I’m talking cats that are old and grouchy (though old & grounchy owners are welcome, too.)
Our cat is eight years old, and blew out her knee a few years ago and had to have surgery to correct it. Because of her age and her injury the vet strongly recommended that we start her on a glucosamine supplement to put off arthritis problems as long as we can. No signs of arthritis yet (knock on wood) and the longer we can keep her healthy and active, obviously, the better.
We came home with some Cosequin, but she’s not really warming up to it. It’s a powder in a capsule that your break open and sprinkle on her (dry) food. She keeps doing the Hungry Dance, even when there’s food in her dish, as if hoping we’ll give her something uncontaminated. She is eating, though, and the decreased appetite could also be due to the vaccinations she got. (She’s been a bit lethargic the past couple of days, too, but seems to be perking up today.) We’ve got a month and a half of doses, so I guess we’ll see if she gets used to it. She’s proved to be an adaptable eater in the past, and hasn’t gone on a flat-out hunger strike . . . and, frankly, if she eats a bit less because of this, maybe we can get rid of some extra padding. But we may need to look into a different preparation.
The vet said it was important to give her glucosamine hydrochloride instead of glucosamine sulfate because the HCl has a lower molecular weight and is absorbed more readily in small animal’s bodies.
Is anyone giving your cat glucosamine HCl? What brand do you use? Anyone using a liquid form?
You could try Pill Pockets for what you’ve got now. Cosequin is a really good brand. There are liquid formulas available, but they’ve got a bunch of extra junk (like sweeteners) in them that kitty doesn’t really need.
Those pill pocket thingies are clever! Thanks for the info.
A buddy of mine gives his dog glucosamine in food form. Probably expensive. Seems to me you can buy it in liquid form for human consumption so that might help. I’ve been taking it with chondroitin MSM and potassium (in pill form). Makes a big difference on my lower back.
FYI, 8 years is not old for a cat. My oldest is 15 and shows no sign of slowing down.
Cosequin has a cat version that’s available. The ads say that it is tuna and chicken flavor (but as I look at the ingredients, it appears to be sulfate as well as HCl so it may not be what you want).
I have a 14 year old cat with hip dysplasia and an arthritic knee who has been on Cosequin (“for small animals”) for a couple years. He also did not like the taste of the powder on his food, so I fed the whole pill to him. He got used to it but never seemed to enjoy it. Last week, we switched to the Cosequin for cats, and now he comes running when it’s pill time. He will even eat the pill if I put it down for him (rather than me having to push it down his throat). YMMV, but if you haven’t tried the cat version, it may be worth it.
We have the Cosequin for Cats (tuna & chicken flavor) now, Champion. I can try her on the pill by itself and see if she finds it more interesting that way. Thanks for the suggestion.
She ate better last night and this morning, and she is back to her normal activities (jumping on the sink to get a drink, stalking the Monster Under the Comforter, taking the stairs at Warp Speed, and wrestling) so I think she’s bounced back from the vaccinations.
In other news, her bloodwork came back from the lab, and the vet says she may have early stage hyperthyrodism!
Oh, joy. 
Repeat the bloodwork, making sure that the vet is using a reputable lab. We had the same “news,” but after repeated tests, we finally determined that the only times the bloodwork showed abnormal was when the vet’s office tested the blood. The outside lab tests came back fine, and the vet said he’d rely on those over the ones performed by his own techs. (How’s that for confidence-inspiring?)
Incidentally, if your cat does have hyperthyroidism, the cure actually doesn’t seem that bad (except for the whole hazardous waste litter box issue). Good luck.
Sorry to revive an old thread, but I just wanted to say thanks to Campion for the information and advice.
We’ve been giving the cat the Cosequin pills whole, and we’ve taken to referring it to as “Cosecrack” because she thinks it’s the Best Thing Evar. Why it is a Vile Pollution when sprinkled on her food, but an Irresistable Treat when the capsule is eaten whole is beyond me, but that’s cats for ya.
We discussed the possibility of a bad lab test result with our vet, and she said that her lab has been very reliable and reassured us that the medication was not going to make her ill even if her thyroid levels really are normal. We’ve started her on a very low dose of methimazole and will retest in a few weeks to see how that affects her T4 levels.
It’s good to know that your cat is as nuts as mine about it. Almost makes me want to try the Cosequin to see if it’s really that good.
I said almost.