A few years ago, Scratchy started to pile on the pounds, much to the hilarity of my teenage sons and because of this (or so we thought) spent more and more time sleeping on the beds of said sons (‘you laugh at me; I will repay you with cat hair’). He still seemed lively enough when he could be bothered to move, so, after consultation with our excellent nurses, a brilliant weight loss diet was prescribed (Hill’s Metabolic diet – I really can’t recommend it enough!), and the pounds started to slowly disappear.

However, one day I happened to be sitting quietly in the kitchen (such a momentous event - peace in the kitchen that is – that I remember it well) when I saw Scratchy hobbling down the stairs. He trotted well enough outside and was still managing to heave his expanded waistline up on to the work top if food called, so I hadn’t noticed a problem before.

Feeling mortified (bad mummy), I brought him into work the next day. A proper clinical exam followed by radiography showed that he had arthritic changes in both of his stifles (knees) and along his back.

He’s been on pain medication along with his weight loss diet now for several months and not surprisingly he’s now sleeping less, hunting more, hobbling less on the stairs and getting (slowly!) thinner.

The lesson to be learnt here? Cats are the ultimate masters of disguise.

Cats will hide illness until they are almost on deaths door. If things are a problem, they will amend their lifestyle and mask their symptoms (after all, you don’t want that pesky terrier you share a house with to think you have problem, do you?).

So how do you spot if your cat has arthritis? (in one study, 90% of cats over 12 years had arthritis):

Reduced mobility:

• Reluctance, hesitance or refusal to jump up or down
• Jumping up to lower surfaces than previously
• Jumping up or down less frequently
• Difficulty going up or down stairs
• Stiffness in the legs, especially after sleeping or resting for a while; occasionally there may be obvious lameness
• Difficulty using the litter tray
• Difficulty going through the cat flap

Reduced activity:

• Increased time spent resting or sleeping
• Not hunting or exploring the outdoor environment as frequently
• Sleeping in different, easier to access sites
• Reduced interaction and playing less with people or other animals

Altered grooming:

• Reduced frequency of time spent grooming
• Matted and scruffy coat
• Sometimes over grooming of painful joints
• Overgrown claws due to lack of activity and reduced sharpening of claws

Temperament changes:

• More irritable or grumpy when handled or stroked
• More irritable or grumpy on contact with other animals
• Spending more time alone
• Avoiding interaction with people and/or animals

For more information, including what we at Hillside can do to help, please see the PDF guidance sheet on our website: arthritis in cats

Here’s a great little video by Jess the cat to help remind you what signs to look for:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfWHsF6ekh0

Or to find out in more detail you can watch this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_f18kjTbuCc&feature=youtu.be

Karen Pearce BSc BVSc MRCVS