Dr Liesel van der Merwe is a small animal medicine specialist. Send her your questions: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Dr Liesel van der Merwe

I just learned to never underestimate the negative impact sore joints can have on your pet’s quality of life. I adopted a senior Great Dane in December. He had been abandoned and had been roughing it for about six months. He gradually gained weight but wasn’t strong in his hind limbs, although he was never sore or stiff.

Three weeks ago he hurt himself and I started him on anti-inflammatory treatment. Within two days it was as if I had a different dog: gone was the slow getting up in the mornings; he was bouncing around like a teenager and had to be stopped from jumping onto the furniture.

I then ran out of tablets, skipped three days, and back was the old creaky dog. X-rays of his hip joints showed arthritic changes due to mild hip dysplasia.

I learned a lesson here - we should not wait until our pets show pain before we think something is wrong. If they are sore, they will be a bit slow and creaky; they will walk using a gait style that spares their affected joints or they may be less active. Don’t think that it is just the natural ageing process.

Older dogs are prone to arthritis - several of the larger breeds more so than others as their conformation is not ideal or they grow too rapidly and develop hip, elbow or shoulder dysplasia. 
It has recently been proposed that cats actually suffer more from arthritis than we originally thought and that some of the larger cats, such as the Maine Coone, can develop hip dysplasia. 

Medical management of arthritis is based on the use of anti-inflammatories. You cannot use human anti-inflammatories in your dogs and you should never give cats pain-killers and anti-inflammatories without consulting your vet. Cats are very sensitive to toxic effects.

Veterinary anti-inflammatory drugs are COX 2 selective - the side effects of stomach ulcers and kidney damage are much reduced. These drugs are safe for long-term use in otherwise healthy dogs and generally can be taken once a day.

Supportive joint care takes the form of supplements. Omega three fatty acids and joint supplements such as MSM, hyaluronic acid, glucosamine and chondroitin sulphate are available. Be careful to purchase only from registered well-know veterinary pharmaceutical companies as the source of the ingredients affects the efficacy.

Some veterinary diets are designed for joint support and contain high levels of omega three and joint-support proteins. Most dogs show a vast improvement on the diet, reducing the need for daily anti-inflammatory treatment to intermittent.

Ensure that your dog’s basket or kennel is insulated from the cold ground. In cold weather keep your arthritic dogs indoors and warm at night. Get them up and moving in the morning. Mobility causes the joints to loosen up and encourages further activity. Moderate low impact exercise is recommended.

Heavy dogs place more stress on their joints. Ensure that your dogs are the correct weight. Weight loss alone has been known to decrease arthritic symptoms.

A special diet is available for cats with joint pain from arthritis. Older cats may not easily be able to climb in and out of high-edged litter boxes. Make sure food and water is easily accessible. They may need a step to reach the window where previously they could just jump. Registered anti-inflammatory medications for cats are not easily available.