What Is Cosequin For Cats Used For?

It’s just an unhappy truth that felines age faster than their humans do. That means that you and I, and every other cat lover, will likely take care of an aging cat best friend at some point. As with any loved one, we naturally want to keep them as active and comfortable as we can, for as long as we can.

What is Cosequin for cats used for? Cosequin for cats is used to help maintain healthy joints, alleviate arthritis pain or pain from cancer in cats. There’s the indirect benefit that older cats could be more active on it and eat and drink more, which helps bladder health and kidney function as well. Always consult your veterinarian before giving your cat any medicine or supplement.

For cats, this means keeping them moving; cats are movement personified (yes, cats are people too). Your cat isn’t like a human friend who might complain about soreness in her joints.

All cats are warriors at heart, and warriors don’t show pain.

You can get a 2 pack here

So, how do you tell if your little warrior is having joint problems?

You cannot always tell from the grace of her movements; once she’s committed to a jump, she’s probably going to jump as smoothly as ever (warrior, remember?)

But if she’s slow jumping down, or choosing to take fewer high jumps, or walking gingerly up or down stairs, it’s time to help her out with a trip to the vet.

If she could, and if she wasn’t such a warrior, she’d be saying, “My joints are getting creaky, do you have any ideas?”

Here’s a video with other ways to tell if your cat may have joint pain: 

For cats, one major way that we can help is by providing them with a joint repairing supplement called Cosequin.

There are many joint support options available for dogs, but not nearly as many are made specifically for cats. Some products used in dog supplements are not as safe for cats.

Cosequin is available for both cats and dogs, so make sure you’re using version designed for cats.

This has been developed and refined over many years by several different companies and with input by countless vets.

This is very good news for you because competition keeps the price down, and a lot of smart people have come up with clever ways to improve their own version.

We’ll look at some of those choices later in this article, but first, let’s go over the basics so that we know what we’re looking for.

What is in Cosequin?

Cosequin is a combination of chondroitin sulfate, glucosamine, and manganese ascorbate.

These ingredients work together to maintain the health of your cat’s joint cartilage.

Here’s what they do:

1. Glucosamine hydrochloride supplies a key nutrient that keeps cartilage cells healthy and working well. (You can think of it as a building block for cartilage.)
2. Chondroitin sulfate blocks the enzymes that break down cartilage so that less damage happens.
3. Manganese ascorbate signals the cat’s body to increase the production of new cartilage.

These three supplements work much better together than each ingredient would alone, according to the Cosequin FAQ’s.

Because this is a nutritional supplement, it’s generally much safer than medicines such as pain relievers.

If your vet prescribes medicine, be sure to ask if it interacts with Cosequin. It’s not likely, but it never hurts to ask.

Side effects of Cosequin for cats:

In fact, very few cats have any problems taking it, though some have experienced stomach issues, like diarrhea or nausea.

If this occurs, check the product’s instructions to make sure of the Cosequin dosage and you’re not giving him/her too much.

Also, if your cat already has joint issues or is taking a prescription for this issue, I would avoid this supplement. This isn’t going to cure already weakened or pre-existing bad joints but useful for preventative type “maintenance”.

How long does it take for Cosequin to work in cats?

Because this is a supplement, it works more gradually than drugs.

You should follow the directions for the product you choose, but typically you would start by giving them daily doses. (In four to six weeks, you should see some improvement.)

After that, you can cut down to every other day.

How Do I Give Cosequin To My Cats?

I had 2 cats that were 7 years old when I started to notice the limping. I thought it was due to our new living arrangement which was way smaller than before.

Took them both to the vet and she recommended this supplement to start.

For me:

I gave it to them by opening 2 pills for each cat and sprinkling it onto their wet food.

TIP: mix it in, my cats wouldn’t eat the food if it wasn’t mixed in!

After a few weeks, both of them started to limp less and from there I gave 1 pill each every other day.

I think the fact that their running/jumping space was so much smaller, they weren’t able to “grease” their joints as much or as easily. Because when we moved to a 2 story bigger place, I stopped the supplement altogether and they are fine.

But know…

There are many other ways to help your cat enjoy life without using supplements:

Here are some ideas:

• Weight matters. Lean cats put less stress on their joints.
• Limit their food – feed them wet food, not dry food.
• Comfortable bedding helps with joint pain. I can attest to that!
• Make sure access to food, water, and the litter box is easy.

Cosequin is a supplement with multiple benefits for cats. This in conjunction with some great cat nutrition will help your cat!

There’s the indirect benefit that older cats could be more active on it and eat and drink more, which helps bladder health and kidney function.

It can help maintain joint health, which in turn leads to a more active cat.

This can lead to a better appetite and fewer bladder/kidney issues.

If your cat feels better and is more active, he will live a longer, healthier, happier life.

References:

1. https://thecatsite.com/threads/long-term-use-of-cosequin.248036/
2. https://www.vetinfo.com/side-effects-glucosamine-for-cats.html
3. https://www.livestrong.com/article/93118-cosequin-side-effects/
4. http://www.cosequin.com/about-cosequin/faqs

This is just a summary of information about Glucosamine and Chondroitin sulfate. If you have any questions or concerns about Glucosamine and Chondroitin sulfate or the condition it was prescribed for, contact your veterinarian.