Generally, older or senile cats with osteoarthritis or osteoarthritis often start to wear out in one or more of their joints, a degenerative disease, that is, that worsens over time.
In Animal Expert we explain what osteoarthritis is in cats and what its symptoms and treatments are, osteoarthritis is irreversible, once present in our animal can not be reversed, however we can improve the quality of our feline avoiding that it affects too much of your daily routine.
- To fully understand what osteoarthritis is like in cats.
- We will use the dictionary definition: “It is a degenerative and irreversible disease of one or more joints due to wear and tear of the cartilage that protects them.
- Losing their buffering function.
- “.
Osteoarthritis should be differentiated from arthritis in cats, which is chronic inflammation of the joints, but reversible in most cases, it usually begins with arthritis and because it is not detected and over time becomes osteoarthritis.
It is a silent disease, as 90% of cats over the age of 12 suffer from it and sometimes the owners never detect it.They may have different causes that trigger it, such as:
It may be related to the onset of diseases with any of these causes or simply surprise our cat, so we should be aware of the signs and symptoms that we may observe to treat it in a timely manner.
Sometimes it can be difficult to detect diseases in cats, because it is not so easy to recognize certain abnormalities, let alone observe signs of pain.
Among the signs or changes of behavior that can be observed, we find: changes of character, animals more irritable or depressed, changes in hygiene habits or sometimes do not do so because it hurts certain postures and may show some irritability or aggression at the moment.to clean certain parts of the body such as the spine or spine, all thanks to a high sensitivity.
When we talk about the most visible symptoms, we can find the following:
As already mentioned, osteoarthritis is a very difficult disease to diagnose and is often detected by the observation and suspicion of the owner, seeing that the cat is not well.
If you think your cat has osteoarthritis, you should go to the veterinarian so that he or she can do the corresponding tests and start treatment, it is the only way to delay the effects of this disease to the maximum.
The veterinarian will perform the physical examination of our cat, and with it, normally already has a very accurate diagnosis of what is going on, to confirm the diagnosis you can request x-rays of the most affected joint.
When it comes to an irreversible disease, we will try to relieve symptoms so that it suffers as little as possible and at the same time prevents the disease from progressing. Each case will be evaluated especially with the veterinarian, as sometimes there are more serious ones.diseases that require more attention.
We can use both conventional anti-inflammatory and natural anti-inflammatory drugs for the most acute phases, we can also use homeopathy or Bach flowers for more natural control of the disease.
Diet control will be an important element for them as overweight cats suffer more in the affected joints. If your cat is overweight, you should consult your veterinarian about offering diets for obese cats. Remember that the food you choose should be rich in fish oil and vitamin E, as well as a low carbohydrate content.Remember that glucosamine and chondroinsulfate promote cartilage formation, so they should be present in your diet.
Finally, we have to pack so that our cat does not have to change his habits, see if you can, for example, take the sandpit, water and food to a more accessible place.
This article is for informational purposes only, in Animal Expert.com.br we cannot prescribe veterinary treatments or make any type of diagnosis, we suggest that you take your pet to the veterinarian in case of any condition or discomfort.
If you would like to read articles similar to, we recommend that you visit our Degenerative Diseases section.