A six-week-old, 60 kg Holstein bull calf, previously treated at Cornell’s Large Animal Hospital for pneumonia and omphalitis associated with failure of passive transfer (FPT), returned three days later with a primary complaint of lameness. During the course of his hospitalization, the calf underwent an arthrotomy to address septic arthritis in his left stifle. As part of a multimodal approach to pain management, meloxicam was included as adjunctive therapy. Meloxicam is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) of the oxicam class. Recent research has shown meloxicam to have several potential advantages over flunixin meglumine, the NSAID most commonly used in cattle, including excellent bioavailability following oral administration and a much longer half-life. However, because meloxicam is not labeled for use in food-producing animals, the implications of extra-label drug use must be carefully considered.