Arthritis Treatments

[luci]

My 6-7 year old girl, Fierra, was diagnosed with "pretty advanced" arthritis after a run in with a cat landed us in the ER. X-rays were taken and both the ER vet and my regular vet agreed with the diagnosis.

She doesn't ever act like she is in pain. She gets around great... up and down stairs and couches, war dances and dooks. She doesn't feel stiff or have any of the usual symptoms I expect with arthritis. Occasionally I think she limps a bit when she first gets up from a long nap, but I'm not sure if it's really happening or if it's my imagination.

I have been dosing her with turmeric once a day, five days a week since April 2010. My holistic vet suggested skipping two days per week. I assume because of the blood thinning properties. My dose isn't extremely accurate, but I give her ten taps on the shaker bottle into her soup. It's probably about an eighth of a teaspoon. My question is... how much is too much?

Jennifer also suggested looking into elk velvet antler. I asked my vet about it and she said it could be worth trying, but that it could raise her body temperature. Does anyone know anything about that? Fierra always feels warmer to me than Katrinka does as it is, so I'm not sure I want to mess with that.

Any other holistic therapies? What makes arthritic joints feel good that a ferret could tolerate? Massage? Warm compresses? I want to have an arsenal of treatments ready to try before I resort to drugs.

[sherrylynne]

Does she like water? A nice warm soak. Warm compresses. Massage really depends on how much discomfort there actually is.
Right now, for my cats, I'm using glucosa-pet, a mix of glucosamine chondroiten and glucosamine sulphate. It's a liquid, and meant for joint ailments. Not sure how ferrets would react, but you could ask your holistic vet.

[foxfire]

I have got arthritis in my spine, worst luck. I can not get by without my fish oil capsules, really makes a difference. Might be worth a try on Fierra.

[mustelidmusk]

Yes, velvet antler will raise body temperature slightly. It increases blood cells and cell growth in general, which helps with healing and regeneration at the cellular level.

In general, cold/damp weather aggravates arthritis, so a warmth factor is generally helpful with arthritic conditions. In TCM (which strives for balance - yin/yang), arthritis is classified as a cold/damp diseases that needs dry/warmth to achieve balance.

-jennifer

[luci]

Not a waterbaby, my girl, so soaks are out. I might manage a warm compress while she's napping, but wouldn't the resulting chill from the dampness make it worse?

I plan to get fish oil capsules back in the diet again. I'd stopped using them because I was using mostly grass fed meats and I realized that the capsules I've been using contained tocopherols (sneaky buggers). So I need to buy some pure fish body oil capsules. I think I found that the Walgreen's store brand doesn't contain tocopherols. I'll have to double check.

Would one of those cat beds that retain and reflect body heat help?

[sherrylynne]

It certainly couldn't hurt. And with the warm compresses, you could warm a damp towel in the microwave, toss it into a plastic ziplock, then wrap it with a dry towel. But at the very worst, it would only be her fur getting damp. Unlike the damp cold that seems to go right through to the bones from weather.

[Heather]

What about those grain bags that you warm in the microwave? They come in little pillows
ciao

[luci]

Oh yeah! I was going to make some of those! I will make some in ferret size.

[Heather]

Do you have instructions?
ciao

[luci]

Sew up a muslin or other cotton sack to the size and shape you want. Fill with grain of choice (I think I'm going to use flax seed). You can also add things like lavender flowers or such. Sew up a pretty, soft removable cover that can be washed. That's it!

[rarnold18]

I used an old tube sock from my mis-matched bag, filled it with un-cooked rice and knotted the top of the sock. I made it for myself because I am having some knee and back issues but I reckon that making one with a washable PUL type cover for the fuzz would be great.

[Lynxie]

I didn't know that you could use plain old rice! I might have to make myself one now, and probably a few for the furkids, since I live in a basement apartment, and it will prolly get colder down here during the winter.