Help me laser my cat
December 27, 2023 8:35 AM Subscribe
Our senior cat, Bubby, has arthritis. He's been getting laser treatments from our mobile vet, which have helped immensely. They're also very spendy. Can anyone recommend a good home kit to DIY the treatment? Cat tax inside.
Bubby is nearly 19, diabetic, arthritic, and has a minor thyroid condition. Even so, he doesn't look his age at all but had started to show it in his gait and willingness (or lack thereof) to move around. We have tried the Solensia injection. No notable change or improvement at all. Laser treatments have made a world of difference.
After a full round of weekly treatments and now bi-weekly treatments, he's doing much better. The problem is that it runs a bit more than $700 for six treatments. Has anyone tried using one of the home kits for this? There's a bunch advertised online, but I'd really like to have a recommendation from someone else who's tried this as I don't want to 1) fry Bubby or 2) purchase something wholly ineffective.
I'm aware that home kits are going to be less powerful and probably require more frequent treatments. That's fine – Bubby doesn't really mind his "spa days" as long as the vet isn't also drawing blood or otherwise fussing him except the laser treatment. We could do it more cheaply by taking him to a vet clinic nearby but I'd really prefer not putting him in the carrier and making him leave the house unless absolutely necessary.
Note that I have discussed this with his vet and they haven't objected to a DIY approach, they just don't have any good recommendations for home models. Also note that Bubby is a black cat - I mention that because one of the models I looked at on Amazon specifically said not to use on animals with black fur.
Cat tax from a few years ago.
Bubby is nearly 19, diabetic, arthritic, and has a minor thyroid condition. Even so, he doesn't look his age at all but had started to show it in his gait and willingness (or lack thereof) to move around. We have tried the Solensia injection. No notable change or improvement at all. Laser treatments have made a world of difference.
After a full round of weekly treatments and now bi-weekly treatments, he's doing much better. The problem is that it runs a bit more than $700 for six treatments. Has anyone tried using one of the home kits for this? There's a bunch advertised online, but I'd really like to have a recommendation from someone else who's tried this as I don't want to 1) fry Bubby or 2) purchase something wholly ineffective.
I'm aware that home kits are going to be less powerful and probably require more frequent treatments. That's fine – Bubby doesn't really mind his "spa days" as long as the vet isn't also drawing blood or otherwise fussing him except the laser treatment. We could do it more cheaply by taking him to a vet clinic nearby but I'd really prefer not putting him in the carrier and making him leave the house unless absolutely necessary.
Note that I have discussed this with his vet and they haven't objected to a DIY approach, they just don't have any good recommendations for home models. Also note that Bubby is a black cat - I mention that because one of the models I looked at on Amazon specifically said not to use on animals with black fur.
Cat tax from a few years ago.
LED not laser, but have used the Deep setting on Lumasoothe 2 on a black dog to good effect. Also on myself, sometimes.
posted by Ardnamurchan at 1:23 PM on December 27, 2023
posted by Ardnamurchan at 1:23 PM on December 27, 2023
I'm not sure if it's the same as laser therapy, but I have a MitoPro red light panel that I use on myself, and recently started using on my big old dog as well. I have to position it after she lays down, so I'm not sure if you want this style or a wrap or hand held. Being a cat he may enjoy the heat from the panel and just lay in front of it.
MitoPro is a very highly reviewed brand and I think it's medical grade (ie;powerful). As far as I know, Platinum brand is the only other major RLT brand that is medical grade.
There's a guy on Youtube who tests all the major brands of light panels, you can get a lot of info from him there or on his blog
posted by newpotato at 3:08 AM on December 28, 2023
MitoPro is a very highly reviewed brand and I think it's medical grade (ie;powerful). As far as I know, Platinum brand is the only other major RLT brand that is medical grade.
There's a guy on Youtube who tests all the major brands of light panels, you can get a lot of info from him there or on his blog
posted by newpotato at 3:08 AM on December 28, 2023
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posted by HotToddy at 9:04 AM on December 27, 2023