If your cat finds stroking painful, she may be suffering from arthritis

If your cat has difficulty walking, she may be suffering from arthritis. ©GREPAQ, University of Montreal

Cat arthritis is difficult for owners to spot and it can also prove complex for vets to diagnose. Which is why a team of Canadian researchers has developed a diagnostic test likely to be of help to professionals. They also remind cat owners of the main warning signs that can help them identify certain symptoms.

In cats, arthritis frequently affects the elbows, the back, the hips and the rear paw joints. Its incidence increases with age. More than 80% of cats over the age of 11 are affected. And, in general, the pain they feel makes them modify their behaviour.

Dr Eric Torcy’s team at the Montreal Faculty of Veterinary Medicine studied 120 cats and discovered that 39 of them were suffering from arthritis. “A cat suffering from this condition plays less with other cats and comes to see his owner less often”, Dr Torcy explains. “This is an important criterion as in our study the treatment administered to the cats in question led to a significant increase in physical activity and to greater interaction with humans”.

A less elegant gait?

Dr Torcy believes that the warning signs are in fact quite easy to spot, providing we don’t just attribute them to ageing. “The cat will experience difficulty jumping, for example from a chair or a bed. As arthritis often affects the lumbar joints and the hips, this is reflected in a stiffer back and a less fluid gait.”

His study also clearly shows that a very significant percentage (30%) of cats with arthritis will display some hypersensitivity on being touched. “This will manifest itself in a certain reticence at being stroked, at allowing the most sensitive areas – such as the back and the lower limbs –  to be touched or handled”. According to Dr Torcy, cats who are treated with a meloxicam-based drug rediscover a normal life. The use of this treatment is going to assessed by the European Medicines Agency in April 2013.

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  Source : University of Montreal, 19 February 2013- Interview with Dr Eric Torcy, 20 February 2013