse reactions
- Are predisposed to a slow decline in kidney function
- Often resist taking oral medication
- Often don’t express obvious signs of pain or illness, making it difficult to evaluate the effectiveness of medication
- Have limited options for veterinary-approved pain medications
This doesn’t mean that there are no pain-relief options for your cat. That brings us to Adequan® for cats.
Because it is not FDA-approved for cats and its use in cats is “off-label” or “extra-label,” many concerned pet parents wonder: is Adequan safe for cats?
What Is Adequan & What Is It Used For?
The drug Adequan is an injectable that contains polysulfated glycosaminoglycan (PSGAG) extracted from cow trachea. You may have heard about, or even taken, glucosamine tablets to support joint health. Adequan is a more effective injectable form than that supplement. And while the drug is currently approved only for use in dogs and horses, it has been used in cats with chronic arthritis.
Although Adequan relieves pain by reducing inflammation in the joints, as NSAIDs do, it doesn’t work in quite the same way. In addition to reducing inflammation and relieving pain, Adequan stimulates your cat’s cartilage and joint fluid production, which can actually help repair damaged joints.
Adequan is administered by injection under the skin (subcutaneous) twice a week for four weeks. If your cat responds well to the drug, the frequency is usually reduced, and based on further responsiveness and results, can even be reduced to once a month. Because the injections are so frequent at the beginning of treatment, you may have to take your pet in for injections or learn how to administer them yourself.
This drug is part of a class of drugs known as Disease-Modifying Osteoarthritis Drugs (DMOAD). This is the only drug of its type approved by the FDA and has been clinically shown to simultaneously relieve joint pain and help treat arthritis. Because the drug is administered by injection, it is only available by prescription through a veterinarian. It is not available in pill form.
How Do the Injections Work?
When injected into your cat’s muscle at strategic points to produce the most effective outcome, the drug helps soothe and lubricate the inflamed joint. It inhibits the enzymes that destroy cartilage in their joints and stimulates cartilage repair. It relieves pain, helps your cat’s body heal, and prevents more destruction of your cat’s joints.
After your cat receives their initial injections, your veterinarian will tell you what improvements to watch for to help develop an injection schedule that will keep them comfortable. After the first injections, additional shots may be given as required to keep your cat comfortable and maintain their quality of life. Your cat may require regular injections of Adequan, but they often taper off to as little as once a month.
What is a DMOAD?
A DMOAD is a drug that can alter or slow the progression of osteoarthritis. The active ingredient in Adequan, polysulfated glycosaminoglycan or PSGAG, has several effects that help alter the progression of arthritis. Once injected into your cat’s muscle, the PSGAG is distributed into the cartilage and joint fluid.
The exact mechanism of action is not entirely understood, but what is known is that PSGAG inhibits enzymes that can cause cartilage destruction, and so they slow down the breakdown of cartilage in joints with arthritis. By blocking and slowing cartilage destructions, the drug helps decrease the inflammation in the joints, which is the main source of arthritis pain. In addition, PSGAG helps cartilage heat by giving your cat’s body cartilage building blocks. And lastly, this drug improves the consistency of the joint’s fluid so that it lubricates the joint better, helping to improve joint mobility and improving your cat’s comfort and quality of life.
What Are the Side Effects of Adequan?
When administered under the supervision of a licensed veterinarian, this drug has little to no side effects. The side effects reported most often include diarrhea, swelling, or mild pain at the site of the injection, and delayed blood clotting requiring no treatment. Adequan has not been clinically tested on pregnant or nursing dogs. In addition, the drug should be used with caution in cats that have a history of bleeding irregularities or that have had kidney or liver transplants. Check with your veterinarian if you have questions about these issues.
Precautions
- Should not be used in cats with known allergy or hypersensitivity to the drug.
- Should be avoided if your cat has a joint infection.
- Since the drug is related to an anticoagulant, it should not be used around the time of surgery as it may prolong bleeding.
- May interact with other medications. Consult with your veterinarian to determine if other drugs your pet is receiving could interact with Adequan, such as aspirin, ibuprofen, and other NSAIDs. Be sure to let your veterinarian know about any drugs, supplements, or herbal remedies your cat is taking.
- Adverse effects associated with Adequan include joint swelling and inflammation, joint infection, and pain.
There is a wide safety margin with Adequan. However, excessive amounts have the potential to cause liver and kidney damage, if you accidentally give your cat an extra dose, contact your veterinarian for advice. There are no known drug interactions. However, the use of Adequan with steroids or NSAIDs may mask clinical signs indicating septic joints. And since the drug is related to Heparin, a blood thinner, it should be used cautiously if your cat is taking NSAIDs or another anticoagulant.
For most cats, the benefits of Adequan for arthritis greatly outweigh any possible risks. Combined with weight loss and management, physical therapy, and drugs to manage inflammation and pain, Adequan can significantly improve your cat’s quality of life.
Dosing Information for Adequan for Cats
No matter how safe, no drug should be administered prior to consulting your veterinarian. Below are general dosages for Adequan and are not meant to be used in place of your veterinarian’s instructions.
There are many protocols for Adequan dosage, the most common is 2 mg per kilo (a kilo equals 2.2 pounds), every 3–5 days in a total of four intramuscular injections or 5 mg per kilo administered subcutaneously two times a week for four weeks, then tapered down to once a week for four weeks, and then once a month.
This medication begins to work within hours of administration and remains in the affected joints for three days.
Can Adequan Be Used in Cats?
While huge advances have been made in veterinary analgesia, the area of chronic pain in felines has lagged behind. The difficulties of recognizing feline pain include the unique metabolism of cats, the difficulty of administering drugs to cats, worries about adverse effects, and the lack of information available on analgesic options for cats.
Many of the pain medications used in both dogs and cats have been studied for use in dogs, which means that using most drugs for pain relief in cats is off-label or extra-label. Since cats are living longer, there is an increased need for drugs to treat diseases such as arthritis and the pain that often comes with it.
However, recognizing chronic pain caused by arthritis in cats is challenging. Acute traumatic and surgical pain is often accompanied by obvious cues such as bleeding, incisions, and inflammation looks like it hurts. Such obvious cues are not always available with chronic conditions such as arthritis.
That’s where Adequan comes in. This drug is considered effective in relieving arthritis pain as well as helping the joints repair themselves and improve. Because Adequan requires a prescription, you must talk to your veterinarian before you start using it for your cat.
Your veterinarian will review your cat’s medical history to determine if your cat is a good candidate for Adequan. Since this drug is given at higher doses and then tapered down, depending on how your cat responds to it, your veterinarian will develop a treatment plan with the proper dosage and injection protocol.
Once your cat has received their first few injections, your veterinarian will let you know what to look for to determine its efficacy. They will then use this information to develop an injection schedule that will keep your cat comfortable.
Some veterinarians choose not to wait until your cat shows obvious signs of arthritis pain. As your cat ages, depending on certain indications, your veterinarian may decide to begin treating them with Adequan.
Where Can I Get Adequan for My Cat?
Adequan is only sold through veterinarians and licensed online veterinary pharmacies. We offer the guaranteed best prices on pet prescriptions. The medication you receive from Allivet will be identical to the medications you can get from your veterinarian-same manufacturer, strength, and equal or better expiration date.
When you purchase Adequan, or any other arthritis medicine for cats, from Allivet, you can be sure that your cat’s medications are safe, reliable, and have been stored under optimal conditions for optimal efficacy. Our caring staff will fill your Adequan prescription with care and attention to detail to meet your pe
Originally published at https://www.allivet.com on June 18, 2021.
