Arthritis in cats – UPDATE

Arthritis in cats

Lots of people are aware of arthritis in dogs but cats can get arthritis too. Arthritis is a condition where pain is noted in the joint due to damage to the overlying cartilage that covers the bone. It leads to pain, reluctance to jump, stiff gait and reduced range of movement. Cats are often unable to groom through pain or they can over-groom the affected area. It is often not noticed by owners as cats lie around a lot and the reduction in activity is often put down to 'just getting old'.

Arthritis can be primary, where the alterations to the cartilage are degenerative wear and tear, or secondary, due to trauma that alters the normal stress on the joint. For instance, your cat could have a loose kneecap that continually rubs across the joint or could tear a small ligament that results in increased instability in the joint.

Like dogs, there are also some breeds of cat that are more predisposed to developing osteoarthritis. The Maine Coon breed has a higher incidence of hip dysplasia, Scottish folds have genetic cartilage problems and Burmese have a greater incidence of elbow problems.

There are several treatment modalities that can be utilised for cats with osteoarthritis.

It is important first to confirm a diagnosis. This is done by both physical examination and radiographs. Osteoarthritis has overlap with signs of some other non-bone-related conditions so radiology can provide a definitive diagnosis. Radiographs also allow us to not only look for the bone changes indicative of arthritis, but also help us rule in and out infection, immune-mediated arthritic disease and nutritional bone diseases, amongst other conditions.

There are generally three lines of treatment for osteoarthritis:

1. Glycosaminoglycans, chondrotins, glycosamine – can help improve the integrity of the cartilage surface. These are generally given as four injections, one week between injections. There are also oral supplements, powers or capsules that can be added into your cat’s food on top of this injection. Alternatively Hills produce a j/d or joint diet for cats with these already added to the diet, so you won’t interfere with palatability if your cat is a fussy eater. We often recommend a dual treamtnet of Zydax (glycosaminoglycan) injections and an oral supplement such as 'Joint Guard – cat', which contains glycosamine, chondroitin and EFAs.
2. Diet – maintaining a normal weight is vital and if your cat is overweight we will work out an adequate diet for it. If your cat’s weight is not in the normal range then changing to one of the prescription mobility diets is a good idea. Prescription weight reduction diets such as Hills R/D are an efficient and effective way of ensuring proper weight reduction through calorie restriction while maintaining a balanced diet.
3. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) – these act directly to reduce the pain. Meloxicam (metacam) is a palatable and easily administered liquid given once a day and found to be very effective in providing pain control. As these are metabolised in the kidneys we need to check kidney function is okay prior to their use. This is done in-house with a quick and inexpensive blood and urine test. We recommend cats on NSAIDs have their kidney enzymes re-checked every six months. If there is a problem in kidney function, we can still use NSAIDs if the other treatments don’t provide adequate relief – just at a lower dose rate.