BY: Samantha Bartlett

Dr. Margaret Gruen and colleagues at the North Caroline State University College of Veterinary Medicine developed a simple question-based checklist to help cat owners determine if their pet may have arthritis so they can better start a conversation with their veterinarian. It estimated that about half of all cats have some level of arthritis and many pet owners aren’t aware due to a cat’s ability to mask pain. Many times, pet owners think mild behavior changes in their pets are due to aging rather than a disease process such as arthritis. 

Dr. Gruen and her colleagues decided to create a simple list of easily answered questions to help guide pet owners into a conversation with their veterinarian if necessary. The team published a paper detailing the design of the checklist in the Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery. The researchers compiled data from several previously conducted studies that used a series of questions as the standardized outcome measure for both undiagnosed cats and cats previously diagnosed with degenerative joint disease. From this data, the researchers were able to develop a series of nine questions that were subsequently whittled down to six. These six questions were selected for the specificity and sensitivity for identifying behavior consistent with DJD in cats.

The six questions are as follows: 

1. Does your cat jump up normally? 

2. Does your cat jump down normally? 

3. Does your cat climb up stairs or steps normally? 

4. Does your cat climb down stairs or steps normally? 

5. Does your cat run normally? 

6. Does your cat chase moving objects (toys, prey, etc.)?

These six yes or no questions can be answered quickly with little difficulty by owners and can give veterinarians important clues to potential diagnostics needed to determine DJD or other disease processes in their patients.