Best height to avoid joint problems?

[terestrife]

My cat elsa recently hurt herself jumping off her tree. I think i may have stressed her joints by making her eating area too high. I added furniture risers so the robot vacuum would clean under the bench she eats from.

We live in a small space so i have elavated spaces for him. My cat Kitty spends all day going to her eating area just to check if there's food or snacks. Which is good cause she's chunky. Lol I'm worried because my older cat is 12 years old so i don't want her hurting herself jumping. I don't want them hurt and more selfishly its expensive to go to the vet. Lolol

I tried giving the older cat a step to see if she'll use it and she ignored it and jumped up and down.
See her here:
Kitty

should i keep giving them steps to get to high places? Should i be worrying about this?

I felt so bad seeing Elsa screaming in pain cause she hurt herself jumping around.

 

[FeebysOwner]

I'll start off with this - either give Elsa additional steps to enable her to gradually step up to get to that place where her food is or forget your robot vacuum convenience and put her food back on the ground. The height that she needs to jump from the stepstool, not to mention the placement, is just too much to get to the counter where her food is at, and that is why she isn't bothering with the step. It isn't really any better for getting down either. For her, the latter option is really the best option. She probably needs to be put on some joint supplements as well. You can try Cosequin or Dasuquin, which are the most common ones, but there are others on the market as well.

As far as your chonky cat, jumping up to that counter is nowhere near the amount of exercise to make a big difference. You'd be better off playing with this cat often to help with burning calories.

There is so much more to offer about what to do with your heavier cat, and that can be addressed here over time. But for now, take care of Elsa by letting her eat ground level and giving her a joint supplement. She is much more important than any robot vacuum.

 

[terestrife]

I'll start off with this - either give Elsa additional steps to enable her to gradually step up to get to that place where her food is or forget your robot vacuum convenience and put her food back on the ground. The height that she needs to jump from the stepstool, not to mention the placement, is just too much to get to the counter where her food is at, and that is why she isn't bothering with the step. It isn't really any better for getting down either. For her, the latter option is really the best option. She probably needs to be put on some joint supplements as well. You can try Cosequin or Dasuquin, which are the most common ones, but there are others on the market as well.

As far as your chonky cat, jumping up to that counter is nowhere near the amount of exercise to make a big difference. You'd be better off playing with this cat often to help with burning calories.

There is so much more to offer about what to do with your heavier cat, and that can be addressed here over time. But for now, take care of Elsa by letting her eat ground level and giving her a joint supplement. She is much more important than any robot vacuum.

I already lowered her bench. She's still eating on the floor while she heals. I won't let her go back up to her normal eating area until i figure things out.

I will look into the supplements you mentioned, thank you!

Also my chunky cat does get exercised daily and I've been fixing her food. She's lost 2 lbs so far. She's alot more energetic and happy. Making her eating area higher has definitely helped. She spends all day going up and down to look at her bowl lol

Here is Elsa with all her stuff on the ground while she's healing. Shes sleeping on a warm pad.

The reason i use the vacuum is because of my allergies. As much as i clean the cats shed and spread litter so the machine helps. I'm trying to make our small space work for all of us.

 

[heatherwillard0614]

Do you happen to know if Elsa is arthritic?

If you look at the placement of the step stool it is a jump straight up then straight down.. cats don't naturally jump straight down when getting down or up for that matter. If you were to want steps they would have to go all the way up to be effective.

Are they free fed? Also what does their diet consist of dry or wet food?

 

[terestrife]

Do you happen to know if Elsa is arthritic?

If you look at the placement of the step stool it is a jump straight up then straight down.. cats don't naturally jump straight down when getting down or up for that matter. If you were to want steps they would have to go all the way up to be effective.

Are they free fed? Also what does their diet consist of dry or wet food?

Ok I'll research what kind of steps to use. Thank you!

I'm not sure if Elsa is arthritic the vet didn't mention that from the xray results. How would i know?

No they aren't free fed. They eat home cooked wet food and their snack is just freeze dried chicken/ fish. But kitty still likes to go check to see if her feeder has opened. Lol i use a feeder with 5 slots and divided her meals into 4 portions per day with lots of water mixed in.

 

[heatherwillard0614]

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That's great your chunky kitty has lost 2 lbs what is her weight now?

Also how do you deliver their snacks? Could you get a toy something like these
Amazon.com

Amazon.com

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CBMRFD1D/?tag=thecatsite

 

[terestrife]

http://[URL]https://www.veterinarians.org/arthritis-in-cats/

[/URL]

That's great your chunky kitty has lost 2 lbs what is her weight now?

Also how do you deliver their snacks? Could you get a toy something like these
Amazon.com

Amazon.com

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CBMRFD1D/?tag=thecatsite

She's 13 lbs the vet wants her to lose more weight. But he did mention that she's very muscular, which he said was a good thing.

I put their snacks in a machine that i can control the portions. Otherwise kitty will eat everyone's snacks. Lol I've used toys in the past tho.

 

[heatherwillard0614]

If she has some toys like in my last post it would make her work for her snacks.. are you also adjusting her actual food portioning to match her caloric needs in a day with her treats? This will also help her lose weight.
Say her caloric intake should be 150 and you are giving all of that in her food then on top of that she has all of her snacks which is another say 30 calories that is more than she needs in a day. You would adjust it so her food would be 120 in a day then her 30 cal in snacks. This would add up to her caloric needs in a day. I just threw out a number to use as an example.

So if you adjust her food and put her snacks in some toys that she has to work for she should lose some weight

 

[terestrife]

If she has some toys like in my last post it would make her work for her snacks.. are you also adjusting her actual food portioning to match her caloric needs in a day with her treats? This will also help her lose weight.
Say her caloric intake should be 150 and you are giving all of that in her food then on top of that she has all of her snacks which is another say 30 calories that is more than she needs in a day. You would adjust it so her food would be 120 in a day then her 30 cal in snacks. This would add up to her caloric needs in a day. I just threw out a number to use as an example.

So if you adjust her food and put her snacks in some toys that she has to work for she should lose some weight

Yes I've tried that. She even eats less than elsa. And yet elsa is 9 lbs. Lol

Update: i found some pet stairs to test out for their cat tree. I noticed it hurt elsa to get up to the tree. I just need stairs for their food areas.

Kitty

i tested out the stairs with kitty cause i don't want to touch elsa too much while she's healing.