Thread: Anything to prevent joint problems?

Originally Posted by SpencerTheLion

Does anyone know of anything that helps, like adding vitamins or minerals to their diet?

I am also interested in this too. Our 3 year old boy Remy was having a problem with a rear leg a few weeks ago. Luckily he is fine now so appears he just injured the leg somehow, but there were concerns that he had patella luxation or a hip issue. Doing reading, it appears that the glucosamine supplements can help some animals, though not clear whether can help as a preventative at all. If there was patella luxation vet thought supplements might help reduce cartilage damage. Certainly some people claim huge improvements in their arthritic cats from some of these supplements. Controlled studies remain mixed, however. I read a number of vet comments that said that they are worth a try as they seem to help some cats but not others. But again, this was for cats that were having arthritis problems, not as a preventative measure. It would be extremely involved and costly to carry out the sort of long term studies that would be required to assess preventatives, so such studies are unlikely to ever be done on cats.

Until this thread was posted I hadn't thought about the use of nutraceuticals in cats,don't know why & I have been sitting here ages trying to think of any cats that have been put on them at work & as yet not come up with a result,we have lots of dogs on them & very often recommend that the larger breeds are put on them sooner rather than later before problems arise,will be interesting to see if any one comes back with some ideas,I still wonder why I hadn't given it a thought especially with our big cats,one of my boys has lots of back & hip problems but still manages without pain relief by having chiro done quite regular,now thats an idea,when he sees that vet again will have to ask his opinion on it...

The nutri's are marketed more for dogs and horses than cats (It's one of my areas at work) but they are not really pushed for the feline market.

Probiotics are a little different, one used to be marketed for dogs and cats but then dropped the cats due to a EU thing about ingredents even though the formular has not changed and there is one that is still pushed towards both (it's a newer product).

Green lipped mussel is another mobility aid and I think thats in a canine product too.

My guess is a small supplement of minerals and avoiding weight gain would go a long way for MC joint health.