ABSTRACT: Osteoarthritis is a painful, incurable disease which can affect the mobility and quality of life of the cats suffering from it. Osteoarthritis mainly affects the hips, stifles and elbows. The presence of osteoarthritis is diagnosed by radiographs which can identify osteophytes that form around the surrounding joint. This debilitating disease is estimated to affect 90% of cats to some degree over the age of 12. The veterinary team can play a huge part on educating owners to recognise behavioural changes in their cat which will assist in identifying osteoarthritis and provide them with various treatment options to improve their mobility and quality of life.

Author

Sarah Bolton BA (hons) DipAVN (Small Animal) A1 RVN

Sarah began nursing in 2002 in mixed practice and qualified in 2006. Sarah completed the Advanced Veterinary Nurse Diploma in 2015 at Harper Adams University and hopes to top this up to degree level. Sarah is currently studying for the ISFM Certificate in Feline Friendly Nursing. Her interests include medical and surgical nursing, wound management, anaesthesia, feline nursing, laboratory techniques and veterinary nurse training.

Email: sarahboltonuk@btinternet.com

To cite this article: Veterinary Nursing Journal • VOL 31 (09) • September 2016 pp266-270

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