Arthritis In Cats Age

If a cat seems stiff or painful has swollen joints loses muscle mass or has a hard time moving around it might have arthritis.

Arthritis in cats age.

Reviewed and updated for accuracy on may 29 2019 by dr. 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. Most cats don t develop obvious signs of arthritis until they are at least 10 years old. Arthritis occurs when the cartilage between bones deteriorates.

Your cat s food will also play a role in managing arthritis pain. Age weight health status and previous injuries play a big role in feline arthritis. Arthritis causes changes within the affected joints that are painful for the affected pet. Arthritis also known as osteoarthritis or degenerative joint disease causes pain and inflammation in a cat s 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. Prevalence of arthritis in cats. An obese cat has a much harder time dealing with aging joints. Recent studies have shown that up to 90 of cats aged over 12 years are showing signs of osteoarthritis hardie et al 2002.

How to spot arthritis in cats. However recent studies looking at radiographs of older cats produced startling results. Although fairly uncommon in felines arthritis tends to affect the elbow joint when it does strike but many joints can be afflicted. Ensure that your cat s meal is appropriately balanced.

Arthritis is one of the most common ailments seen in middle aged to older pets. Hanie elfenbein dvm phd. 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.

This makes joints less flexible causing stiffness and pain. Arthritis occurs when the cartilage between bones deteriorates. As cats age they absorb less protein from food. Feline arthritis can be caused by injury infection an autoimmune disorder or degenerative problems involving the joints.

Cats that are obese are more likely to be affected by the signs of arthritis than a cat that is lean. Keeping a cat in good shape through proper diet can help relieve the symptoms. By lorie huston dvm. This will aggravate arthritis pain.

Even younger cats under the right circumstances can suffer from arthritic changes. However cats are very adept at hiding any illness especially pain as this would be seen as a sign of weakness in the wild. Feline arthritis is more common in middle aged and older cats. Most senior cat foods are designed with arthritic felines in mind.

Joints that have been injured in the past are also more prone to becoming arthritic later in life.