Five months ago my 11 year old healthy persian cat suddenly had a hard time jumping up and down off furniture so I took him to the vet.
He took x-rays, blood work, couldn't find the problem but prescribed Metacam.
He told me to give my 10 lb. cat 20 drops the first day and 10 drops for the next 4 days and then 1-2 drops daily.
Well, by the 3rd day he was so sick from vomiting, diarrhea, he had dry heaves, and he was laying on his side trying to vomit!
For 5 days he didn't eat or drink. He lost 1 lb. in less than a week.
I kept thinking he was going to be dead when I checked on him. I called the vet, he wanted to give prednisone and Metoclopramide (for vomiting).
I said no way and took him to another vet and they promptly put him on IV, gave him blood glucose, PCV and Famotidine for 2 days and thankfully saved his life!
I called the manufacturers of Metacam and spoke to 2 different people and they do not recommend Metacam for cats and therefore,
will not even discuss dosage amounts for cats.
Being so sick of all these drugs, none of which have helped my cat, I've looked into Holistic Health care (my cat's story is much longer) and I found that nutrition is key to helping them. I put my cat on Solid Gold food and supplements (www.solidgoldhealth.com) and he is doing much better all around in 2 months than the past year under the care of 3 different vets (and $1,000 later). My advice--do a lot of research before you give your cat anything. I feel so guilty for listening to the vet and overdosing my cat on such a strong drug.