Exciting news for cats with Osteoarthritis!
Chronic pain, like that from osteoarthritis (OA), is surprisingly common in cats. Clinical studies have found signs of osteoarthritis in 61% of cats over the age of six and in 90% of cats over the age of 12. 40% of those cats showed signs of pain. Chronic osteoarthritis pain can become a serious health problem for your cat — without treatment, the pain will continue to get worse. Helping your cat begins by talking with your veterinarian and coming up with a medical treatment plan to relieve your cat’s pain. Cats hide signs of pain as much as possible (it’s a survival strategy left over from when they lived in the wild). But there’s good news — because you know your cat’s playful ways and what they love better than anyone, you’re the best person to spot when changes in these behaviors could be signs of osteoarthritis pain.
One or more of these changes could also indicate osteoarthritis pain in cats:
• A decrease in overall energy and activity levels
• Less interactive with family members (human or pet)
• Less interested in playing
• Urinating or defecating outside their litter box
• Grooming themselves less
• Licking or chewing a certain spot
• Purring more (purring can actually be a sign of pain)
• Changes in personality (more irritable or withdrawn)
• Flinching or meowing when being petted or picked up
• Scratching or biting
• Sleeping in a hunched position
Solensia is the FIRST and ONLY FDA-approved treatment to control cat osteoarthritis (OA) pain:
-After a single treatment, cats showed increased mobility
-Works like your cat’s naturally made antibodies to reduce pain signals
-77% of cat owners experienced seeing improvement in signs of pain when their cats were treated monthly with Solensia in a 3-month study
Using an objective screening tool like the Cat OA Checklist (catoachecklist.com) is a good first step in measuring where your cat is on the spectrum between “healthy” and a cat with joint disease. Share the results with your veterinarian. If your cat is diagnosed with osteoarthritis, your vet can recommend a safe and effective pain management protocol, which can greatly improve your cat’s outlook and quality of life — not to mention your peace of mind.
Click here for Cat OA Checklist
Click here for more information on Solensia
Please give our office a call at 913-829-7387(PETS) with any questions or to make an appointment to have your cat evaluated for Solensia.
Information on Solensia was provided by ©2022 Zoetis Services LLC