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My 8 yr.old cat Candy is overweight but healthy and her 2 back legs are knock kneed and has difficulty walking. She doesnot seem to make any complaints that it hurts but to me it looks like she is in pain.
When Little Bit (3 month old kitten) plays with Candy and nips at her hind legs she really hates that and I have to separate them as it looks to me that it hurts.
Does this sound like arthritis and can it be treated relatively inexpensively as money now is somewhat short these days.
I'm going to go out on a limb (I'm not a vet) and say that it is more than likely her weight causing this than arthritis. 8 seems awfully young for arthritis.
I'm going to go out on a limb (I'm not a vet) and say that it is more than likely her weight causing this than arthritis. 8 seems awfully young for arthritis.
You're probably right . She weighs 25 lbs. and has been that way since we got her 3 yrs. ago. We have cut back on her food intake but she does very little walking let alone running for exercise.
We will save up money for vet visit anyway and see what can be done to help her out any way possible.
Wow! 25 lbs for a domestic cat is considered obese. Maine Coons and Ragdolls are the largest domestic cats and they rarely reach those limits. It is no wonder her back legs are bothering her.You really need to consider getting that weight off of her, or you could be in for some serious vet bills
One of my guys is knock-kneed (or "knock-ankled" as it were) and there's no pain involved at all. Pretty much, the extent of it is that he has no hair on his ankles because they rub together when he walks (and has been that way since he was a kitten). From what you have said, it seems like there are joint issues going on, which you should see a vet about. Until the time that you can do that, I would suggest finding some sort of exercise for her. My *other* guy, who is about 13 now, is suffering from joint issues, but still LOVES the piece of fleece which is attached to a plastic rod. It gets him moving about, and is little work for me. *s* It was about 5 bucks, from Petco, I believe.
Wow! 25 lbs for a domestic cat is considered obese. Maine Coons and Ragdolls are the largest domestic cats and they rarely reach those limits. It is no wonder her back legs are bothering her.You really need to consider getting that weight off of her, or you could be in for some serious vet bills
What are you feeding her?
One yr. ago Candy weighed 25 lbs. and it seemed she was losing weight but we never checked. This morning we weighed her and she is down to 16 lbs. thank goodness and hopefully it is because we have been feeding her 1 cup of Purina Indoor cat food. She drinks plenty of water and we don't feed her treats anymore which used to be all the time.
Our old house had 18 steps in it but house now has none except to go outside but only goes out once a day since she is an indoor cat and we have to watch her.
When we got her 3 yrs. ago from Humane Society we have treated her like a Queen but she weighed 25 lbs. already and I guess until we changed her eating habits we did not realize we were giving her health problems too.
Thanks for replies and we well get her to Vet office soon to get a complete checkup.
Our big guy who used to weigh 25 pounds is now about 18. He is so knock kneed in back it is funny but he can move when he wants to. Due to the weight loss he is like a little cat in a huge glossy fur coat that drags down around his knees. Vet says he is fine but it is so funny. He needs a tummy tuck.
I don't mean to critisize but that dry food you're feeding your kitting is very poor quality. It is primarily filler. You would be doing your baby a favor to upgrade to a good quality canned food or at the very least a dry food with a much higher protein percentage.
I don't mean to critisize but that dry food you're feeding your kitting is very poor quality. It is primarily filler. You would be doing your baby a favor to upgrade to a good quality canned food or at the very least a dry food with a much higher protein percentage.
I agree, Purina is not a good quality food, and if you look at the 1st 5 ingredients, you will see that right away...corn, wheat, soy and by-products are not what cats or dogs need, and many are allergic to them. The only grains a cat would ingest in the wild would be inside the tummies of the prey they capture. Some good brands to consider are Pinnacle, Canidae, Evo & Merrick (we do Pinnacle at our house & everyone's in great shape...) Vets suggest brands like Purina & Science Diet for various reasons, none of which are noble...(IMO it's like doctors doling out pills to put a band-aid on a situation rather than HEALING the issue, it keeps the chemical/pharmaceutical companies who fund the hospitals with full pockets, and keeps the patient coming back to spend money again and again...!)
If you do the switch to a high-protein, low-or-no grain food and monitor the amount she's getting, I think you'll see a difference...as far as treats go, it's good to give them raw treats if you have a safe place to get the meat at, but the "pounce" and all that stuff is really just junk food for them, so it's good you stopped that. There's a treat called "Wildside Salmon", it's actually freeze-dried salmon chunks, it's healthy, not fattening & they really love it if you want to give it a try...good luck!!!
I agree! Let me add, my feeding a higher quality food, while it is more expensive, he will not be eating quite as much. It is a win-win situation!
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