Arthritis in cats

As you may have seen from the last blog entry, Giacomo has been treated for hip dysplasia using physiotherapy. Rungo has also been receiving treatment at the SMART Clinic. In his case, this was for arthritis.

More than 80% of cats over 10 are thought to suffer with arthritis, although many cats are never brought to the vet for diagnosis or investigation of the problem. Signs of arthritis in older cats include

• sleeping more
• reluctance to play
• jumping up less (you may just notice that your cat is choosing to sit on lower resting points)
• hesitating before jumping up or down
• becoming less keen to interact with you
• changes in temperament - generally becoming more grumpy
• matted or scurfy coat
• long nails which catch in carpets or clothing

If you cat is showing any, or especially several of these signs, you should consider that they may be suffering from arthritis. This is a painful degenerative joint condition which can cause a significant decline in the quality of life of may older cats.

Don't put off bringing your cat to the vet because you think it's just old age or that nothing can be done. If you have any suspicion of arthritis please consult your veterinary surgeon as it is a painful, progressive condition, meaning that the longer it is left, the more uncomfortable your cat will become. Arthritis may be suspected on examination, but X-rays are often needed to diagnose the condition.

The good news though, is that the condition is treatable. We use a combination of several different treatments to achieve the best control of the painful signs of arthritis

• Anti-inflammatory drugs to reduce pain and inflammation
• Chondritin and Glucosamine supplements to improve the condition of cartilage and joint fluid (these need to be specially formulated for cats)
• Special food containing supplements to help maintain joint health
• Physiotherapy, including exercise and acupuncture (available by referral)

For more information about arthritis in cats click here.

Arthritis is also found in dogs. They generally show a slowing down when exercising, may become more reluctant or slower to rise and look stiff after they have been lying down. Again, early diagnosis and treatment can make a huge difference to your dog's quality of life.

If you are interested in finding out about the SMART Clinic click here.

Physiotherapy for Cats

Giacomo has been having physiotherapy...

He has a problem called hip dysplasia; meaning that his hips have not formed properly. The condition is not uncommon in dogs, especially big dogs but is rare in cats. Maine Coons are known to be prone to it, so when he was about 5 months old I X-rayed his hips to make sure he was not suffering from dyspastic hips. Unfortunately he was.

The best way to deal with the problem in a young dog or cat is to use physiotherapy to build up the muscles in the hind legs to stabilise the hips in the sockets. He has also been receiving joint supplements to make sure his joint cartilage is as healthy as possible.

His physiotherapy has been taking place at the SMART Clinic, a dedicated animal physiotherapy clinic which has branches in both Cardiff and Swansea. He has made a huge improvement in the last 5 months and can now jump onto the top of our 6 foot garden fence and run along the top.

I thought you might like to see what physiotherapy in cats looked like. As well as the treadmill exercise show in the video, he has also be receiving acupuncture and we have doing exercises with him at home.



Hip dysplasia is a more common problem in dogs than cats, where is tends to affect large breed dogs such as Labradors and German Shepherd dogs. Young dogs which are reluctant to exercise, have hip pain, are unwilling to jump or bunny hop when running, may be showing signs of hip dysplasia. Left untreated it progresses relatively quickly to arthritis, but with treatment, most dogs and cats with hip dysplasia cat live a normal life.

Anyone considering breeding from a animal in a breed know to have hip dysplasia should have their animal screened before breeding. In dogs there is a Kennel Club scheme to screen dogs of affected breed before breeding, with recognised low breed values.

If you are an Ash Veterinary Surgery client and think your pet could have hip dysplasia or feel that your pet would benefit from referral to the SMART Clinic then please contact Ash Veterinary Surgery to arrange an appointment.

Emily Makes Headlines

Emily, collie with a badly broken leg was brought to Ash Veterinary Surgery when she was found by Mr and Mrs Sturgess. They adopted her and a year later she has been adopted by the Merthyr branch of the RSPCA as their mascot.

Your can read her story here