Nutramax Laboratories Cosequin Joint Health Supplement for Cats

Cons – Not a cure, such is life*.

Pros – 1) Works immediate and better than just glucosamine alone. Used in conjunction with monthly jabs and cat’s claw supplement.
2) Affordable.
3) Readily available online.
4) Easy to mix into food and accepted without fuss.

Cat can now enjoy her grooming and full body stretches again.

*Above con is in jest, Cosequin is a godsend!

Our cat was 14 and having trouble getting around, we started emptying one capsule in her wet food per day.
Improvements were seen within 2 weeks and as treatments continued our cat was getting around as well as in previous years, was able to jump and climb again.
The cat is 16 now and still getting around good and has maintained the ability to go where she pleases.
Our cat responded well Cosequin so based on my experience I would recommend trying it.

I hope my (long) review helps those who are trying to help their cat with FIC issues. YMMV, but here are some things that helped us. All of them came from Amazon.

Glucosamine is one of the things that seems to be helping our cat with his chronic irritable bladder (Feline Idiopathic Cystitis) issues. He’s almost 8 and he had problems with improper urination for several months (peeing on hard surfaces in the house). He was clearly in pain and avoiding his litterbox except when pooing.

His old vet said he has crystals, just give him special food for life. That food has a lot of corn and other ingredients he couldn’t tolerate and it made him throw up. So, second opinion time. His new vet said nope, he does NOT have crystals, his labs are all clear and his bladder X-rays are clear, so it’s probably FIC due to stress (our other cat has been quite ill, probably a source of stress). So, they gave him pain meds for a week which helped a bit, then gaba liquid instead of the pain meds. That also helped but was difficult to give via syringe. The vet then gave him gaba capsules (easier to split in half and sprinkle in food) for two weeks. At the same time, I started putting these Glucosamine capsules once daily in a liquid snack (the more water intake, the better).

For the first time in about 4 months my cat seems normal again. He’s been off gaba meds for 3 weeks now and has only been taking these Glucosamine capsules since then. So far, so good. I believe these helped, though breaking the pain cycle was very important too, as is increased hydration. I’ll keep giving him these because he’s doing well on them and a breeder told me they’re also helpful for kitty arthritis, which my cat is at risk for.

Some other things we’ve done: Hydration is crucial for cats, especially those with FIC. Our cat is one of those stubborn dry food eaters who hates wet food. I’ve been trying for years to find a wet food he’ll eat. I’ve tried putting all sorts of sprinkles in his wet food to tempt him to eat it. The combo that worked for him is a bit of freeze dried chicken crumbled into Wellness Complete Health wet food – I can usually get 2-3 ounces of wet food in him a day by feeding him this. I also give him wet snacks like Hartz Stews or Squeeze-ups or a bit of Gerber Chicken or Turkey baby food to help further hydrate him and also hide his meds. Those are low-calorie snacks, mostly moisture.

I also tried to get him to use a water fountain – he hated it, plus many are hard to clean. Instead, he likes his new extra-small low stainless steel Catit bowl (it sits in a plastic base of some sort) much better than the fountain or his old ceramic water bowl. He’ll lay by the Catit bowl like he’s laying by a pond, lol, and drink water more often than he used to.

Also, we have several tall-sided litterboxes (number of cats + 1) that are filled with scent-free litter and are scooped daily. We also started using a sprinkle of Dr Elsey’s Litter Attractant in them. The cats love that stuff and they often go use the litter boxes shortly after I sprinkle it in. It smells a bit like sweet earth to me.

Still, I believe the turning point for our cat was the gaba + glucosamine. Four long months later and finally kitty feels good again. Now he’s just on glucosamine and he trots off to his litterbox like it’s no big thing instead of peeing around the house, thankfully.

Our 20 year old cat gets this every other day. He does not notice it disguised in his wet food. It sprinkles
out of capsule and seems to be no change in taste for him. He still runs and jumps around the house (not as much as he used to, he is 20 after all) and seems comfortable enough. Reasonable price to keep my sweet cat out of pain and moving.

I have a few older boys who are a little slower than they used to be and this has been a huge help for them to get into mischief again (jumping up on things they shouldn’t).
I normally buy it at the local ‘box’ store but, for some reason, it’s availability is sorely lacking lately and I needed to get some more before running out of what I had.
So glad to have found this on Amazon.
They don’t like the chews, but they definitely agree with the capsules.
I just sprinkle some in their wet food, mix it up and they eat it right up, without giving me that look of “I’m not eating this because I know you put something in it”
It has helped with their slow movement, ability to jump higher again and I’ve even noticed an improvement in their attitude.
Would recommend

I’ve been a fan of this product for quite some time now. It’s so easy to serve, which is a definite plus. The fact that it’s backed by science gives me peace of mind. The Joint Health Support is fantastic! This is a high-quality supplement indeed. The fact that it’s manufactured in the U.S. makes it even better. I also appreciate the support it provides for digestive health and overall wellness. I’d highly recommend it!

We all know that cats are incredibly fussy & can detect any sort of food “contamination” a mile off but my cats can’t seem to tell that this in their food at all & will happily eat it. I didn’t even need to use a phased approach; I just sprinkled the capsule as directed. I’m using it for an ageing British Shorthair who at 14 is getting somewhat reluctant to jump and a Scottish Fold who is lacking cartilage. Only time will tell if the supplement has the desired effect which is mainly to keep the older cat comfortable in her dotage but so far so good and I will continue to purchase it.