Arthritis in Dogs and Cats: Everything You Need to Know

In this article, we will discuss arthritis in dogs and cats in detail, covering everything you need to know: symptoms, prevention, and natural remedies. What works and what doesn't.
 

Let's start by saying that joint problems rank in the "TOP 5" most dangerous threats to your four-legged friend's health.

 

They cause a lot of discomfort and pain, not only when moving but especially when cold, during the waking phase. These are chronic pains, persistent over time, sometimes easing and sometimes flaring up again, depending on the weather. These are the same dynamics that affect us humans.

 

A study by Banfield Pet Hospital, Health Status Report 2019 (https://www.banfield.com/state-of-pet-health), highlights a frightening rise in osteoarticular problems affecting dogs and cats.

Looking at the numbers, there has been a terrifying increase over the last 10 years: a 66% rise in dogs and, hold on tight, a 150% increase in cats.

 

What are the unmistakable signs that show your four-legged friend has a joint problem?
Sometimes they look at you with such a compassionate gaze, as if to say, "Please, do something for me."

As the owner, you must be very attentive to recognizing clinical signs to treat your dear loyal friend properly and in time.

Here is a list of the main symptoms indicating severe pain in animals.

 stiffness
swelling
trembling
limping
 

A danger at every life stage

Joints are constantly exposed to many diseases and risk factors that disrupt their proper function, compromising the mobility of affected animals.

These dangers affect all ages: from puppies, through adulthood, to old age.
You need to follow your four-legged friend throughout their life to learn about the most common problems and risk factors.

 

The causes are not always known; age is not the main factor. They range from genetics, injuries, and joint abnormalities (such as hip dysplasia). The most commonly affected joints include hips, knees, and elbows.

Let's look at the problems our four-legged friends can develop based on their life stage.

 

Young age
Usually, puppies develop dysplasia due to the uneven growth of the bones forming the elbow (ulna and radius). This leads to cartilage wear and, inevitably, arthritis.

Some breeds are more affected than others. Here is a table concerning the main dog breeds:

Hip dysplasia    Elbow dysplasia
Bulldog Chow chow
Pug    Pug
Dogue de Bordeaux    Rottweiler
Brussels Griffon    Bulldog
Neapolitan Mastiff    Fila Brasileiro
Molosser (African Lion)    Molosser
Saint Bernard    Large breed hound
Large breed hound    Bernese Mountain Dog
Spaniel    Black Russian Terrier
Black Russian Terrier    Shar Pei
 

 

Adults
In adult dogs and cats, joint problems can occur due to wear caused by aging (just like us humans) and this is normal; it usually involves front or hind legs, the back, especially the neck, and the lumbar area.
Even animals subjected to excessive physical activity (dogs doing agility, pulling, etc.) or simply trauma (car accidents).

 

Overweight
What sets a fast path toward chronic pain and behavioral changes can be excess weight. Very often joint problems (osteoarthritis) and excess weight go hand in hand. So preventing excess weight is essential to reduce your animal’s risk of developing osteoarthritis.

 

 

The difficulty moving caused by osteoarthritis can prevent animals from being active, leading them to gain weight, which worsens the joint condition.

You get sucked into a dangerous vortex from which it is a hard task to escape.

 

 

The percentage of overweight and obese pets has reached epidemic levels.
(a small curiosity, when it comes to contagious diseases for animals, the term used is epizootic), so diseases commonly associated with excess weight, like osteoarthritis, are frighteningly on the rise.

 

Joint problems have a very common consequence.
Osteoarthritis.

What are the effects of this unfortunate disease?
Inflammation of the joints.
Thinning of the cartilage.
Chronic and progressive degeneration of the joints.
 

Osteoarthritis in dogs and cats, everything you need to know. Symptoms, prevention, and natural remedies

We have reached the moment when we need your FULL attention.
Are you there?

Now "listen carefully" because what we are about to tell you is of vital importance; it is very likely that no one or almost no one has taken the trouble to tell you this uncomfortable truth.

Osteoarthritis is NOT a curable disease, but it can be kept under control. Now you will discover how your faithful friend can become happy again.

There is often confusion about the difference between healing and treatment, so let's clear up any doubts with these few lines you will read below.

 

Cure:
(from Treccani dictionary): With healing, the person (in our case dogs and cats) loses every element that characterizes the disease and becomes "completely healthy," no longer needing medical aids for the treatment of the disease as they are CURED.

Treat:
(from Treccani dictionary): It is an action taken to try to correct a problem or eradicate a disease. To treat does not mean to cure; rather, one can treat in order to try to cure a disease or, even while continuing to have the disease, try to have a quality and dignity of life equal to someone who does not have the disease, even though clinically carrying a condition.

Maybe to make a profit, they sold you the definitive solution to the problem, but that’s not the case. Anyone trying to sell you a cure for osteoarthritis is lying knowingly.

But let’s take it step by step and start by seeing how it can be prevented.

 

How is osteoarthritis prevented?
1) Proper diet
Without going into too many details about diet (this is not the right place), you just need to know that an unbalanced or poor-quality diet, often spoiled by pampering pets with “junk food,” can cause serious problems—not only for joint health.
Remember that they are just like us humans: if they don’t have a healthy lifestyle, if their body isn’t detoxified, and if they don’t have a strong immune system to protect them, they risk getting sick. The amount of food is also very important because excessive feeding causes overweight and/or obesity.
If the animal is overweight, weight reduction is among the measures that can provide the best therapeutic result.

 

2) Administer natural anti-inflammatories as prevention: a very important help comes from Mother Nature.
Many natural active ingredients are real remedies; we discover them almost as if they were great new findings, but in reality, they have been known for millennia.
They can protect the joints, control pain because they have natural pain-relieving properties, and above all reduce inflammation, which is the cause of pain.

Therefore, giving natural supplements from puppyhood to prevent these annoying pains and joint problems is vitally important.

 

3) Controlled physical activity:
At-risk individuals, whether puppies, young dogs, or adults prone to joint problems, should avoid overly intense training or competitive activities.

 

4) Routine veterinary check-ups:
They can tell us how the puppy is growing and how its joints are doing, also thanks to preventive X-rays in breeds considered “at risk.” These ultrasounds are crucial because they can “predict” if the animal might develop a specific joint problem.

 

If prevention is important, treatment is essential.
There are plenty of so-called experts out there ready to point you to the right remedy, but be very careful!
As mentioned before, and it’s worth repeating, osteoarthritis is NOT curable but can be very well managed.
So, start being wary of anyone offering you the definitive cure that will heal your four-legged friend!

Let's move on!

 

What can't work?
Why can't glucosamine and chondroitin alone work for osteoarthritis, even though they are very popular?
This is a sensitive topic because when a therapy becomes common practice, it is not an easy task to make people understand that this approach is wrong.

We certainly didn’t wake up one morning inventing that glucosamine and chondroitin don’t work; there are several studies that prove it:

An analysis of 10 studies involving over 3,800 subjects aimed to verify the effect of glucosamine, chondroitin, or both combined on joint pain and radiological progression of hip or knee osteoarthritis. The result was quite alarming.

The conclusions of various studies tell us that glucosamine and chondroitin supplements for joint pain are ineffective both alone and when taken together.
 

These studies tell us that: compared to placebo, glucosamine, chondroitin, and their combination do not reduce joint pain or impact joint space narrowing. Health authorities and insurers should not cover the costs of these preparations, and new prescriptions for patients who have not received care should be discouraged. (source: https://www.bmj.com/content/341/bmj.c4675)

 

When the joints are inflamed, they do not improve regardless of how much glucosamine or chondroitin you give your four-legged friend.

This is because these two active ingredients work as cartilage rebuilders, but reconstruction becomes ineffective in the presence of inflammation.
If you don’t stop the inflammation, you won’t get any benefit.
If you try to rebuild, the effort will be completely useless.

 

So the essential activity is to turn off the inflammation, which is the primary cause of pain.

Faced with this scientific evidence and the mistaken practice of always administering glucosamine and chondroitin, we realized there is an urgent need to provide valuable advice on natural remedies that, thanks to their powerful properties, perform a triple action to offer comprehensive support for your beloved loyal friend.

Here are the main actions:

anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving.
preserves synovial fluid and cartilage.
detoxify and rebalance metabolism, essential to compensate for the imbalances of an inadequate diet.
 

Nature offers us countless remedies to take care of our bodies and our four-legged friends; it’s like an open-air pharmacy.

 

And here, exclusively for you, is a carefully selected range of the most powerful remedies that Mother Nature offers to care for and protect your poor aching dog and cat joints.
Let's analyze them one by one.

 

Aloe arborescens

Thanks to the processing method, the “HDR® Method,” three very important plant steroid molecules are preserved:

Campesterol
β-sitosterol
Luteolin
which have a calming and soothing action.

In addition to these molecules, acemannan and bradykinase also contribute to the calming and soothing effect.

 

Perna Canaliculus

Perna extract, in addition to its anti-inflammatory action, provides glycosaminoglycans and other nutrients such as amino acids, essential acids, minerals, etc. Capable of improving and preventing cartilage and connective tissue damage. It regulates the viscosity of synovial fluid (the fluid found between joints that acts as a lubricant).

 

black carrot

Thanks to its high content of anthocyanins, valuable and powerful antioxidants. Useful against free radicals, inflammations, circulatory problems, degenerative diseases, and helps slow cellular aging.

 

Spirulina

It is the world’s most valuable source of plant proteins and is also rich in iron and calcium, which is why it is called a superfood. It provides a daily dose of strength and energy, essential during the rehabilitation phase of dogs and cats.

 

devil's claw

It is considered the natural anti-inflammatory par excellence. It contains harpagosides, molecules with strong pain-relieving and calming properties. It helps promote the function and well-being of shoulders, back, neck, and lumbar-sacral area.

 

Orange carrot

It contains very high levels of beta carotene and lutein, essential for skin and eye health. Additionally, the presence of minerals and vitamin E benefits the skeleton and muscles.

 

Boswellia serrata

It is widely used, with excellent results, in the treatment of local inflammations, degenerative joint disorders, reduced motor skills, muscle pain, rheumatism, osteoarthritis.

 

Red rapa

It contains iron, sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus. It has remineralizing and refreshing properties; its consumption is therefore recommended for weakened or convalescent dogs and cats.

 

Well, now that you know which remedies are most effective for treating your four-legged friend’s joint pain, you face a crossroads.

Both paths will forever change the condition of your dog or cat.

 

1) You can continue to use the supplements that disappointed you in the past, ignore the discomfort, do nothing, hoping the situation will improve. But without intervention, as you can well imagine, nothing good will happen.
Your poor four-legged friend will be trapped in the grip of pain caused by inflamed bones and joints.

Inflammation spreads, and without controlling it, the annoying pain will only get worse until it becomes unbearable.

Joint stiffness will begin to negatively affect freedom of movement.

 

2) A program to treat joints and relieve pain.
Now that you truly know what works and what doesn’t, you can really take care of your dog and cat; it would be a real shame to ignore this valuable information. Your loyal friend will thank you for life.

 

Your four-legged friend will be able to go for a walk or play freely with you, without pain and full of energy.