Expert on Arthritis in Cats

Dr. Duncan Lascelles

Dr. Duncan Lascelles, professor North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine has been studying pain in cats for some time, and he’s learned a lot.

He explains on the national Steve Dale’s Pet World show, that it turns cats commonly get arthritis. New data suggests about 40 percent of all cats get not only arthritis, but also pain that goes along with that.  That number is considerably higher among senior and geriatric cats, and overweight and obese cats. Once cats hit 10-years, they likely have arthritis, he explains.

It’s simply a myth that cats are small and therefore don’t suffer arthritis. What’s more, they hide signs of discomfort, so we historically haven’t been aware of their impairment caused by joint pain.

There’s now a drug specifically approved for cats with arthritis, called Solensia, which is a monthly injection monoclonal antibody to control arthritis pain in cats.

Cats hide almost everything, especially pain. A good way to tell if your cat might be dealing with osteoarthritis pain is to observe red flags – which can be viewed here. After all, is your cat saying “meow” or “ow?”