Osteoarthritis is a common, painful, chronic disease of both dogs and cats.
It is most often seen in elderly animals although younger animals who have had previous injuries or have been particularly active can suffer at a younger age.
Sometimes the signs of arthritis are very obvious… It’s not difficult to picture an old dog that has trouble getting up in the morning and can’t jump into the car any more… but it is not always that obvious and careful observation may be required. This is particularly the case with cats where subtle behaviour changes may be observed.
If your pet shows ANY of the following signs, please talk with one of our friendly team members about diagnosis & treatment options:
- Slow to get up or walk
- Circling many times before lying down
- Unwillingness to jump up or down any more
- Crying or whining when moving
- “getting old”, “slowing down” type look
- Enlarged and hard joints
- Restricted range of motion of joints
- General signs can occur in addition such as going off food, not playing, staying in bed all day, losing control of bladder and bowels and weight loss
- Swelling of joints or biting at joints
There are many things we can do to ensure your pet is comfortable and discomfort free in their senior years. A lot of pets suffer in silence. Please don’t let this happen.
(The photo above is Maple, Dr Natasha’s old girl, who was born with hip dyplasia and lived comfortably until she was 14 years of age. The anti-inflammatory and pain relief medications as well as injections kept her comfortable and able to walk in her last few years. Maple is now in doggy heaven.)