Our 14 year old Rascal, was experiencing some pain from arthritis, and I
asked the vet for advice on what might be done for her.
The vet recommended Metacam, 0.3 mL oral per day, saying they've had good
luck with that for arthritis. No warnings, except that she should have a
blood screen to make sure that her kidneys were in good shape, and they
were. After giving her the Metacam for a few days, she started slowing down,
and by the end of a week, she had stopped eating, drinking, wasnt moving,
and was obviously in pain. When I reported the status to the vet, her
recommendation was to double the Metacam dosage! When I rejected that
advice, she basically said there wasnt anything more we could do. I asked
the vet if she didnt even want to see Rascal, and at that point she said it
wouldnt be a bad idea (??? duh.). After many trips to the vet and new
bloodwork, they confirmed acute renal failure. We took her home, and after
giving her SubQ fluids, anti-nausea medications, appetite enhancement meds,
upset stomach meds, and forced feeding for a week at home, by myself (I'm
starting to feel like a vet now) Rascal seems to be recovering. I've passed
on copies of the FDA and drug AE reports to the vets as well as this website
url, and I think I've educated them about the dangers. They were just
ignorant, and their success in the past with the drug blinded them to the
potential for problems. At this point, we hope that the damage is not
permanent, and that we can have a bunch more years together with Rascal.

Dan B.