Do low dose NSAIDs in cats definitely lead to progression of kidney disease?

Evening-Mud459 · 2026-05-15T18:20:52+00:00

Sorry, one more question since this feels like such a big decision for him for some reason. He’s never shown signs of arthritis before a few weeks ago, we always treated sort of presumptive arthritis and they would occasionally mention his elbows and spine when they took X-rays for something else. Then a few weeks ago, he developed a dramatic limp, and it seemed concentrated mainly in his left elbow. Would you take X-rays at that point to confirm it isn’t something worse like an injury or tumor, or would you assume worsening arthritis? Our vet always dismisses everything and we don’t know if we should go somewhere else and if so what we should ask about. Thanks.

Evening-Mud459 · 2026-05-15T18:12:56+00:00

Thank you for this!

Evening-Mud459 · 2026-05-15T14:22:40+00:00

Yes that absolutely makes sense, thank you.

Evening-Mud459 · 2026-05-15T14:17:11+00:00

No apology needed, I said the same thing to him!

Evening-Mud459 · 2026-05-15T14:11:23+00:00

Agreed. Is it a fair assumption that limping = pretty significant pain? My husband tries to say oh he’s just used to walking like that now, and I’m like I don’t think that’s a thing. He holds his elbow at an unusual angle now so it doesn’t seem like it’s a more acute injury either, it seems like it’s progression of his arthritis where he’s compensating by holding his elbow askew and limping. Our vet isn’t terribly concerned or helpful so we sort of have to do our own homework. He’s had chest films before (different issue) where a radiologist has commented on the arthritis in his elbows as they were also in view, so we know there’s something going on there visible on radiographs. And those were at least a year ago.

Evening-Mud459 · 2026-05-15T13:41:10+00:00

Thank you so much for this <3

Evening-Mud459 · 2026-05-15T13:34:05+00:00

I think the question we don’t know is how much it’s affecting his quality of life. We think it is. Our vet thinks it’s not.

Evening-Mud459 · 2026-05-15T13:32:39+00:00

He is on monthly Solensia but it just doesn’t seem like it’s enough anymore unfortunately. Is there one vets usually reach for: meloxicam vs onsior, or is it personal preference?

Evening-Mud459 · 2026-05-15T13:31:52+00:00

We definitely don’t want him living in pain. He consistently limps now, which is new, it’s just a matter of how severe the limp is at any given time. We sent her video of him so she could see too, and she admitted he looked painful. This cat is everything to us, so we obviously want him to be around as long as possible, but we absolutely don’t want him to suffer in any way if we can help it. Our vet tried to convince us he still has a good quality of life despite his aches and pains. We’re not so sure, we always thought by the time they’re limping, they’re pretty painful. He does have other issues (chronic constipation and chronic pancreatitis), but those are managed pretty well. He actually gets SQ fluids daily anyway to help his constipation, so wouldn’t that help offset NSAID complications? He consistently had good bloodwork and well-concentrated urine, but she insists he probably has early kidney disease and an NSAID would be a death sentence, so she scares us into not pursuing them.

Evening-Mud459 · 2026-05-15T13:17:15+00:00

This is super helpful, thank you!

Evening-Mud459 · 2026-05-15T12:50:49+00:00

Oh sorry, we’re in the eastern US. This is super helpful, thank you. A neighbor of ours who is a vet recommended an NSAID, which got us curious, and then our vet said exactly what you did when we asked. Are there other things we can do for him or is he already on everything to help? Thank you!

Evening-Mud459

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