June 1, 2026, 4:07 am | Read time: 5 minutes
Cats are considered elegant movers, which makes it all the more noticeable when they suddenly stop jumping, avoid stairs, or move stiffly. These changes may indicate arthritis. This joint disease causes chronic pain and often goes undetected in many animals for a long time. Older cats are particularly affected, but younger ones are increasingly showing early signs of damage.
How Arthritis Manifests in Cats
Cats often suffer in silence. It is still deeply ingrained in them not to show pain, as a weak animal quickly becomes prey in the animal kingdom. Therefore, it is often difficult to notice symptoms in cats. Often, it is small behavioral changes that attentive owners may notice. These include, among others:
- The cat sleeps more, plays and hunts significantly less than before, and hardly uses its scratching post
- Weight gain due to less movement
- Weight loss because the cat visits the food bowl less often due to pain
- The cat’s movements appear less fluid when walking and jumping, instead appearing stiff
- Clumsy coordination due to limited mobility, making the cat seem awkward
- The cat has difficulty jumping down from elevated areas and climbing stairs
- The cat increasingly avoids higher places due to pain
- Problems with grooming, as the cat can no longer reach all areas, leading to reduced grooming and dull, scruffy fur
- Discomfort when being petted, such as twitching or hissing
- Outdoor cats go outside less, preferring to stay indoors1
Some cats also become unclean and defecate next to the litter box because they can no longer enter it without pain.
Recognizing Symptoms and Assessing Pain
Often, the symptoms are nonspecific and are classified as typical age-related problems, making the diagnosis of arthritis in cats difficult. To assess whether a cat is in pain, its facial expressions can be closely observed.
However, this is often difficult for laypeople, as a cat’s facial expressions are not easy to decipher. There are scales that can be used for assessment. You can read about what these look like here: How to Recognize That a Cat Is in Pain
If in doubt, visiting a veterinarian can help. They can determine whether it is arthritis through various examination methods, such as imaging techniques like X-rays or ultrasound.
Factors That Can Promote Arthritis
In addition to age-related conditions, there are factors that can lead to arthritis in cats. These include genetic predispositions, joint deformities, trauma caused by injuries such as ligament tears, and joint inflammation caused by infections.
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Treatment Options for Arthritis
Arthritis is generally not curable, as the changes in the joint cannot be reversed. Treatment therefore focuses on reducing pain, restoring joint mobility, and stabilizing the arthritis, meaning slowing its progression as much as possible. The earlier the disease is detected and treatment begins, the more positively the course can be influenced and its progression slowed. A treatment plan often includes:
Pain Management
An important part of therapy is pain management. Painkillers and anti-inflammatory medications are prescribed to quickly alleviate acute symptoms. Of course, long-term use of these medications can cause side effects. Therefore, regular check-ups by the veterinarian are important.
Therapy often begins with a lower dose, which can also be administered over a longer period. Painkillers can be given to the cat in liquid or tablet form. Some medications are also administered as injections or joint injections to specifically relieve pain and improve mobility. The costs usually range between 70 and 140 euros per injection, depending on the preparation and treatment.
Physical Therapy
In addition to pain management, physical therapy can help the cat maintain joint mobility. With special exercises, the joints are gently and controlledly moved, and the muscles around the joints are strengthened.
Excess weight can further burden the joints and lead to pain and limitations. Therefore, one should keep a close eye on the cat’s weight and, if necessary, feed special diet food that also supports the cat’s natural body functions.
Surgical Measures
Surgical measures may be necessary at a particularly high severity of the disease. In this case, either artificial joints can be implanted, or artificial stiffening can be performed.2
How Can I Support My Cat with Arthritis?
If a cat suffers from arthritis, an adapted home can significantly ease its daily life. The goal is to make movements as joint-friendly as possible and reduce pain in everyday life. Even small changes can help improve the cat’s quality of life in the long term.
Particularly important are easily accessible resting places, safe walkways, and aids for climbing or jumping. The litter box and play opportunities should also be adapted to the limited mobility. Additionally, the cat’s weight plays an important role, as excess weight further burdens the joints.
Mini-Checklist: Making the Home Arthritis-Friendly
- Create warm and easily accessible sleeping areas
- Use ramps or small climbing aids
- Equip scratching posts with low levels
- Use a litter box with a low entry
- Secure slippery floors with rugs
- Offer quiet intelligence and food games
- Pay attention to the cat’s healthy weight
With an arthritis-friendly home, the daily life of many cats can be made noticeably more pleasant. Often, small adjustments are enough to relieve pain and support mobility.3
My Experience with Arthritis in Cats
“My cat Kimmie suffered from arthritis since we got her at 14 weeks old. Initially, we thought she was just shy or lazy. Unlike her sister, she moved much less. The diagnosis was a chance finding. X-rays were taken due to an intestinal obstruction, and they clearly showed arthritis in the rear region of the spine. The veterinarian suspected an injury from a blow or kick as the cause (Kimmie was rescued from a riding stable when the operator threatened to kill the kittens).
Since then, Kimmie regularly received pain medication and osteopathy treatments. The latter, in particular, brought significant improvement. However, the symptoms were also highly weather-dependent. Kimmie moved much less and was in noticeable pain during rainy weather. On warm, sunny days, we could forgo the pain drops.”