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