I was sitting on the cold floor of the exam room with my cat, Calypso, curled up against my leg. Her veterinarian was seated across from us, explaining treatment options for the early stages of arthritis. She mentioned glucosamine and I said,
"Oh, like Cosequin?"
The vet gave me a curious look as if surprised that a first-time cat owner was familiar with joint supplement brands.
I shrugged. "My hawk gets it for her arthritis."
Our raptor vet suggested adding Cosequin to Carson the Red-tailed Hawk's diet several years ago when radiographs indicated arthritis in her injured wing. I was interested to hear now from Calypso's vet how these supplements actually work.
Glucosamine, the active ingredient in Cosequin, stimulates fluid production around joints to lubricate cartilage between the bones. She also mentioned other supplements containing Omega-3 fatty acids that have anti-inflammatory properties.
When Calypso and I returned home, I gave her a big bowl of food and turned to our refrigerator. I drew a chart on the whiteboard where we could track how often she limped on her front leg over the next few days. This would serve as our baseline data. Once we start a supplement, we will be able to track whether her limp gets better. If it doesn't, we can try another supplement option.
Does that data collection sound like overkill? Maybe. But that's how I've been trained to care for my animals at work. When we noticed Carson's wing trembling in 2016, we started taking data. I observed her wing daily and recorded a "0" if the wing was stable or "1" if her wing was shaking. In the month before we started treatments, her average score was 0.57. One year later, the average decreased to 0.50. It is a subtle change, but it quantified the anecdotal evidence we'd noticed of the wing generally trembling less often and justified continuing treatment.
The more information you record, the easier it is to make decisions on treatment plans.
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