My vet prescribed my 5 month old kitten Metacam Oral after surgery. Is this OK?

I decided to look up the pain medication my vet prescribed for my kitten to see exactly what it is that I'm giving him. To my surprise, I read horror stories on the internet and noticed that it is for dogs only. He's tiny (5 lbs) and not even 6 months old and I'm worried that it will harm him. Should I keep giving it to him for pain or throw it out?

Metacam is prescribed "off-label" in the U.S. for cats, which means it's not officially approved for them but is commonly used. I've seen many cats take it with no problem, as long as it's the correct dosing and not used long-term if possible. One of my own cats took it for a couple of days and is still completely healthy. If you're worried, ask your vet for Buprenex instead. That's what we usually send home after surgeries. Unfortunately there are very few good pain meds for cats, as they don't metabolize most of them well.Added: The horror stories are just that--things meant to scare you. They aren't scientific studies. Oh, and the injectable form is approved for cats here, just not the oral form.

Don't give this to your cat.http://www.metacamkills.com/Hesha.htmlhttp://www.metacamkills.com/http://ca.answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AmOVOgsBGGicfQS_FsODWOLpFQx.;_ylv=3?qid=20080321173544AAY6VCThttp://ca.answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AtcT2tFkYSTqOhr9_b8uAabpFQx.;_ylv=3?qid=20070715172412AALlb73This has killed a lot of cats.