Does anyone give fish oil to your pet?

My cat is 17 years old, and he is suffering from arthritis. Today, I had quite a scare, as he must have hurt himself or something, and he wasn't walking right at all. I almost thought that his day had come, but we took him to the vet and she suggested we could try some glucosamine and a pain reliever for him. That got me to thinking, why not fish oil?

I wondered if there was a recommended dose for cats? And, is Zone Labs fish oil ok for cats, or would it have to be a preparation from a pet store?

http://www.sashasblend.com.au/cb_pa..._blend.php

I think this might be helpful! Sasha's blend is formulated for cats (and dogs)....this is a very informative website.

My brother's cat had an injury and the vet prescribed this. My niece used to work at Ryan's Global Pet Food Store which specializes in real food and nutrition for pets.

Hope this helps!

Lesley<img src='desktopmodules/ntforums/images/emoticons/smile.gif' height='20' width='20' border='0' title='Smile' align='absmiddle'>

Thanks, Lesley! I am not sure how much time I have to get this, though. He seems much worse today, and I don't think he is suffering from an injury--I think he is just getting progressively more weak, and it seems to have acutely exacerbated over the past few days. I am afraid that I will just be putting him down. I am going to go to Petco today and see if there are any products that they have there with fish oil. Since it is the weekend, I don't have the ability to get an Rx from the vet.

He seems to be pretty happy and content. Doesn't seem uncomfortable, but it breaks my heart to see him walk! He even struggled just to get in the litterbox, he got himself all messed up!

so sorry to hear about your cat. I wasn't clear on my post...I did say that the vet prescribed it...for my brother to get...you can buy Sasha's blend over the counter...it is NOT a prescription...and it is specifically formuulated for cats...
sasha's blend could help a lot...
all the best..
Lesley

Thanks! I am running into town, anyway, so I will stop at the Petco and see if they have it.

I think he seems better without the medication, perhaps the pain med was making things worse instead of better. I am going to keep him on the Glucosamine, though, and if I can find the Sasha's, I will start that tonight!

Update: shortly after writing my prior post, looks like he took a turn for the worse. He was no longer comfortable, could not get up unassisted. I was not even comfortable leaving the house to go to Petco to find the stuff, and I had decided that my efforts would have to be redirected to finding a vet that could put him at peace today.

So, that is what we ended up doing.

I have been sobbing all evening, I am going to miss him! I even wore my favorite sweatshirt, I guess this is my "trademark" sweatshirt! It is a "cranberry-colored" shirt, with a cat embroidered in the middle, surrounded by an embroidered heart.

Oh dear,
I am so sorry to hear this. You did the right thing. He is at peace now.
Allow yourself some time...he was a lucky cat to have you and he gave you a lot of companionship over the years. What a blessing.

Hugs!
Lesley

Thanks for your kind words. I have gone through the day thinking of things that he would be doing, like sitting in his favorite chair, or laying on the carpet. In the mornings, he would usually be snuggled in between my legs.

It is hard to lose a companion like that. 18 years of that!

We still have another cat, but the cat is my mom's cat that she had to get rid of when she moved. I just don't have an emotional attachment to him, and my daughter just smothers him, so I don't think that he has ever had a chance to really attach to anyone else!

My other kids have mentioned getting a new cat, but will see. Gotta get DH to buy into that!