Arthritis In Cats Age

Age weight health status and previous injuries play a big role in feline arthritis.

Arthritis in cats age.

By lorie huston dvm. Your cat s food will also play a role in managing arthritis pain. Most cats don t develop obvious signs of arthritis until they are at least 10 years old. Feline arthritis is more common in middle aged and older cats.

However recent studies looking at radiographs of older cats produced startling results. Old age arthritis or osteoarthritis is a rapidly growing area of feline medicine. If a cat seems stiff or painful has swollen joints loses muscle mass or has a hard time moving around it might have arthritis. Even younger cats under the right circumstances can suffer from arthritic changes.

Recent studies have shown that up to 90 of cats aged over 12 years are showing signs of osteoarthritis hardie et al 2002. As cats age they absorb less protein from food. Although fairly uncommon in felines arthritis tends to affect the elbow joint when it does strike but many joints can be afflicted. Feline arthritis can be caused by injury infection an autoimmune disorder or degenerative problems involving the joints.

Protein is important to arthritic cats. Due to the challenges of diagnosing arthritis in cats it can be difficult to tell how many cats are affected. Cats that are obese are more likely to be affected by the signs of arthritis than a cat that is lean. How to spot arthritis in cats.

However cats are very adept at hiding any illness especially pain as this would be seen as a sign of weakness in the wild. 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. Ensure that your cat s meal is appropriately balanced.

Arthritis occurs when the cartilage between bones deteriorates. Senior cats have the highest risk for contracting osteoarthritis a type of arthritis in cats that s also known as degenerative joint disease djd. Keeping a cat in good shape through proper diet can help relieve the symptoms. An obese cat has a much harder time dealing with aging joints.

Hanie elfenbein dvm phd. This will aggravate arthritis pain. Reviewed and updated for accuracy on may 29 2019 by dr. Just as in humans cats develop arthritis as they age.

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. Arthritis occurs when the cartilage between bones deteriorates. Arthritis also known as osteoarthritis or degenerative joint disease causes pain and inflammation in a cat s joints. Prevalence of arthritis in cats.

Arthritis causes changes within the affected joints that are painful for the affected pet.