How osteoarthritis affects cats

In this video, Kristin Kirkby Shaw, DVM, PhD, MS, DACVS-SA, DACVSMR, founder of Canine Arthritis Resources and Education, discusses the impact of osteoarthritis on cats. She speaks about how this condition affects not only these felines’ mobility but also their quality of life and the human-animal bond with their caregivers. As Kirkby Shaw explains, pain associated with osteoarthritis can lead to cats avoiding social interactions with their families.

Related: Feline arthritis remains underdiagnosed

Below is the interview transcript, which has been lightly edited for clarity:

Kristin Kirkby Shaw, DVM, PhD, MS, DACVS-SA, DACVSMR: The impacts of arthritis pain are multidimensional. What this means is that the pain affects the cat's joints and...changes their mobility, their activities of daily living, [and] the way that they can get around. And cats are, importantly, meant to be vertical creatures; they want to jump up [and] get up high. And as their joint disease and their associated pain get worse, it gets harder and harder for them to get up onto those higher surfaces.... So, the end stage of arthritis pain is where they're just no longer able to get up onto those elevated surfaces. Before then, they're changing how they get there.

The other thing that we see, though, is if their body hurts. If they ache and are trying to protect themselves from threats, they might actually pull away from engaging with their family. They may not want to be held or may not want to sit on the couch next to the family. So, there are a lot of things that impact not only the cat's mobility but [also] their quality of life and that human-animal bond that they, hopefully, have with their with their caregivers.