Cat Arthritis Update - Be A Good Observer, Make Your Cat's Life Easier!

Cat Arthritis - Cats suffer silently

Do you wonder, why your furry companion has stopped jumping onto his or her favourite place on the window lately?

Did you notice that your cat is less playful and agile, but sleeps a lot and changed his/her favourite place with a warmer spot in the house?

Cat arthritis is a common disease that is often misdiagnosed or simply over-seen because cats generally do not show the typical arthritis symptoms.

Don't let this happen and get tips on what signs to look for, how to make life for your ill cat easier and which medical pain relief options are best for them.

Arthritic cats show less prominent symptoms than other pet species as a recent study from the Veterinary Faculty of Glasgow University reveals. About 30 % of felines aged over 8 years are suffering from this painful condition.

Signs of Arthritis in Cats

Watch out for the below listed signs. They might occur at first hardly noticeable, so you need to be a good observer to see them at all.

• For most cats it is unusual to vocalize their pain
• They are generally not limping or being lame as canine and equines would be
• Arthritic joints are not significantly swollen, thickened or hot in felines.

You may think after all that cats are suffering less than dogs or horses do, but don't be fooled. They just hide it better

Check also for Changes in your Cat's Behavior and Habits

• Is he/she still able to jump as high as always, or did your cat stop jumping alltogether?
• How about playing and hunting?
• Is he/she sleeping a lot more and does not want to go out?
• Did you notice an abnormal or stiffish gait?

Take changes in your cat's lifestyle seriously and don't assume it is because your feline friend is getting older. Talk to your vet about these observations, so he/she can assess, diagnose and determine proper treatment earlier. This will help to improve your cat's quality of life a lot.

What can you do to achieve pain relief in your cat ?

There are several things you can do to make life easier for your feline pet.

Ease everyday-activities

• Make access to favourite places easier, build ramps, place cushons etc. and avoid frequent upstairs/downstairs movement.
• Offer food and water from bowels raised from the ground.
• Avoid jumping, but encourage movement.
• Try to lower the sides of the litter box for comfortable access.
• Offer a comfortable sleeping area or a heated bed for cats and keep your house or flat warm.

Weight control

If your cat is over-weight or obese take part in a weight control program offered by your veterinary practice.

Exercise

Exercising a cat might sound unusual, but helps to keep weight under control and gentle movement maintains range of movement of joints and tones muscles. Try encouraging your cat to exercise or move around more with the help of catnips or interesting objects and toys.

Physiotherapy and Massage for Cats

Relax muscles and arthritic joints through therapeutic movements. This helps to relief cat arthritis pain and increases or maintains the range of movement in joints.

Gently massage painful areas with your fingertips in half-circling movements. Start first on less aching parts of the body and work slowly towards the affected areas.

Pet Medicines for Cat Arthritis and Feline Pain Relief

Chondroitin and Glucosamine - a Natural Joint Pain Relief Formula

Both supplements are most popular in the treatment and management of arthritis in cats.

Chondroitin helps with the formation and building of cartilage and stops the effect of cartilage-destroying enzymes within the joint.

Glucosamine is an important component of cartilage and is built into damaged cartilage with the help of chondroitin.

These natural components are building new cartilage up and repair worn or damaged joint surfaces this way. They have hardly any side-effects and are well-tolerated.

Initially a period of 6 - 8 weeks is needed to induce any repair process and a patient needs to be kept on this supplement for the remaining life span to maintain a protective level.

Dietary Supplements for Cats containing Glucosammine and Chondroitin

• ArthriAid (Millpledge) - liquid, powder and tablets
• Arthrotabs (Genitrix) - tablets
• CondroVet Dog+Cat (Nelson Veterinary) - palatable tablets
• CosequinRS (Vetoquinol) - capsules
• Easeflex Alsloe) - chewable tablets
• GlycoFlexCat (AbottAnimalHealth) - tablets
• Seraquin for Cats and Small Dogs (Boehringer Ingelheim VetMedica) - chewable tablets

Pain Relief Medication

Cat pain relief medication proves to be rather difficult in cats. Most drugs can cause side-effects and cat arthritis is a disease that requires longterm and ongoing therapy.

NSAID (non steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs)

• Meloxicam (Metacam) for cats is made for feline pain relief. - Oral liquid solution, injectable form
• Carprofen (Rimadyl) can be administered once via injection by a vet. However, Rimadyl in tablet or palatable tablet form and Carprodyl tablets are contraindicated in cats.
• Aspirin: Do not use in felines in any form, buffered or non-buffered, unless your veterinarian prescribed it.
• Paracetamol: Contraindicated in cats. Do not use.

Corticosteroids

Steroids are very good anti-inlammatory drugs, but can cause many side-effects. Today vets use them as a last resort to treat cat arthritis in older or otherwise therapy-resistent cats and in acute pain flare-ups.

Form: tablets and injectable solutions.

Opiate Agonist: Butorphanol

Butorphanol (Torbugesic, Torbutrol (Fort Dodge)) is a prescription only drug for veterinary use. It is given as a strong cat pain reliever, but causes side-effects, like sedation, lack of appetite and diarrhoea.

In cats with under-active thyroid gland, renal problems, severe illness, head trauma or disfunction of the nervous system it should be avoided.

Butorphanol may interact with other drugs, like tranquilizers, antihistamines or barbiturates.