Okay, so let’s talk about these Dasuquin chews for cats. My old boy, Jasper, he’s getting up there, you know? Probably around 13 now, maybe 14, a big ol’ ginger tabby. I started noticing he wasn’t quite jumping up onto the couch like he used to. Sometimes he’d hesitate, or maybe just climb up using the ottoman instead. Little things like that. Didn’t seem in pain, just… slower. Stiffer, especially in the mornings.
Figuring out what to do
I mentioned it to my vet during his check-up. Just casually, like, “Hey, Jasper’s slowing down a bit.” The vet checked him over, felt his legs and hips, and said yeah, it’s pretty common for older cats to get a bit of joint stiffness, kinda like people do. She suggested trying a joint supplement, and Dasuquin was one of the names she threw out there. Said it was pretty popular and lots of folks had seen good results.
So, I did what most of us do, went online, typed it in. Read a few reviews, seemed mostly positive. Decided, alright, let’s give these chews a shot. Couldn’t hurt, right? Found them easily enough online, ordered a pouch.
Starting the Dasuquin journey
When the package arrived, I opened it up. The chews themselves are small, kinda soft, brownish little things. They smell a bit… fishy? Meaty? Not terrible, but definitely noticeable. The instructions said something about a loading dose for the first few weeks, like maybe two chews a day, then down to one for maintenance. Jasper’s a pretty big cat, so I started with the two-a-day plan.
Now, the moment of truth. Will the cat actually eat them? Jasper can be picky. Sometimes he’ll gobble up a treat, other times he sniffs it and walks away like you’ve insulted his ancestors. First try, I just offered him one straight. Sniff, sniff… lick… and he ate it! Okay, that was easy. Gave him the second one later that day, same deal. Phew. Made things a lot simpler than having to crush it up or hide it in his food, although I know some people have to do that.
- Day 1: Offered chew, cat ate it. Success!
- Daily routine: Give one chew in the morning, one in the evening.
- Cat cooperation: Mostly good, occasionally needed slight encouragement.
Did it actually work?
I kept giving him the two chews daily for about, oh, maybe 4 or 5 weeks. Honestly, for the first couple of weeks, I didn’t see a massive difference. Maybe he seemed a tiny bit less hesitant getting up after a nap? Hard to say for sure, you don’t want to imagine things.
But then, around week 4 or 5, I started noticing more definite changes. He was making that jump onto the back of the sofa again, the one he’d stopped attempting. He seemed a bit more playful in the evenings, batting at his toy mouse instead of just watching it. He wasn’t suddenly acting like a kitten again, don’t get me wrong, but the stiffness seemed less obvious. He just moved… easier. More fluidly.
After that initial period, I dropped down to one chew a day, like the package suggested for maintenance. Been doing that ever since, probably for about six months now. He still eats it fine most days. Sometimes I crumble it over his breakfast wet food just to make sure he gets it.
Overall thoughts? Yeah, I think it helped Jasper. It wasn’t like a magic wand, but there’s a noticeable improvement in his mobility and willingness to jump and move around. He just seems more comfortable. It’s become part of our daily routine now. Seeing him hop onto the windowsill to watch the birds without that little pause beforehand makes it feel worthwhile. So yeah, based on my experience with my old guy, it’s been a good thing for us.
