Arthritis In Cats Age

Recent studies have shown that up to 90 of cats aged over 12 years are showing signs of osteoarthritis hardie et al 2002.

Arthritis in cats age.

Ensure that your cat s meal is appropriately balanced. Arthritis occurs when the cartilage between bones deteriorates. Reviewed and updated for accuracy on may 29 2019 by dr. Feline arthritis is more common in middle aged and older cats.

Arthritis causes changes within the affected joints that are painful for the affected pet. Arthritis is one of the most common ailments seen in middle aged to older pets. However cats are very adept at hiding any illness especially pain as this would be seen as a sign of weakness in the wild. Senior cats have the highest risk for contracting osteoarthritis a type of arthritis in cats that s also known as degenerative joint disease djd.

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. How to spot arthritis in cats. Due to the challenges of diagnosing arthritis in cats it can be difficult to tell how many cats are affected.

Just as in humans cats develop arthritis as they age. Hanie elfenbein dvm phd. Old age arthritis or osteoarthritis is a rapidly growing area of feline medicine. Most cats don t develop obvious signs of arthritis until they are at least 10 years old.

Cats that are obese are more likely to be affected by the signs of arthritis than a cat that is lean. 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. Protein is important to arthritic cats. In one study published in 2002 90 of cats over 12 years of age had evidence of degenerative joint disease.

Prevalence of arthritis in cats. An obese cat has a much harder time dealing with aging joints. This will aggravate arthritis pain. Feline arthritis can be caused by injury infection an autoimmune disorder or degenerative problems involving the joints.

If a cat seems stiff or painful has swollen joints loses muscle mass or has a hard time moving around it might have arthritis. Age weight health status and previous injuries play a big role in feline arthritis. By lorie huston dvm. This makes joints less flexible causing stiffness and pain.

Even younger cats under the right circumstances can suffer from arthritic changes. Joints that have been injured in the past are also more prone to becoming arthritic later in life. Most senior cat foods are designed with arthritic felines in mind. However recent studies looking at radiographs of older cats produced startling results.

Keeping a cat in good shape through proper diet can help relieve the symptoms.