Maybe It's Not Just Old Age

Everybody knows how common arthritis is in older people and many people know that it is fairly common in older dogs, especially in the larger breeds.  However, even in the veterinary community, it was not thought that cats were likely to have arthritis.  In fact, we now know that 90% of cats 12 years and older have arthritis.  The odd thing about cats and arthritis is that x-rays are only diagnostic 22% of the time.  The changes cats exhibit can be very subtle, unlike in dogs who will visibly limp or show definite signs of stiffness when they get up.  Cats are very good at hiding pain and illness.  With cats, it may be that you suddenly realize your cat is not sleeping or sitting on the high places like always.  Sometimes, inappropriate elimination can be tied to arthritis in that it is too painful for your cat to climb into the litter box anymore.  Cats have some unique drug metabolism pathways that have made it difficult in the past to effectively treat pain from arthritis.  We now have alternatives that can be very effective in cats.  In fact, Lilly, who many of you know from coming into the clinic over the last 12 years is now benefiting from medication to treat arthritis.  After she had been on medication for awhile, we realized we were starting to see her more and more in her old haunts around the clinic and we have had to become used to looking up to higher perches again when we can't find her.  I have known her since she first joined us as a young adult over 11 years ago and it is nice to have to look for her up high again.
Jan Hueben, RVT