Metacam dose rates and strength

[Jeannie41]

Hello, I have just found out that 0.5mg is now the only licensed metacam - I am used to 1.5mg and my experienced vets have normally worked on higher dose rates using 1.5mg being needed. Now is 0.5mg so volume will be increased to meet need? Does anyone know if this is true and why it is? TYIA

 

[Piggies&buns]

Cat metacam was licensed for piggies quite a while ago. Consequently a lot of vets will now only prescribe it and not dog version. Dog version has never been licensed for piggies. Some vets can continue to offer dog metacam though.
So yes the dosages of cat metacam are higher in volume but it is done on a sliding scale depending on clinical need.

 

[Wiebke]

Cat metacam (0.5 mg/ml) is officially licensed for small exotics in the UK. The problem is that this translates to a large volume with each dosage when it comes to guinea pigs.

Dog metacam is three times stronger (1.5 mg/ml) so the same dosage is only a third of volume, which is why some vets prefer to prescribe it. It is also a lot cheaper for guinea pigs with chronic/long term pain issues.

 

[Free Ranger]

If you ask they may let you sign a waiver to get the dog one... a few of us have been able to do that when vets know we have a bit of piggy history. It caught me out when it happened as we'd not needed any for a bit and then I was like, "What's this?!" but because I have that unfortunate brain fog familiar to those in their middle years I thought it was just me getting it wrong for quite a while!