Cat Tree + Cat Stairs For Senior Cats With Arthritis?

[mayadot]

Hi there,

My two cat friends are getting older (now 14.5 years old), and one of them (Christopher Robin, AKA Nub) has developed arthritis in his lower back, making it harder for him to jump on things. I'm looking for a few items to make his life easier:

1. A cat tree with small jumps in between the levels.
We currently have a big 72" tree similar to this one and the cats love how tall it is, but the height difference between tiers is around 14" and Nub is starting to have a hard time making that jump (I've never seen either cat use the ladders so I don't think that works for them). I got him a ramp to get up to the 2nd tier but he has a hard time getting up further than that. I'm hoping for a tree that has around 6-7" intervals between tiers so he can get up higher. He could maybe do up to 9-10" but not more than that. This one is the best I've found so far but it's only 32" high so it won't give the cats much overall height. I know that I could install shelves, but we're renting so I don't think that's an option for us.

Has anyone had good experiences with a taller tree that's easy for an arthritic cat to climb?

2. Cat stairs
I've also been looking for cat stairs with short stairs for easy use. We have one of these sets and one of these ramps, but the stairs are around 7" apart and on an incline, and the ramp is also at a pretty steep grade, and it's starting to seem a little difficult for Nub to use them as frequently as he needs to (to get up to the bed or sofa). I've constructed him some makeshift stairs out of stacks of books (where there are more stairs and each stair is around 2-3" tall) and those seem much easier for him, but it's a pretty ugly and clunky solution (I have to adjust them often to make sure they don't move around).

Has anyone seen good pet stairs with shorter stairs?

Thanks so much for any and all advice!

 

[GoldyCat]

I found this on Amazon. Does it look like something you could use?

 

[FeebysOwner]

In addition to better steps and an easier cat tree to navigate, have you considered giving Nub something like Glyco Flex or Glyco Flex Plus - or a plethora of other related type treatments? My cat, 14+, has arthritis and I have been giving her Glyco Flex Plus for about 3 weeks. She has now started to jump up on elevated areas that she had 'abandoned' for a while. Of course, I still provide her with ways to avoid jumping any more than 12" at a time.

 

[mayadot]

I found this on Amazon. Does it look like something you could use?

Thanks for this! It certainly looks better that what we have. I was hoping for even smaller stairs (these are around 5" and I was hoping for no more than 3") but I will definitely keep it in mind as an option, thank you!

 

[mayadot]

In addition to better steps and an easier cat tree to navigate, have you considered giving Nub something like Glyco Flex or Glyco Flex Plus - or a plethora of other related type treatments? My cat, 14+, has arthritis and I have been giving her Glyco Flex Plus for about 3 weeks. She has now started to jump up on elevated areas that she had 'abandoned' for a while. Of course, I still provide her with ways to avoid jumping any more than 12" at a time.

Thank you for this recommendation, it's great to hear that the Glyco Flex works. Obviously this is a question for my vet, but do you happen know anything about whether Glyco Flex is appropriate for cats with kidney issues? Nub's most recent vet visit indicated that his kidney values are slowly but steadily trending upwards, nothing urgent for now the vet said, but something to be mindful of. He was getting Adequan injections up until recently which helped his arthritis a lot, but now I'm a little reluctant to continue those as I read that it could affect the kidneys. No worries if you don't know, just thought I'd ask if you have had any experience with this. Thanks again!

 

[FeebysOwner]

My cat has had an issue with bladder stones, and I did not find any information saying that Glyco Flex Plus would be an issue - although she is on foods for urinary care and has been since her bladder surgery 8 years ago.

However - Here are the ingredients in Glyco Flex Plus: Perna, glucosamine, MSM, chondroitin, DMG Vitamin C, and antioxidants. You could check with your vet to see if any of the ingredients are not conducive for use with kidney disease. There are other forms of Glyco Flex that contain some but not all of the ingredients listed above.

 

[artesian79]

Our senior loves these stairs for getting up to the bed:

 

[artesian79]

Neither our senior, nor our younger cats use this tree when we thought it would be great. The problem is that the levels aren't offset enough and are too steep. Our senior is especially large - long and tall.

 

[artesian79]

This is the cat tree our senior uses. I can't find a link right now.

 

[sabrinah]

The floor to ceiling cat tree I have has angled ladders sort of similar to what you linked. My cat refuses to use them and instead prefers to pull herself up in a seriously awkward manner. Have you considered a homemade ramp? A board wrapped in carpet would do the trick, and you can make the incline as gradual as he needs.