Greetings,
Welcome to this month's issue of The Pet Arthritis Chronicle. Please pass this along to your friends!

Table of Contents:

1. Featured Articles from The Pet Arthritis Resource Center
2. Is It Really Arthritis?
3. Pet Arthritis Message Boards

Featured Pet Arthritis Content

Understanding Arthritis in Cats Most cats are naturally extremely agile and athletic animals, but inevitably their joints, ligaments and bones are vulnerable to accidental damage, and to the wear and tear of everyday life. Using Glucosamine to Ease Arthritis Pain in Pets One of the most effective formulas for arthritis and hip dysplasia in cats is a compound called glucosamine. Glucosamine is an amino sugar produced from the shells of chitin (shellfish) and is a key component of cartilage. Feline Hip Dysplasia Hip Dysplasia is a debilitating disease among cats. What is hip dysplasia? What are the signs and what can be done to ease the pain?

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Is It Really Arthritis?

When a pet that has been behaving normally has a sudden onset of "limping," does it mean that arthritis has set in? To answer that question, you have to consider just how suddenly it appeared.

"Limping" that Just Appears Out of Nowhere
There are a number of possibilities when your pet just begins to limp. It can be a result of a traumatic injury; an infection or a nutritional disease. In most cases, having a vet perform an orthopedic examination and x-rays will spot the problem. Of course, if there is something serious going on, early diagnosis and a treatment plan is important.

Sometimes it is a Tough Judgment Call
One area that is difficult to diagnose is soft tissue injuries. Normally, these injuries are caused by trauma. An example of a soft tissue injury could be a tear in the collateral or cruciate ligaments of the knee joints. The tough part here is trying to make a diagnosis.

Playful Pets versus Those that are Not
If you have a pet that is active enough to get into rigorous exercising, there is always the possibility that these "soft tissue" injuries are going to occur. These are the pets that go out and run, twist and turn, chase and stop suddenly and the like. As a very general rule, if your pet is very active and suddenly has lameness, this is usually the culprit.

What is the normal cause of the problem? It can be as simple as a little bruising that has occurred during play. Or, it could be a small tearing in the muscles. (Of course, we should always remember to take a look for objects that may have become imbedded in a paw. You would be amazed at how often this simple home diagnosis is overlooked.)

Diagnosis and Healing
These soft tissue injuries can be challenging to find. (They don't show up on radiographs with rare exceptions.) Namely, when a pet has a chronic ligament problem there may be signs of secondary osteoarthritis. As your vet will tell you, this is actually pretty easy to diagnose. Normally, they give your pet some anesthesia and when the joint is manipulated it will demonstrate some "looseness."

As a general rule, if your pet experiences a soft tissue injury, it is going to heal with a little rest. Although the injury may take a little time, generally the healing is fairly rapid. Depending on the severity of the injury, it may take a few days or it may take a week or two. Again, this is an issue of the extent of the injury.

Is surgery ever required for these kinds of injuries? In very rare cases the answer is "yes." Fortunately, that is not very often.

Glucosamine Therapy
The good news is that glucosamine (and particularly a liquid form) can help a great deal, even with soft tissue injuries. The better formulas have all-natural anti-inflammatory ingredients in them and this will help keep your pet comfortable as the healing progresses.

See you next time.

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Pet Arthritis Message Boards

Dogs

• Canine Hip Dysplasia
• Arthritis in Dogs
• Glucosamine for Dogs

Cats

• Feline Hip Dysplasia
• Glucosamine for Cats
• Arthritis in Cats

Other Animals

• Arthritis in Other Animals

Here's a few sample posts from the Forum...

Donna
Posted on 12 May 2004

I have a 6 year old Greater Swiss Mountain Dog at approx 115 lbs. On Mother's Day he was walking a bit wobbly in the am. By noon he was falling down. I took him to a critical care vet open 24/7. They indicated they thought it could be a swollen disk or blood clot. They gave prednisone and pain med in the form of shots and sent prednisone home with me. The next morning he could not move at all. His front paws are bent down and he occasionally tried to drag his rear. He had tears and yelped if we tried to move him. I took him to his regular vet and had x-rays and blood work done. The blood work was fine but they said he had a spinal problem. Arthritis, bone spurs and the spine of a 15 year old dog was how they explained the x-ray. He is still with them and they are treating him aggressively with prednisone and pain meds. They suggest going to a vet to check on spinal surgery. I am leaving him with them till Friday to see if he gets any better. Any suggestions?

The SYN-FLEX made a huge difference for my dogs and it is very safe and has no side effects. I talked to my vet about it and he agreed. He said he was amazed at how good my dogs were doing because they were pretty bad and getting older.

Post your own message on The Pet Arthritis Message Board now!

This concludes the May Issue of The Pet Arthritis Chronicle. Look for the next issue in your inbox on June 15th, 2004!

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Have a great May from The Pet Arthritis Resource Center and The Pet Arthritis Chronicle. See you next month!