How do you recognise osteoarthritis in your cat?

Osteoarthritis in Cats, is it a problem?

Unfortunately, there are a lot of cats in our country with joint wear or osteoarthritis, which is not recognised as such by the owner. Cats show different symptoms than the owner knows about osteoarthritis, so it often goes unrecognised. In addition, there are very many cats that do not visit the vet annually to be vaccinated, so they are simply missed. Research shows that a quarter to a maximum of 90 per cent of all cats over 6 years old appear to suffer from osteoarthritis to a greater or lesser extent. The numbers vary somewhat in relation to different studies. The thing is, the older the cat the more wear and tear, of course.

What is osteoarthritis anyway?

Osteoarthritis is wear of the cartilage in joints. In joints, cartilage ensures that bone parts hinge neatly together and that movements are cushioned. Cartilage is like a cushion between the two hinged bones. When cartilage decreases in quality or quantity, the bones will rub over each other more and this causes the pain symptoms. Osteoarthritis can occur in all joints in the body. The cat usually has wear on back, elbow, hip, knee and shoulder. Over time, the wear and tear on the joints will always worsen and cause more pain.

Symptoms the cat shows with atrosis,

What does a cat actually show when they have joint wear? Unlike dogs and humans, cats almost never walk lame due to osteoarthritis. As it is currently known, only 5 to 15 per cent of cats with osteoarthritis seem to walk lame. For many owners, this is a surprising fact which also means they often miss the condition. Of course, this is very annoying for the cat as it often suffers and hurts quite badly.

What does the cat show?

Cats, in particular, show different behaviour. Often owners with cats who have a joint problem notice that they are less eager to jump. For example, they suddenly cannot jump on the fence or the kitchen counter. It may seem clumsy the first time, but after a few times this is almost always noticeable. The fact that jumping and moving is painful also makes the cat become less active than before. Owners often notice this too, preferring to stay in on the sofa rather than get off to play or have a cuddle. Although the owner notices that the cat has become less active, this is also often linked to age while the cat is just suffering from joint pain and would actually like to be quite active.

There are also cats that suddenly start peeing next to the litter box because the step in has become unpleasant or they groom themselves less because cleaning your tail requires quite some action from the body. Furthermore, it is sometimes noticeable that a cat in pain is just a bit less sociable and friendly towards its surroundings, because always being in more or less pain also makes a cat less cheerful.

-This is an automated translation-