Feline Arthritis
Could Your Cat Have Arthritis?
Arthritis in cats is a very common condition in our older cats and in fact studies show anywhere from 75% to 90% of our older cats will develop some degree of arthritis by the age of 12. Cats though are notorious for hiding their problem as they adapt their behaviour to mask their problem. This means we must be observant of subtle behavioural changes that can tell us that there is something going on.
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Three important things one must remember as you watch your cat to see if he/she may have arthritis:
- Remember that arthritis is a progressive disease so changes occur slowly overtime which means that the changes often are missed as they slowly become the new norm.
- Just like in people your cat will have good and bad days which means until the arthritis is in an advance stage you may not see the behaviour change daily.
- The following behavioural changes can all be seen with arthritis but (a) no one cat will have all the changes seen on the list and (b) some of the behavioural changes can be seen with other conditions not just arthritis.

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Here is your “My Cat Could Have Arthrits” check list….
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What To Do?
We are staring to find companies are developing newer helpful products for our cats to help them with this common aging problem.
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Options include:
- Diets and joint supplements
- Weight loss (10% body weight loss in our overweight pats can give as much relief as medication and has the added benefit of over all health improvement AND is cheaper than medications)
- Environmental changes (ie given them an intermediate jumping location to help them get to their perch, new litter box with high walls but low entry point, box on each floor)
- Cartrophen injections to help maintain the cartilage
- Laser therapy
- Medications
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If you are seeing these signs, or have concerns, call 604-854-2313 or email us and we will help you with your dog’s comfort.
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