Arthritis in your pets and how to help them through winter

Arthritis literally means “inflammation of a joint” and is used for a number of conditions that causes the internal part of the joint to degenerate. As this occurs the joint swells and causes PAIN.

Winter months can be very difficult for dogs and cats who have arthritis.

This is because the colder months decreases the amount of blood to the area and this, in turn, decreases the body’s ability to remove toxic waste as well as decreases the body’s ability to get its natural anti-inflammatory agents (anti-prostaglandins etc) into the area.

The surrounding tissues become tight and less subtle, the joint fluid increases its “thickness” and the pain receptors on the bones become more sensitized.

End result – the animal is in pain and it takes some time before the animal can freely move the damaged joint in such a way as to give normal mobility without intense pain. 

There are a number of things you can do to assist your pet.

1. You can keep your pet warm at night with the use of artificial coats, or placing blankets over them when it is cold. Also, allow your pet to sleep inside the house at night, keep the bed firm and not too high off the ground.
2. You can also limit your pets walking to later in the day when it’s a particularly cold morning, and allow them some time to “warm up the joints” before exercise.
3. If your pet is overweight you should endeavor to get some of the excess weight off the animal (come and have a talk to our staff – there is special food to achieve this result).

There is a wide range of nutritional supplements that can be fed to your pet – glucosamine, chondroitin sulphate, shark cartilage, Sasha’s blend etc.

There is special food with these products in them – both Royal Canin and Hills produce this food and our receptionist can explain to you the different foods, as well as help, create your pets special diet.

BUT the biggest aids to arthritis are the use of 2 medications;

1. CARTROPHEN. This is a form of medication that only a vet can give – it involves an injection of the medication under the skin of the dog or cat once a week for 4 weeks. Then it is recommended that your pet gets one injection every 3 months. There is no doubt in my mind of the excellent results that Cartrophen achieves and is certainly the treatment I would recommend for most arthritic animals.
2. 4 Cyte. This is an oral product that is fed to either your dog or cat every day. It contains a number of therapeutic medications to treat and prevent arthritis. I personally have been trialling this on one of my own animals and the result is great. The major problem with this product is that it can be difficult to mix with dry food and be sure the animal eats the medicine. I personally mix it with some mince (small amount) and feed that to my dog. Once she has eaten the mince with the 4 Cyte then I give her the main meal.

4 Cyte is guaranteed by the manufacturer to work and if you do not see a good result within 4 – 6 weeks of the commencement of the medication then the company will refund your money.

It should be noted that nearly all dogs and cats over the age of 10 years have arthritis, 80% of dogs and cats over the age of 8 years have arthritis and 40% of all dogs and cats over the age of 4 years have arthritis.

But it should also be noted that only 2% of animals with arthritis will make a noise when they are in pain and owners should start using their eyes to assess their animals rather than use their ears and wait to hear an animal cry in pain.

Even if you think your dog or cat has arthritis – these drug are very safe and so effective that I would recommend every owner consider using one of these products NOW before the weather gets colder and the animal suffer.

If you want more information on either of these 2 products then please contact us on 41531399 or 41591009 and we will send you some information