Free Ranger
Forum Donator 2023/24
Alright so be warned, it's Another Massive Post, but I'm working it through as I write so please be patient with me! The question I'm hoping to answer is has anyone had cat Loxicom (0.5mg/ml) prescribed for their pig in mls and/or in 'units' as the Norbrook version at least has it's own syringe with a picture of a cat on and markings going up in whole numbers (to 10 I think), because I'd like to know how many mls are in one of those units... and this is why:
So yesterday evening poor Zara had a squinty eye and it turns out she had a horrid grass seed (one of those big ones that look like a pointy dart with hairs on) stuck firmly in her eye under the top lid
I tried to gently remove it, bathed the eye, gave her a dose of dog Metacam and laid awake worrying, but she was much happier this morning and her eye actually looked pretty good, but I took her up to see the vet anyway. I couldn't get my usual at short notice but the one I got was kind and young - I told him she bit, but only out of fear, and he said it was actually on her file from when she had her original check up and bit everyone there! She came out with green dye showing she has a wound on the eye but he said these usually heal pretty well in piggies - much better than for cats and dogs. He prescribed Isathal drops and Viscotears - no problem. Poor Louise had gone along as a companion and she was totally freaked out by the whole experience so I'm not sure what happened in there but Zara came out bristling! I had her in my lap in the car for 10 minutes until she'd calmed down enough to eat a bit of carrot (and make me a nice damp patch) then she went back in the cat box for hay and a nap.
Now, I had a bit of dog Metacam (Boehringer) left over from my Ivy last year but hardly any, so I asked for more painkiller and showed the bottle - also adding that in the past I'd sometimes gotten a vial with a portion dispensed from a big bottle in the surgery - presumably a generic version. I said specifically that I would rather have the dog one than the cat - we've never actually been given the cat version before (in 10 years). I also said about "twice a day..." and he said "once..." and I said "twice... " and waited to see what would happen.
I was given the 5ml Loxicom for cats (0.5mg/ml, Norbrook) with the special 'unit' syringe and instruction to give "1 unit once a day with food (2u for the first dose ONLY)". I asked to speak to the vet who stood his ground and said he'd spoken to another vet about it and that there was some sort of national shortage of dog Metacam so could I use this instead. Well I agreed - especially as Zara seems to be rapidly getting back to normal - but I asked whether the 'units' marked on the cat loxicom syringe (with the cat picture on) were the same as the 'units' on the dog metacam syringe (with the dog picture on) and he didn't know. I mean they look a similar sort of thing but the eye can't tell and if it's not like-for-like I couldn't up the dose so I asked for a 1ml syringe instead, which I got but he took the 'unit' one back. I was a bit flummoxed anyway, as I'd said that her weight had gone down a very little (50g) but that she was back eating again now the seed was out and so I wasn't too worried, and I got the distinct impression he'd not make any link between pig weight and dose calculation and frankly just offered a lowest measurable dose of "1 unit once per day". Hmmm...
I'm going to follow this up just in case things have changed in the 6 months since I last went to the vet. Or possibly this will be a learning experience for one young chap instead of one middle-aged housewife. But does anyone have any idea of the 'unit' volumes for Metacam/Loxicom? We've been prescribed dM for a 1.2ish kilo pig at either 4 'units' or about 0.24ml per dose - twice a day (depending on the source of the painkiller) and the volume of the dM syringe works out about right for that as the full 10 'units' are only about 0.7ml. If the 'units' are even roughly equivalent that would mean 1 'unit' of cL would be about 1/12th what we were expecting - and only once per day makes it 1/24th. I'm glad I've got the 1ml syringe although Zara - true to form - seems to be the only pig in England to hate Metacam so unless Loxicom is more delicious I don't fancy my chances with a larger volume!
Phew! Anyway, we're otherwise feeling quite positive, if a little poorer, so just as a treat here's a picture of George enjoying himself in a bag of the damp hay and poops I'd spot cleaned from the girl's side before they went back in their cage. #guiltypleasures George!
So yesterday evening poor Zara had a squinty eye and it turns out she had a horrid grass seed (one of those big ones that look like a pointy dart with hairs on) stuck firmly in her eye under the top lid
I tried to gently remove it, bathed the eye, gave her a dose of dog Metacam and laid awake worrying, but she was much happier this morning and her eye actually looked pretty good, but I took her up to see the vet anyway. I couldn't get my usual at short notice but the one I got was kind and young - I told him she bit, but only out of fear, and he said it was actually on her file from when she had her original check up and bit everyone there! She came out with green dye showing she has a wound on the eye but he said these usually heal pretty well in piggies - much better than for cats and dogs. He prescribed Isathal drops and Viscotears - no problem. Poor Louise had gone along as a companion and she was totally freaked out by the whole experience so I'm not sure what happened in there but Zara came out bristling! I had her in my lap in the car for 10 minutes until she'd calmed down enough to eat a bit of carrot (and make me a nice damp patch) then she went back in the cat box for hay and a nap.Now, I had a bit of dog Metacam (Boehringer) left over from my Ivy last year but hardly any, so I asked for more painkiller and showed the bottle - also adding that in the past I'd sometimes gotten a vial with a portion dispensed from a big bottle in the surgery - presumably a generic version. I said specifically that I would rather have the dog one than the cat - we've never actually been given the cat version before (in 10 years). I also said about "twice a day..." and he said "once..." and I said "twice... " and waited to see what would happen.
I was given the 5ml Loxicom for cats (0.5mg/ml, Norbrook) with the special 'unit' syringe and instruction to give "1 unit once a day with food (2u for the first dose ONLY)". I asked to speak to the vet who stood his ground and said he'd spoken to another vet about it and that there was some sort of national shortage of dog Metacam so could I use this instead. Well I agreed - especially as Zara seems to be rapidly getting back to normal - but I asked whether the 'units' marked on the cat loxicom syringe (with the cat picture on) were the same as the 'units' on the dog metacam syringe (with the dog picture on) and he didn't know. I mean they look a similar sort of thing but the eye can't tell and if it's not like-for-like I couldn't up the dose so I asked for a 1ml syringe instead, which I got but he took the 'unit' one back. I was a bit flummoxed anyway, as I'd said that her weight had gone down a very little (50g) but that she was back eating again now the seed was out and so I wasn't too worried, and I got the distinct impression he'd not make any link between pig weight and dose calculation and frankly just offered a lowest measurable dose of "1 unit once per day". Hmmm...
I'm going to follow this up just in case things have changed in the 6 months since I last went to the vet. Or possibly this will be a learning experience for one young chap instead of one middle-aged housewife. But does anyone have any idea of the 'unit' volumes for Metacam/Loxicom? We've been prescribed dM for a 1.2ish kilo pig at either 4 'units' or about 0.24ml per dose - twice a day (depending on the source of the painkiller) and the volume of the dM syringe works out about right for that as the full 10 'units' are only about 0.7ml. If the 'units' are even roughly equivalent that would mean 1 'unit' of cL would be about 1/12th what we were expecting - and only once per day makes it 1/24th. I'm glad I've got the 1ml syringe although Zara - true to form - seems to be the only pig in England to hate Metacam so unless Loxicom is more delicious I don't fancy my chances with a larger volume!
Phew! Anyway, we're otherwise feeling quite positive, if a little poorer, so just as a treat here's a picture of George enjoying himself in a bag of the damp hay and poops I'd spot cleaned from the girl's side before they went back in their cage. #guiltypleasures George!
