Cats that are obese are more likely to be affected by the signs of arthritis than a cat that is lean.
Arthritis in cats age.
How to spot arthritis in cats.
Most cats don t develop obvious signs of arthritis until they are at least 10 years old.
However cats are very adept at hiding any illness especially pain as this would be seen as a sign of weakness in the wild.
Arthritis is one of the most common ailments seen in middle aged to older pets.
As cats age they absorb less protein from food.
Most senior cat foods are designed with arthritic felines in mind.
Arthritis also known as osteoarthritis or degenerative joint disease causes pain and inflammation in a cat s joints.
Arthritis occurs when the cartilage between bones deteriorates.
An obese cat has a much harder time dealing with aging joints.
Senior cats have the highest risk for contracting osteoarthritis a type of arthritis in cats that s also known as degenerative joint disease djd.
Ensure that your cat s meal is appropriately balanced.
Even younger cats under the right circumstances can suffer from arthritic changes.
Age weight health status and previous injuries play a big role in feline arthritis.
Feline arthritis can be caused by injury infection an autoimmune disorder or degenerative problems involving the joints.
Recent studies have shown that up to 90 of cats aged over 12 years are showing signs of osteoarthritis hardie et al 2002.
Just as in humans cats develop arthritis as they age.
Old age arthritis or osteoarthritis is a rapidly growing area of feline medicine.
Keeping a cat in good shape through proper diet can help relieve the symptoms.
Hanie elfenbein dvm phd.
Your cat s food will also play a role in managing arthritis pain.
By lorie huston dvm.
Prevalence of arthritis in cats.
This makes joints less flexible causing stiffness and pain.
This will aggravate arthritis pain.
Protein is important to arthritic cats.
Although fairly uncommon in felines arthritis tends to affect the elbow joint when it does strike but many joints can be afflicted.
Arthritis occurs when the cartilage between bones deteriorates.
Reviewed and updated for accuracy on may 29 2019 by dr.
Arthritis causes changes within the affected joints that are painful for the affected pet.
Joints that have been injured in the past are also more prone to becoming arthritic later in life.
Arthritis is the general medical term for inflammation of the joints while osteoarthritis is the term that specifically refers to a form of chronic joint.
However recent studies looking at radiographs of older cats produced startling results.
Feline arthritis is more common in middle aged and older cats.
