{"id":617,"date":"2012-05-25T09:31:44","date_gmt":"2012-05-25T17:31:44","guid":{"rendered":"\/blog\/?p=617"},"modified":"2014-01-13T20:53:07","modified_gmt":"2014-01-13T20:53:07","slug":"arthritis-and-your-cat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cleartheair.com\/blog\/arthritis-and-your-cat","title":{"rendered":"Arthritis And Your Cat"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Dealing with arthritis with your cat.<\/h2>\n<h3>Since it is CAT MONTH at Clear the Air, we would like to share some tips on what to know about feline arthritis, what you can do to ease the pain and more.<\/h3>\n<p><strong>What Is Arthritis?<\/strong> Arthritis, also known as osteoarthritis or degenerative joint  disease, causes pain and inflammation in a cat\u2019s joints. Although fairly  uncommon in felines, <em><strong>arthritis <\/strong><\/em>tends to affect the elbow joint when it  does strike\u2014but many joints can be afflicted.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What Are the Symptoms of Arthritis in Cats?<\/strong> Felines suffering from arthritis may show overall stiffness,  swelling of the joints, lethargy, lameness, decreased flexibility and  discomfort when you pet or handle them in certain positions. You may  also notice subtle behavioral changes, including:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Decreased activity<\/li>\n<li>Lapsed litterbox habits (due to pain caused by getting in and out of the box)<\/li>\n<li>Hesitancy to run, jump or climb stairs<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>What Causes Arthritis in Cats?<\/strong> Joints naturally degenerate as part of the aging process. Cartilage  forms a cushion between the bones at a joint. As cats get older, the  cartilage deteriorates and becomes less flexible.<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Arthritis <\/strong><\/em>can develop due to injury, dislocation or infection in the  joint. Extra weight can also put extra strain on a cat\u2019s joints.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How Is Arthritis Diagnosed? <\/strong> A veterinarian may conduct a physical exam, take radiographs and  perform other diagnostic tests to help determine the cause of the pain  and inflammation in your cat\u2019s joints.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Which Cats Are Prone to Arthritis?\u00a0 <em>Arthritis <\/em><\/strong>most often affects older cats, as their joints degenerate  naturally as part of the aging process\u2014but can occur as result of trauma  or infection in cats of all ages.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How Can Arthritis Be Treated? <\/strong>Once symptoms of arthritis set in, there is no cure\u2014but you can work  with your veterinarian to minimize your cat\u2019s pain while keeping her  healthy. Some general treatment options include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li> Anti-inflammatory\/pain medications<\/li>\n<li> Possible use of nutritional supplements to help replenish cartilage<\/li>\n<li> Weight loss if necessary, which has been shown to benefit overweight cats with <em><strong>arthritis<\/strong><\/em>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Are Cats with Arthritis Able to Exercise?<\/strong> Talk to your vet about an exercise program for your pet. Short,  gentle play can be helpful in some cases, but you\u2019ll need to introduce  these sessions slowly and gradually. Vigorous play involving leaping,  jumping and turning is to be avoided.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How Can I Make My Arthritic Cat More Comfortable? <\/strong>If your cat has <em><strong>arthritis<\/strong><\/em>, here are a few things you can do to make her feel better:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li> Give her a cozy blanket or cat bed.<\/li>\n<li> When she\u2019s relaxed and at ease, give her a gentle massage.<\/li>\n<li> Groom the areas of her body that may be hard for her to reach.<\/li>\n<li> Make sure she has easy, direct access to her litterbox and food and water bowls.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>This article is from the ASPCA.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Dealing with arthritis with your cat. Since it is CAT MONTH at Clear the Air, we would like to share some tips on what to know about feline arthritis, what you can do to ease the pain and more. What Is Arthritis? Arthritis, also known as osteoarthritis or degenerative joint disease, causes pain and inflammation [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3,5],"tags":[254,17,253,113,174,244,54,69,19,70,55,24,25,38,20,171],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cleartheair.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/617"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cleartheair.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cleartheair.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cleartheair.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cleartheair.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=617"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.cleartheair.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/617\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":621,"href":"https:\/\/www.cleartheair.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/617\/revisions\/621"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cleartheair.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=617"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cleartheair.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=617"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cleartheair.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=617"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}