Urinating or Defecating Outside the Litterbox: It can be uncomfortable for an arthritic cat to get into the litterbox, or to maneuver herself inside the box. ![]() Increasingly Sedentary Behavior: Normal cats spend a large portion of every day sleeping, but arthritic cats may remain unmoving even in the face of activity triggers, such as you returning home from work.Asking to be Lifted: Many arthritic cats will begin to ask to be lifted up onto a bed or sofa to be with you, rather than making the jump.This develops very slowly, and may only be obvious if the current posture is compared to older photos of your cat. The Hunchback: Arthritic cats will often keep their hips tucked under and their heads lowered, creating a hunchbacked posture.The Staircase Bunny Hop: When going up or down stairs, arthritic cats will often take the stairs one at a time, bringing both back legs together up or down to the next step.“Walking down” is often associated with elbow arthritis. Rather than jumping straight from the elevated surface to the floor, a cat with feline arthritis may place his front paws on the vertical surface first, taking a couple of small steps down before taking the actual jump. You may see this if your cat is jumping down from a counter or a desk, where a vertical surface is available. Walking Down: Another common sign is “walking down” vertical surfaces as a prelude to jumping down.He will then muscle himself the rest of the way up using his shoulders and front legs. The Front Leg Pullup: This is often seen when arthritis is affecting the hips, so that the kitty can accomplish some upward jumping, but perhaps not as far up as he wants to go. ![]() It is a very subtle behavior change you must be looking for it to see it. An arthritic cat, especially with hip arthritis, may bob up and down a couple of times, making several “false starts” before taking the jump. A healthy cat will aim for a spot and jump straight to it. False Starts: A common “presence symptom” of feline arthritis is “feinting” before jumping up.Arthritic cats may show presence symptoms, which are often very subtle and easy to miss if we aren’t aware of exactly what to look for. “Presence symptoms” are symptoms that involve showing a behavior that was not previously present. NOT jumping up or down without using intermediate objects as “stairs.”.NOT grooming as well (or at all in advanced cases), or.Some absence symptoms of feline arthritis are: Some absence symptoms of feline arthritis are: These behaviors are decreased or not present, rather than new, abnormal behaviors. ![]() “Absence symptoms” are symptoms that are often not obvious. These are “absence symptoms,” and are much tougher to notice than “presence symptoms.” Even when we do notice our kitties being less active, we often attribute that to “old age,” when in fact there may be a treatable cause such as arthritis or other chronic illness. Instead of limping, they’ll just stay still. Instead of missing a jump, they will often simply not even try to jump. They tend to restrict their own activity when joint pain is present. We often miss signs of arthritis in our kitties at home. Let’s look at how we can tell when a cat may have arthritis and what we can do to help with it, using both lifestyle modifications and medicines. Arthritic cats can seem to be perfectly fine and yet suffer from joint pain and impaired mobility, both of which negatively impact their quality of life. Unfortunately, far more often than not, feline arthritis goes undiagnosed and untreated. Does My Cat Have Arthritis and What Can I Do About It?Īrthritis is an almost universal phenomenon in aging cats.
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