A New Way to Manage Senior Cats' Aches and Pains

Blu, my 15-year-old Maine Coon Cat neuter, was showing signs of his age, most notably, a pronounced "plodding" in his walk and favoring his right back leg.

- By Teresa Keiger

He had been diagnosed with arthritis and his large size made the pain even worse. It was difficult, if not impossible, for him to climb up onto the sofa beside me (his most favorite place in the world), and he was no longer able to climb up the short cat pole for a view.

Another consequence of arthritis in older cats is one that I hadn't thought of: it hurt to squat, so of course, it hurt to squat and poop. Sometimes I would see Blu straining to defecate, but then he would fall. Or often he would squat, plop down, and THEN poop, resulting in a mess and an emergency butt bath. I knew that he was miserable.

When I took him to my vet for his annual exam, I discussed this with her, fully expecting her to tell me that his comfortable days were numbered, if not over, and to begin thinking of his future (or lack thereof). Imagine my surprise when she told me that a new drug had recently come on the market and she had used it with great success on her own older cat.

Solensia and How it Works