Arthritis is a disease that can cause many problems if it is not taken care of in time. Being a degenerative disease, as time goes by it becomes more and more complicated to reverse the problems it causes in your cat.
We shouldnt confuse arthritis with arthrosis, these are two very different issues. Arthrosis regularly affects older cats. If a feline has arthrosis, it will sadly start losing cartilages slowly. In spite of them being similar, they shouldn’t be confused since their treatments are completely unalike.
In this article we will tell you what cat arthritis is. Continue reading to learn about symptoms and signs that you should be aware of to prevent any suffering from this disease in your cat.
H2 What is cat arthritis?
Felines can develop arthritis the same way humans do. As you may know, arthritis is a disease that causes inflammation in joints and can provoke swelling, rigidness and a lot of pain. There are various types of arthritis that are caused by different factors, it could be weariness or infections by other diseases.
Here we present to you a list of the most important arthritis symptoms.If you notice your cat has one, please look for professional help.
- Joints are damaged or swollen.
- Joint area is hot to touch.
- Your cat feels pain when it moves or when you touch certain parts of its body.
- Can’t walk properly or can’t bend paw joints.
- Redness in joint area.
- Mood swings.
Unfortunately it is very hard to identify when something is causing pain in your pet, their predator nature makes them great at hiding pain so they don’t appear weak in front of their prey.
Causes
There are many reasons why your feline can develop this disease, here we tell you about some of them,
Genetics
It could be that while your cat was in its gestation process it developed malformations in its legs. This affects the paws and provokes serious issues such as arthritis.
Infections
Maybe at one point your cat had a strong illness and some bacterias unfortunately affected other parts of its body, developing joint problems.
Obesity
If your cat has weight problems, you can play with it to get it to stay active and can lose some of the extra weight. When a cat is too heavy, joints cannot support the body, they start to wear down and as a result joints suffer.
Diagnosis
If something you have read in this article resembles your cat, it is time for you to visit the veterinarian. The vet will test your pet and determine whether it has arthritis or another issue.
Some studies you pet may perform are:
-Blood tests.
-Bone scans.
-Joint puncture.
It is important for you to take them to a revision, but don´t worry, a diagnosis will always be the best way to continue the healing process, which our cat’s will better endure with our love and care. Now that you know what cat arthritis is and its symptoms, do not think about it and visit your veterinarian if required.
Having a proper routine to take care of our cat’s health is fundamental to prevent diseases that could slowly affect the wellbeing of our pet. Being active, taking care of feeding and regular veterinarian visits will help delay the aging process in our cat.