Dosing – intervals, frequency, timing and the ‘lowest effective dose’
Short-term pharmacokinetic data are available for a number of NSAIDs in cats, which form a basis for dosing intervals. While many NSAIDs are metabolised via glucuronidation in the liver, and the relative deficiency of glucuronyl transferase enzymes in cats may lead to a prolonged half-life for some of these
drugs,37,56 others, such as piroxicam and meloxicam,56,67 are metabolised by oxidation. Single doses of many approved/licensed NSAIDs for acute pain in cats seem to have a duration of action of around 18–20 h.56 However, it is not known if such prolonged pharmacokinetics are necessary for appropriate efficacy. For example, meloxicam and robenacoxib have a serum half-life of approximately 24 and 2 h, respectively,68,69 yet both have been shown to be effective for daily treatment of musculoskeletal pain in cats by virtue of their European licences.