How To Know If Your Cat Has Arthritis

A body score is a simple way of assessing how fat or thin your cat is. Most cats are classified as a senior feline once they are over seven years of age and this is when they can develop age-related conditions such as arthritis.

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If your cat is hesitating to jump or is looking at his favorite chair and then just walking away maybe old George is in considerable arthritic pain.

How to know if your cat has arthritis. Arthritis is an ongoing problem and cannot be cured. However it can be managed successfully allowing your cat to be pain free and to lead a reasonably active life. Many cats hide their discomfort so.

Make sure their bed or favourite sleeping spot is easily accessed. In some situations your veterinarian may also want to evaluate joint fluid from your cat to help rule out joint infections. Many arthritic cats simply become less active.

Most cats dont develop obvious signs of arthritis until they are at least 10 years old. It also prevents your cats nails from growing so long that they make. He or she may be able to detect pain or swelling in certain joints or may even recommend taking x-rays to confirm the diagnosis.

Consult your veterinarian for advice if you believe your cat is suffering from arthritis. You need to be observant of the following five points to tell if your cat might have arthritis. Cats with arthritis often have overgrown claws because they stop using scratching posts or cannot reach the nails to groom them.

Instead of gliding past each other the bones in the joint rub against each other like sandpaper. If your cat is unable to maintain their typical appearance some help with brushing cleaning and clipping nails may be needed. This allows your cats bones to slide past each other easily as they move around.

Does your cat move slower. Climbing and jumping are my 2nd and 3rd signs of arthritis in your cat that you might notice. As a cats arthritis progresses she doesnt use her joints as much trying to avoid pain and the muscles in her legs can become smaller as a result.

You might only notice this in the later stages of arthritis because the change can be subtle and hard to discern if you are looking at your cat. Do you hear your cats joints click while walking. Cats can exhibit many different signs when they have OA and they do not necessarily demonstrate all the same signs all of the time.

This causes swelling and pain. Loss of Muscle on Thighs. Is your cat still playful.

The birds eye view on the windowsill or the elevated sunny spot may be ignored when they were previously adored. Age weight health status and previous injuries play a big role in feline arthritis. It consists of a scale from 1 to 5 with 5 being obese and 1 emaciated.

Are your cats joints stiff or swollen. Arthritis causes inflammation of the joints and is very common in older cats where it can affect the legs shoulders hips and spine. Your cats favorite spots may seem out of reach when cat arthritis starts to set in.

Your veterinarian will be able to determine whether your cat has arthritis by performing a physical examination on your cat and by taking radiographs x-rays. Ribs spine and pelvis are visibly sticking out even at a distance. How Do You Treat Arthritis In Cats.

Can your cat still climb stairs go down stairs. When a cat has arthritis the smooth surface is worn down and the bones grind against each other like sandpaper. Its important to remember that no one knows your cat better than you.

The most common signs. As we all know cats can be very bloody-minded and cats with perfectly normal joints may scream and resent having them manipulated and others with badly affected ones may not show the signs of swelling and restricted movement that we would expect. Ensure your cat can reach their toileting site easily and the sides of the litter tray are not too high.

An ideal body score is around 3. In a joint with arthritis the smooth surface is worn down and uneven. Reluctance or hesitance to jump up or down.

You might notice your cat doesnt come upstairs much anymore or spend time on the roof or up a tree when they used to spend a lot of time there when they were younger. These activities put a lot more stress through the joints and so can be very painful in arthritis cats. Although it is often challenging to diagnose arthritis in cats if you notice any of these changes and especially if your cat is over the age of 6 you should first see your vet.

Its not always easy to recognise if your cat is in pain or suffering from arthritis. Often this change in behavior corresponds to the cat becoming older and a cat owner may simply assume that the change is normal when in fact your cat may actually be decreasing his activity level because he is in pain due to arthritis. Have problems jumping up on furniture.

The only way to reliably diagnose arthritis in cats is to radiograph the joints the elbow and the hip are most commonly affected. Symptoms of arthritis in cats include. Arthritis in cats can be particularly hard to spot.

Although repeated slips and falls wont necessarily make the pain worse it will affect your cats confidence and her quality of life. Slower stiffer less fluid movements than she used to have might indicate that your cat has joint pain. Regular nail trims help keep their nails short and minimize the pressure on your cats feet.

These may be signs of initial osteoarthritis pain. Determine your cats body score.

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