Arthritic Cat, Looking For Ramp/stair, Heat Pad, And General Recommendations?

mayadot

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My 13 year old boy cat Christopher Robin (aka Nub) was diagnosed with arthritis in his middle/lower spine maybe 4 years ago in an unrelated x-ray. I hadn't noticed any real symptoms until this year, but now he sometimes has difficulty getting onto the bed, is sometimes stiff, and seems to be in occasional pain (wincing when i try to gently massage parts of his back). It seems like he has good days and bad days, but I'd like to do whatever I can to ease his discomfort.

I set up a little temporary step situation with a plastic bin next to the bed, but I'd like to get him a ramp or at least better set of stairs. My bed is maybe 15 or 16 inches high (there is no frame) and I'm struggling to find good options (they all seem either too high, have stairs that are too tall, are made of materials that have no traction or are too soft so they don't give them good leverage, or are too large in the case of the ramps). Has anyone had good luck with relatively small ramps or stairs? (He is a medium/large cat and about 13 lbs.)

I'd also love recommendations on heat pads (he sleeps in the bed with me so not a separate bed) and anything else that may have worked to ease pain (I've read about glucosamine, fish oil, etc. and the vet suggested gabapentin, but it's hard to know what is best). We have another appointment this week but would still love to hear feedback on what has worked for folks. Thank you!
 
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Pjg8r

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There are scratchers that are inclined. Could you perhaps use two of those at right angles to each other as a ramp? I don’t know what the weather is like where you live but I once purchased a single bed size electric blanket for the side of the bed I don’t use to encourage the cats to sleep away from me.
 

fornana

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Hi Mayadot!

Looking forward to the replies in this thread. This is something I've also wondered about. My cats are still relatively young, but this is important information to know.

I have bought this heating pad:
https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petco...at-beds/petstages-kitty-cuddle-pal-heated-mat

It's small (I mean very small). But cheap and it does provide some heat which is nice during the cold winter months. I know for arthritis typically hot and cold therapy is recommended. Specifically a person would use heat therapy to warm up joints before exercise and then cold therapy after exercise to help with inflammation. I don't know if that's a thing for cats. I've never heard of cold therapy for cats. Heat though sounds suitable. Be careful with heating pads. Some heating pads are dangerous; full of chemicals, or don't have automatic turn off buttons (you can't get seriously burned). Try to buy a pad specifically for pets imo.

There's this heating bed on petco:
https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petco...ermo-kitty-fashion-splash-blue-heated-cat-bed

The description though is very vague.

From my human knowledge about arthritis, it's important the cat is a healthy weight; less stress on the joints. Acupuncture is also good for pain and inflammation of joints. I've heard of acupuncture for cats, but I'm not sure how much that costs...
Exercise is important as-well and can actually help with the pain. But be gentle...Massage is also great as it promotes blood flow.

Medications I'm personally not familiar with for cats. That's something you should talk to the vet about more....I honestly worry about the side effects, because cats can't speak. It's hard to clinically know if they are having side effects since they are good at masking discomfort.

However, I DO think it's important to make sure they're comfortable. What's the plan of care for your cat? Is it to extend his life? Or is it more to keep him comfortable?
 
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mayadot

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There are scratchers that are inclined. Could you perhaps use two of those at right angles to each other as a ramp? I don’t know what the weather is like where you live but I once purchased a single bed size electric blanket for the side of the bed I don’t use to encourage the cats to sleep away from me.
Thanks for the suggestion! I am guessing that inclined scratchers are too short (at least based on the Alpine Scratcher i've used), but I will look into it. I feel a little more comfortable using a pet-specific heated pad/blanket because I'm afraid I won't know what temperature to set the electric blanket to, etc., but if you have a specific brand recommendation for a blanket, that would be useful! Thanks again!
 
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mayadot

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Hi Mayadot!

Looking forward to the replies in this thread. This is something I've also wondered about. My cats are still relatively young, but this is important information to know.

I have bought this heating pad:
https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petco...at-beds/petstages-kitty-cuddle-pal-heated-mat

It's small (I mean very small). But cheap and it does provide some heat which is nice during the cold winter months. I know for arthritis typically hot and cold therapy is recommended. Specifically a person would use heat therapy to warm up joints before exercise and then cold therapy after exercise to help with inflammation. I don't know if that's a thing for cats. I've never heard of cold therapy for cats. Heat though sounds suitable. Be careful with heating pads. Some heating pads are dangerous; full of chemicals, or don't have automatic turn off buttons (you can't get seriously burned). Try to buy a pad specifically for pets imo.

There's this heating bed on petco:
https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petco...ermo-kitty-fashion-splash-blue-heated-cat-bed

The description though is very vague.

From my human knowledge about arthritis, it's important the cat is a healthy weight; less stress on the joints. Acupuncture is also good for pain and inflammation of joints. I've heard of acupuncture for cats, but I'm not sure how much that costs...
Exercise is important as-well and can actually help with the pain. But be gentle...Massage is also great as it promotes blood flow.

Medications I'm personally not familiar with for cats. That's something you should talk to the vet about more....I honestly worry about the side effects, because cats can't speak. It's hard to clinically know if they are having side effects since they are good at masking discomfort.

However, I DO think it's important to make sure they're comfortable. What's the plan of care for your cat? Is it to extend his life? Or is it more to keep him comfortable?
Thanks, fornana! I have that little cat shaped heating pad as well but he doesn't really use it. Sometimes I try to hold it gently on his back with mixed results, but he usually sleeps on a blanket so I figured if I get a larger heated pad/blanket he'd be more likely to use it. Thanks for your other suggestions as well, I will definitely consider that heated bed.

I tried to help him lose a little weight but the vet said that he was losing it from his muscle rather than from fat so that I should just try to keep his weight stable. I try to gently massage him sometimes but if I touch the muscles around that part of the spine it seems like it's painful for him and he either winces or sometimes makes small sad meows. I know with massage for humans it can hurt a little but in a kind of pleasant way and maybe cats don't have the same realization that massage pain will help in the long run, but I don't want to hurt him so I've been afraid to massage very much.

If anyone has any massage tips, that would also be useful!
 

verna davies

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Amazon sell heated blankets..40x30cms suitable for cats and dogs.
Have you tried making a ramp. A piece of wood the width and length needed, shorter legs in front (thick blocks of wood) and longer at back. I used a rubber car floor mat nailed onto the ramp to give grip.
 

fornana

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Oh your welcome!
I always love to help if I can :geekcat:.....Upon searching for massage tips I discovered lots of videos on youtube about massaging cats. It's actually a bit overwhelming!
This lady says she's a vet, and gave some good tips:

I would just be very gentle. Maybe you can do the massages in the morning after he has some heat therapy that way you are working on warmed up muscles.

I would stick with getting a heating pad specifically for cats. That petco link I gave you was more of an example of one. I found this one on Amazon that's more affordable and has more/positive reviews.
It says it "will warm to about 102°F, which is the natural body temperature of dogs and cats." and that you can wash the cover "Remove the cover and wash it on the gentle cycle".
It's electric so there's no chemicals involved or running to the microwave. It's relatively low wattage too. Maybe you can look into it and see if it's right for you.

I forgot to mention....I think you should totally invest in more accessible furniture for him to climb up on. Jumping high puts stress on the lower back, and would likely continue to worsen his pain. On etsy I found a ton sellers who make little steps for pets. Some sellers mention they make custom steps.
Cat steps | Etsy
 

artiemom

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So sorry to hear about your 'love' and arthritis issues... yes, it is sad to see.
My guy is almost 14 years old. He does limp a bit.. Our Internal Medicine specialist said that it is not bad, enough, to give him arithiris meds. He is on a lot of meds for various things.. so we do not want to addd to the mix.

The IM Vet swears by Adequan Injections. It is pricey, and has to be done twice a week for a few weeks, then weekly, then mostly. He feels that is the best med aroiund.

I did buy a set of stair from Chewy.com. They were on sale
IMG_0923.JPG


I also put together an improvised set of stairs from boxes"
IMG_0921.JPG


Since taking this photo, I have covered them in "Puppy Pads".. they are soft and disposable.. Artie is always using the improvised stairs.
The purchased stairs, are up against a chair, which he constantly uses...

Wishing you the best..
Hope this helped a bit..
 
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