Meloxicam is a POM-V prescription medicine in the UK — it can only be supplied on the prescription of a veterinary surgeon who has your dog under their care. The UK dose set out in the Summary of Product Characteristics is 0.2 mg/kg on the first day, then 0.1 mg/kg once daily thereafter. And the UK licence is broader than most owners assume: it covers the alleviation of inflammation and pain in both acute and chronic musculo-skeletal disorders, not osteoarthritis alone.
That last point matters, because British owners often read American articles about meloxicam and come away with the wrong picture. In the United States the drug is FDA-approved narrowly for osteoarthritis. In the UK it is authorised by the Veterinary Medicines Directorate for acute musculo-skeletal problems too — a soft-tissue strain, a post-injury flare — which is why your vet may prescribe it for a fortnight after a limping episode rather than for life. Our US guide to meloxicam for dogs covers the American label in detail if you want the comparison.
The UK bottle trap: 0.5 and 1.5 mg/ml both exist, and one of them is for cats
This is the single most useful thing on this page, and almost no UK article says it plainly. Meloxicam oral suspension is sold in Britain at two different concentrations, and the branding does not make the difference obvious.
| UK product | Strength | Intended for |
|---|---|---|
| Metacam 1.5 mg/ml oral suspension for dogs | 1.5 mg/ml | Dogs |
| Loxicom 1.5 mg/ml oral suspension for dogs | 1.5 mg/ml | Dogs |
| Loxicom 0.5 mg/ml oral suspension for dogs | 0.5 mg/ml | Dogs — smaller breeds |
| Metacam 0.5 mg/ml oral suspension for cats | 0.5 mg/ml | Cats only — not the dog product |
Two failure modes follow from that table. The first is a strength mix-up: a volume worked out for the 0.5 mg/ml suspension, drawn instead from a 1.5 mg/ml bottle, delivers three times the intended amount of meloxicam. The second is a species mix-up, because a 0.5 mg/ml bottle on a UK shelf might be the Loxicom dog product or the Metacam cat product. Before every repeat prescription, read the strength and the species printed on the label and check both against what your vet wrote — particularly if your practice has switched you between the branded product and a generic.
Generic substitution is common and entirely legitimate in Britain. Alongside Metacam from Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica GmbH, UK-authorised meloxicam suspensions for dogs include Loxicom from Norbrook Laboratories, plus Meloxidyl and Rheumocam. They are the same active substance. What can change between them is the bottle in your hand, the syringe in the box, and the graduations on that syringe — so never carry a dosing habit across from an old bottle to a new one.
How the UK licence differs from the American one
Meloxicam is an oxicam-class NSAID that works by inhibiting prostaglandin synthesis. The UK SPC states that it inhibits COX-2 to a greater extent than COX-1 — greater, not exclusively, which is why the gastrointestinal and renal cautions apply regardless.
Several numbers on the British datasheet differ from the American label, and they are worth knowing if you have been reading US sources:
| Detail | UK SPC (Metacam 1.5 mg/ml for dogs) |
|---|---|
| Licensed indication | Alleviation of inflammation and pain in both acute and chronic musculo-skeletal disorders |
| Legal category | POM-V — veterinary prescription only |
| Day 1 | Single dose of 0.2 mg/kg body weight |
| Day 2 onwards | 0.1 mg/kg once daily, at 24-hour intervals |
| Drop dosing | 4 drops/kg initially, then 2 drops/kg maintenance |
| Peak plasma level | Approximately 4.5 hours after dosing |
| Steady state | Reached on the second day of treatment |
| Half-life | 24 hours; about 75% eliminated via faeces |
| Protein binding | Approximately 97% |
| Minimum age | Not for dogs under 6 weeks |
| Stopping rule | Discontinue after 10 days at the latest if no clinical improvement |
| Pack sizes | 10 ml, 32 ml, 100 ml, 180 ml |
Two of those rows deserve emphasis. The UK SPC expects a clinical response within 3 to 4 days, and instructs that treatment stop after ten days at the latest if nothing has improved — a definite endpoint the American label does not impose. And for longer-term treatment, once a response has been seen after four days or more, the SPC directs that the dose be adjusted down to the lowest effective individual dose, on the reasoning that chronic musculo-skeletal pain varies over time. Meloxicam is not meant to sit at the starting dose indefinitely.
Owners who have read American coverage sometimes ask about the FDA label's note on drug accumulation after 45 days or longer. That sentence appears on the US label; it is not in the UK SPC. The British datasheet addresses long-term use differently, through that instruction to titrate down to the lowest effective dose. Either way the practical conclusion is identical: a dog two years into daily meloxicam should be reviewed, not repeat-prescribed on autopilot.
Dosing figures above are reproduced from the UK Summary of Product Characteristics for owner understanding only. They are not instructions. Your veterinary surgeon sets your dog's dose.
When your vet cannot prescribe it — and what the cascade means
Because meloxicam is authorised in the UK for dogs with musculo-skeletal pain, your vet will normally prescribe it straightforwardly on licence. The prescribing cascade becomes relevant only when no authorised UK product suits the case — for instance an unusual species, or a licensed option that has failed. The cascade then permits a vet, in order, to reach for a UK product licensed for another species or condition, then a human medicine or one authorised elsewhere, and finally a specially prepared formulation.
Three practical consequences for British owners:
- Prescriptions come from an RCVS-registered practice where your dog is genuinely under a vet's care. A clinical assessment is required — remote supply without one is not permitted.
- You can ask for a written prescription and have it dispensed elsewhere, including by registered online pharmacies. Practices may charge a fee for writing it. For a large dog on a 180 ml bottle this is often worth doing.
- Tell your insurer. Most UK pet insurance policies cover prescribed NSAIDs, but osteoarthritis diagnosed before a policy starts is typically excluded as a pre-existing condition, and lifetime versus annual cover changes what a multi-year prescription costs you.
Contraindications, interactions and adverse events on the British datasheet
Do not use at all
The UK SPC lists absolute contraindications: dogs with gastrointestinal disorders such as irritation or haemorrhage; impaired hepatic, cardiac or renal function; haemorrhagic disorders; hypersensitivity to meloxicam or any excipient; and dogs under six weeks of age. Safety in pregnancy and lactation has not been established, so it must not be used in pregnant or lactating bitches. Use is also to be avoided in any dehydrated, hypovolaemic or hypotensive animal, because of the risk of renal toxicity.
Never alongside another NSAID or a steroid
The SPC is unambiguous: meloxicam must not be given together with other NSAIDs or glucocorticosteroids. Other NSAIDs, diuretics, anticoagulants, aminoglycoside antibiotics and other highly protein-bound substances may compete for protein binding and lead to toxic effects. Where a dog has been pre-treated with an anti-inflammatory, the datasheet requires a treatment-free period of at least 24 hours before meloxicam starts — and states that the interval should account for the pharmacological properties of whatever came before, so it may need to be considerably longer. Never bridge that gap yourself with leftover tablets.
Adverse events
The UK datasheet classifies all listed canine adverse events as very rare — fewer than 1 animal in 10,000 treated, including isolated reports. They are: appetite loss and lethargy; vomiting, diarrhoea, blood in faeces, haemorrhagic diarrhoea, haematemesis, gastric ulcer and small intestine ulcer; elevated liver enzymes; and renal failure. The SPC notes these generally occur within the first week of treatment and are in most cases transient, resolving once treatment stops — but that in very rare cases they may be serious or fatal.
That framing is genuinely reassuring and genuinely serious at once. The first treatment week is when to watch hardest.
Ring your vet the same day if you notice
- Black, tarry or bloody faeces, or vomit resembling coffee grounds
- Repeated vomiting, or two refused meals in a row
- Pale gums, or yellowing of the gums, skin or whites of the eyes
- A marked change in drinking or urination
- Unusual lethargy or a dog that simply is not itself
If adverse reactions occur, the SPC instructs that treatment be discontinued and veterinary advice sought. Suspected adverse events can be reported through the VMD's reporting scheme, normally via your vet. If your dog gets into the bottle, telephone your practice or an out-of-hours service immediately.
Tablets or suspension? A practical UK comparison
Britain has both. Metacam chewable tablets for dogs come as 1 mg and 2.5 mg, flavoured and taken voluntarily by most dogs, with or without food. Each 1 mg tablet is the daily maintenance dose for a 10 kg dog; each 2.5 mg tablet suits a 25 kg dog. Tablets can be halved, and the datasheet's own dose scheme runs from 4 kg upward.
| Body weight | 1 mg tablets | 2.5 mg tablets |
|---|---|---|
| 4.0–7.0 kg | ½ | — |
| 7.1–10.0 kg | 1 | — |
| 10.1–15.0 kg | 1½ | — |
| 15.1–20.0 kg | 2 | — |
| 20.1–25.0 kg | — | 1 |
| 25.1–35.0 kg | — | 1½ |
| 35.1–50.0 kg | — | 2 |
The datasheet is clear about the limits of tablets: for even more precise dosing, and for any dog under 4 kg, the oral suspension is recommended instead. A Chihuahua and a Great Dane are not the same dosing problem.
What helps alongside a prescribed NSAID
Nothing below replaces meloxicam or justifies changing a prescription. But weight and conditioning sit outside the bottle, and they are where owners have real leverage.
Weight loss is the strongest non-drug lever there is. A 2010 study in Veterinary Research Communications (PMID 20237844) placed 14 obese client-owned dogs with osteoarthritis on a calorie-restricted diet for 16 weeks and recorded a significant decrease in lameness from roughly 6.1% body-weight loss onward. Six per cent is an achievable target for most households.
On supplements, the evidence is uneven, and it is worth being specific about which way. The largest analysis available is a 2022 systematic review and meta-analysis in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences (PMID 36142319), covering 72 trials across nine compound categories in canine and feline osteoarthritis.
| Ingredient class | What the 2022 meta-analysis concluded |
|---|---|
| Omega-3 (EPA/DHA) diets and supplements | Clear analgesic efficacy — the strongest signal in the review |
| Cannabidiol | Efficacy to a lesser degree |
| Collagen | Weak |
| Chondroitin–glucosamine | A "very marked non-effect"; the authors recommend these no longer be recommended for osteoarthritis pain |
That final row is awkward for most of the joint-supplement trade, and we publish it anyway, because it explains how we formulate. A two-ingredient glucosamine-and-chondroitin chew rests its whole proposition on the one class this meta-analysis singles out as ineffective. Our Advanced Hip & Joint Chews carry 18 active ingredients across four functional layers, so the classes the evidence actually favours — omega-3 fatty acids, green-lipped mussel and undenatured type-II collagen — are present rather than trailing behind a glucosamine headline. For dogs who refuse chews, our liquid glucosamine for dogs mixes into food, and the full dog joint and hip supplements range is worth comparing side by side. Every batch is made under GMP conditions with a certificate of analysis, and shipping is free worldwide.
Tell your veterinary surgeon what you are giving. Supplements belong in the clinical record next to the prescription, not alongside it unmentioned.
Where meloxicam sits among the alternatives
| Drug | Class | Mechanism | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Meloxicam (Metacam, Loxicom, Meloxidyl, Rheumocam) | Oxicam NSAID | Preferential COX-2 inhibition | Once daily; suspension and chewable tablets; UK licence covers acute and chronic cases |
| Carprofen for dogs | NSAID | COX inhibition | Same class-wide gastrointestinal and renal cautions |
| Galliprant for dogs (grapiprant) | Piprant | Blocks the EP4 prostaglandin receptor | Not a COX inhibitor |
On meloxicam versus carprofen specifically, the honest answer is that the head-to-head comparison has barely been done. A 2003 study in Veterinary Record using force-plate gait analysis in 71 dogs (PMID 12665145) found that both carprofen and meloxicam improved ground reaction forces while a nutraceutical did not. Choosing between NSAIDs is a question of how an individual dog responds and tolerates, not a league table. Our guide to dog arthritis medicine sets out the wider menu.
Frequently asked questions
Is meloxicam prescription-only in the UK?
Yes. Metacam and its UK generics are classified POM-V, meaning they may only be supplied on the prescription of a veterinary surgeon who has the dog under their care following a clinical assessment. You can ask for a written prescription and have it dispensed by a registered pharmacy or online retailer, though practices may charge a fee for issuing it.
How much Metacam should I give my dog in millilitres?
Only the volume your vet specified, measured with the syringe supplied in that box. The UK SPC dose is 0.2 mg/kg on day one and 0.1 mg/kg daily afterwards, but the millilitre figure depends entirely on whether you hold a 0.5 mg/ml or a 1.5 mg/ml bottle — a three-fold difference. Check the strength on the label against your prescription every time, especially after a brand switch.
Can I use the 0.5 mg/ml Metacam on my dog?
Metacam 0.5 mg/ml oral suspension is the cat product, and the UK SPC for the dog suspension states plainly that the dog product should not be used in cats and that cats should receive the 0.5 mg/ml cat formulation. Confusingly, Loxicom does market a 0.5 mg/ml oral suspension that is licensed for dogs. Read the species on the label, not just the number, and never use another animal's medicine.
How quickly should meloxicam work, and when should it be stopped?
The UK datasheet says a clinical response is normally seen within three to four days, with peak plasma concentrations reached around 4.5 hours after a dose and steady state by the second day. It also instructs that treatment be discontinued after ten days at the latest if no clinical improvement is apparent — so if your dog is no better after a fortnight, that is a reason to go back to your vet rather than continue.
Can my dog have meloxicam and prednisolone together?
No. The UK SPC states that meloxicam must not be administered in conjunction with other NSAIDs or glucocorticosteroids. Where a dog has already been on an anti-inflammatory, a treatment-free period of at least 24 hours is required before meloxicam begins, and longer depending on the previous drug. Your vet decides that interval.
Will pet insurance cover my dog's meloxicam?
Usually, if the underlying condition is covered. Most UK policies pay for prescribed medication as part of treatment costs, but arthritis diagnosed before the policy started is generally excluded as pre-existing, and annual limits can be reached quickly on a long-term prescription. Check whether your cover is lifetime or per-condition before committing to years of treatment, and keep the prescription records your insurer will ask for.
Further reading
- Arthritis in dogs symptoms — spotting it before it limits your dog
- Dog limping — working out what is behind it
- Best joint supplements for dogs — how to read an ingredient panel
- Meloxicam for dogs — the US label, for comparison
Veterinary disclaimer. This article is educational and is not veterinary advice. In the United Kingdom meloxicam is a POM-V medicine authorised and regulated by the Veterinary Medicines Directorate; dosing, monitoring and any change to treatment must be directed by a veterinary surgeon registered with the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons who has examined your dog. Dosing figures are reproduced from the UK Summary of Product Characteristics for reference and are not instructions. Pure Majesty Pets supplements are not medicines, are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease, and are not a substitute for prescribed medication — never reduce or stop a prescription because you have started a supplement. Metacam is a registered trademark of Boehringer Ingelheim; Loxicom, Meloxidyl and Rheumocam are trademarks of their respective owners. Pure Majesty Pets is not affiliated with any of them.
Sources: Summary of Product Characteristics, Metacam 1.5 mg/ml oral suspension for dogs, Vm 61700/5055, VMD Product Information Database (revised April 2026); NOAH Compendium datasheets for Metacam 1.5 mg/ml oral suspension for dogs, Metacam 1 mg and 2.5 mg chewable tablets for dogs, and Loxicom 0.5 mg/ml oral suspension for dogs; VMD guidance on the prescribing cascade; Moreau et al., Veterinary Record 2003 (PMID 12665145); Marshall et al., Veterinary Research Communications 2010 (PMID 20237844); Barbeau-Grégoire et al., International Journal of Molecular Sciences 2022 (PMID 36142319).