Complete Care for Your Aging Cat - Amy Shojai [73]
The state-of-the-art surgery for dogs is a total hip replacement in which the joint is completely replaced with prosthetics. “Joint replacement in cats would be difficult,” says Dr. Conzemius. Prosthetic joints are not made small enough to benefit cats. “There are other surgical options that can be considered,” he says, “for example, femoral head and neck excision for the hip [also called femoral head excision arthroplasty].” This eliminates the bone-on-bone rubbing.
The surgeon removes the ball part of the ball and socket joint in the hip, and closes the joint capsule over the socket. Cats form a little pad of scar tissue, and the hip joint is then supported entirely by the muscles. “It’s a highly successful procedure, very good at getting animals out of pain,” says Dr. Linn. The success rate is between 80- to 85 percent. Many veterinarians in general practice are very familiar with FHO, so it doesn’t require going to a special center for orthopedics.
Cats may be prescribed a narcotic-like drug called butorphanol for postoperative pain relief, says Dr. Linn. “It makes cats smile. Makes them purr, they love butorphanol.” Another option, fentanyl (Duragesic), is a narcotic that is administered by means of a skin patch. “We don’t usually keep an animal on narcotics for arthritic pain long-term. But it can be useful if they’ve been injured or have had surgery,” says Dr. Linn.
Bottom Line
The cost for arthritis treatment varies depending on the specific product, procedure, and part of the country in which you live.
Cats are much smaller than most dogs, which means medicine dosed by weight often is much more economical for them. Cosequin, for example, would cost approximately $6 a month for a 15-pound cat.
“A femoral neck and head excision (FHO) runs about $1,100 per side at University of Wisconsin,” says Dr. Linn. It would likely cost quite a bit less performed in a general practitioner’s office.
Golden Moments: Accommodating Punkin
Michelle West of Toronto was breeding and showing Abyssinians when she attended a cat show and saw her first Scottish Fold. “She was the most beautiful cat I’d ever seen,” says Michelle. The breed is known for the endearing ears that fold forward toward the face and look like a little cap on the cat’s head. “I called the lady who raised her, I just had to have a kitten.” When the lovely folded mother cat had a litter in September, Michelle chose a calico baby when she was four months old, and named her Punkin. “It was love at first sight!” she says, and Michelle has been breeding Scottish Folds ever since.
Punkin celebrated her thirteenth birthday last year. “She is a typical Scottish Fold, very sweet and loving, and a real mushy kind of cat. But she was raised with a group of rowdy Bengals, so she’s scared of everything.” Bengal cats tend to be rambunctious and outgoing, and they must have taught Punkin early in her life to avoid noisy situations.
Michelle first noticed that Punkin was walking stiffly when she was about five years old. The condition has become progressively worse the older she’s grown. “Scottish Folds are prone to having various joint problems,” she says. The natural mutation that causes the cartilage in the ears to fold may also predispose to other cartilage or joint problems unless care is taken in the breeding matchmaking process.
“When they discovered the first Scottish Fold in 1951, they were breeding folded-eared cats to folded-eared cats,” says Michelle. “Their kittens had all kinds of spine problems, stiff joints and stiff tails, short tails and club feet, spina bifida, that kind of thing. They realized very quickly if you breed a fold to a straight-eared cat, you didn’t get these problems,” she says. Today, ethical breeders avoid these health problems in their cats by breeding folded-eared