StemCell Therapy

Experts offer advice on identifying and managing feline OA and discuss the latest treatments for this painful condition

As veterinary medicine improves and cats live longer, they experience more complications associated with old age, including osteoarthritis (OA), a progressive degenerative joint disease. The median age of cats with OA is 10.2 years,1 and approximately 90% of those over 12 have been found to have OA.2

In an interview with dvm360, Elizabeth Colleran, DVM, DABVP, medical director at Chico Hospital for Cats in Chico, California, offered veterinarians and clients tips for detecting and managing the disease in cats.

According to Colleran, identifying osteoarthritis can be more difficult in cats than in dogs. Cats are secretive, she says, because hiding their emotions is to their advantage. As solitary hunters, they dont have [a] great repertoire of emotional signs on their face...but they do show what they think and how they feel.

One should look for a cat whose lifestyle [has] changed, she explained; for instance, a cat that used to sleep with the owner... [but] isnt sleeping with the owner anymore, that used to climb up to a high point on a cat tree...[but] doesnt do that anymore, or even a cat that is sleeping more than usual.

At the April 2022 Fetch dvm360 conference, Colleran mentioned other signs of OA: avoidance of other household members, increased grumpiness, decreased grooming, restlessness, changes in elimination behavior, clumsiness, and reluctance to jump.3

Pet parents can also use the Feline Musculoskeletal Pain Index, a validated pain score, to check their pets more closely. The Index asks questions about specific indicators of OA that reveal the intensity of a cats pain.

A visual assessment of the cats gait is important, but the environment mustbe carefully controlled. According to Colleran, a quiet, low-stress atmosphere is essential, and the cat should be given time to acclimate to the room. The veterinarian should then gently palpate the joints, even though cats not experiencing joint pain will also be averse to this.

Because OA is complex and usually affects various joints, it can be challenging to stage. Staging is best accomplished by examining the overall impact on the cat. Based on activity and mobility, OA stages are as follows.

When it comes to addressing the disease, its important to tell clients that it cant be treated, only managed to improve mobility and quality of life. A multimodal approach is the most beneficial, Colleran pointed out, because it combines traditional medication, adjunctive therapies, and environmental modification.

On the pharmacological side, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs can be used. There are also some really helpful adjunctive therapies, like laser therapy [and] acupuncture, she said. Assisi Loop is a favorite of mine because the cats dont mind it at all, she added, and then there are...supplements like omega-3 fatty acids.

Environmental modification includes making the cats space more comfortable so that it can get around more easily and providing it with a warm bed to soothe its joints.

Environmental modification means that were changing the environment to accommodate...something thats going on with the cat. For example...a lot of my clients will build stairs or ramps for the cats to get up to really high places where they like to sit and watch the world go by or watch the birds outside.

At the 2022 convention of the American Veterinary Medical Association,4 Alonso Guedes, DVM, PhD, an associate professor of anesthesia at the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine, talked about the newest kid[s] on the block: anti-nerve growth factor monoclonal antibodies.

Guedes explained that nerve growth factor (NGF) is synthesized and active on many types of cells: various cells secreteand are affected byit. NGF signaling is upregulated during the chronic inflammation associated with OA, which results in central and peripheral sensitization and hyperalgesia. In patients with OA, the secretion of NGF increases, sensitizing the periphery and central terminal of the neurons in the spinal cord.

The NGF also will activate immune cells, and these...cells will then secrete their mediators, [which]...will then amplify inflammation...so it seems like a good idea...[to use] a nerve growth factor neutralizing antibody to block NGF's many effects, and then the nervous system is able to return to its normal [state]. It is [a] pretty nice concept, Guedes added.

References

Read more here:
Helping osteoarthritic cats live their best lives - DVM 360

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