Metacam Dosage for Cats

Repeated dosing in cats risks acute kidney injury — this one is a veterinary decision, not an owner's.

Dose per administration0.23 to 0.45 mgMeloxicam (Metacam), 0.05 to 0.1 mg/kg

Times per day1A single 0.1 to 0.3 mg/kg dose, then 0.05 mg/kg if continued.

Total per day0.23 to 0.45 mg

Body weight4.5 kg9.92 lb

Tablets or mL per dose0.45 to 0.9at 0.5 mg each — splitting tablets accurately below a quarter is not realistic

Before giving thisREPEATED dosing in cats carries a serious risk of acute kidney injury, and meloxicam is not licensed for ongoing use in cats in many countries. This must be a veterinary decision, not an owner one.

This is a published range, not a prescription. The dose for your animal depends on its organ function, its other medications and what is actually wrong with it. Confirm it with your veterinarian before giving anything.

The formula

dose = body weight in kg * mg per kg, within the published range

A range, and why it stays a range

Published doses are intervals because the right point within them depends on the individual: what is wrong, how the kidneys and liver are working, what else is being given, and how the animal responded last time. A calculator can show you the interval. Only a veterinarian who has examined the animal can pick a number inside it.

Formulation is as important as arithmetic

More household poisonings come from the wrong product than the wrong sum. Antihistamine tablets sold for people often contain a decongestant as well, and those are dangerous to dogs. Liquid preparations may be sweetened with xylitol, which is severely toxic. Getting the milligrams right in the wrong product is not a partial success.

Cats are not small dogs

Cats lack some of the liver enzymes that dogs and people use to clear drugs, so several medicines that are routine in dogs are hazardous or lethal in cats at any dose. Paracetamol is the notorious example. Never transfer a dose from one species to the other by scaling for weight.

This does not replace a veterinarian

Every figure on this page comes from a published reference range, and a range is what it stays. The right dose for an individual animal depends on its kidney and liver function, on what else it is taking, on whether it is pregnant or very young or very old, and on what is actually wrong with it — none of which arithmetic can see. Use this to understand the scale of a dose or an exposure, and to have a better conversation with your vet. Do not use it to start, stop or change a medication.

If you believe your animal has swallowed something toxic, do not wait to see whether signs develop. Contact your veterinarian or an animal poison line immediately — in most poisonings the treatment that works is the one given early.