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