We all have our image of an older dog or cat lying around, snoozing in the sun. They are not as active as they once were, they love sleeping by the woodstove, and they have some difficulty getting up once they have been napping. Our dogs and cats are living 14 and more years regularly, and their bodies experience many of the same changes that ours do as we age. Most of these animals have arthritis somewhere in their backs, hips, neck or legs. Some dogs have predisposing factors that increase the extent of arthritis and the speed at which it occurs — hip dysplasia, long backs, injuries, excess weight. But even otherwise healthy dog and cats experience arthritis as well. Small dogs and cats often show far fewer signs of arthritis; their smaller body mass makes it easier for them to compensate for skeletal problems. But they also experience this disease process. A normal joint in a young, healthy animal has glistening, snow-white, smooth cartilage on the ends of the bones. The cells of the cartilage secrete joint fluid, an extremely slick fluid with significant viscosity. Like oil in your car engine, joint fluid makes the bones slide over each other easily. Because the joint is in a capsule and the fluid cannot leak out, the fluid also creates and maintains a cushion between the bones so they do not rub each other. In an animal with signs of arthritis, the cartilage is no longer smooth; it is irregular, often discolored, and irritated. The joint fluid is like water. The joint no longer functions as it should, and it hurts. How did the joint go from the one stage to the other? How fast did it happen? In cases of injury, arthritis can start to be visible on x-rays within weeks. But in most cases, arthritis is a disease that is present long before any signs are observable. As animals age, and joints are used constantly, joint fluid starts to lose a little of its viscosity. As a result, joint inflammation occurs. There is a little swelling and a little pain, but not enough for an owner to notice and not enough for the animal to notice. Over years, this inflammation damages the joint cartilage, which causes a further decrease in the quality of joint fluid and increased inflammation. The whole process slowly snowballs. Inflammation is caused by certain chemicals in the body. These chemicals can be counteracted with drugs; this is what you are doing when you take aspirin or ibuprofen for something that hurts. And we certainly use animal-safe pain medications to help with arthritis pain in our four-legged companions. A better approach, however, is to interfere with this process long before the point where we are just trying to keep the pain away enough for the dog or cat to function. Joint supplements, with glucosamine, chondroitin, and MSM, do help prevent the initiation and establishment of arthritis. Testing done in horses has shown that the supplements are used by the body, and can significantly impact the long-term quality of joints. Recommendations are to start animals on joint supplements long before any signs of arthritis are present in the animal. Dogs in the 7 – 9 year age range would benefit from daily joint supplements. Dogs with any predisposing factors (like hip dysplasia) should be started on supplements much earlier. Cats are notoriously hard to get medication into, but there are supplements designed for them and can be tried in cats over 9 or 10. Several cats have seen remarkable improvement on joint supplements. We also recommend that any animal showing signs of arthritis be put on joint supplements. While there is no way for the body to repair the damage done to the cartilage, the supplements reduce inflammation and enable the joint fluid to be as healthy and viscous as possible. Pain relievers in conjunction with the supplements are often more effective than just pain relievers alone. We would be happy to discuss any questions or concerns you have about healthy joints and arthritis. Feel free to ask the next time you are in! |
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