ARTHRITIS IN PETS - A REAL OPPORTUNITY TO HELP
by Sal Gangemi

I have read several articles on the internet that said that about 25% of family pets suffer from osteoarthritis.  I suppose the situation is very similar to arthritis in humans.  With pets, the effect seems to be that the formerly playful pet becomes listless and finds it painful to move around too much.

But it seems to me there are two main differences between pets and humans.  The first is that with humans the onset can be very slow where it is caused by trauma due to sporting activity for example.  With pets, which by their nature are very active, it can develop almost immediately after a traumatic injury.

The second main difference is that pets can't talk about their pain.  I think that pet owners know their pets very well however, and they know when there is a need to help them.

If you take your pet to a vet they will diagnose the kind of arthritis and then from my experience they will prescribe pain killers.  But I think that there are now 2 major things that owners can do to help their pet.

The first is glucosamine.  Evidence seems to suggest that this often helps and of course it doesn't have the dangerous side-effects of pain killers.

The second thing is Puppy Stairs. Jumping up and down onto furniture is not only painful but also harmful.

Both of these items - glucosamine and Puppy Stairs - give us pet owners a real opportunity to help our pets in many cases of arthritis.

What do you think?  Post your reply here

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