Believe it or not one of the most common things that your pet will develop as it gets older is arthritis. This is true specifically for cats and dogs that are always on the move and thus wearing out their cartilage (if not set a proper diet). Even though there aren’t really any exact numbers as to how many pets currently have arthritis, studies show that there are signs to show weather or not your pet could be possibly developing arthritis .

Here are some seven signs that your pet might actually have arthritis:

1. Limping – if you notice that your pet starts to limp especially when it first gets up from laying down or it favors to walk on a certain set of legs while trying to avoid pressure on one particular leg might indicate the development of arthritis in that particular leg.
2. Difficulty Moving – another sign that your pet could potentially have arthritis is if it’s reluctance to move or do certain things that it was able to do easily before. With dogs for example, they might have a hard time getting in and out the car. When it comes to cats, you might see that they’re reluctant to jump on tables & counter tops or just in general whereas before it was a common thing for them to do. These are all signs of the potential development or currently development of arthritis.
3. Problems with Spine – another sign that your dog could potentially have arthritis is if you notice that it has a hunch on it’s back. This is the common sign that your pet might have arthritis in the spine.
4. Tiredness – because of the fact that your pet is in pain one of the things that they tend to do is to fall asleep far more often than usual. This is mainly because they cannot move due to the amount of pain that it causes.
5. Irritable – another sign that your pet could have arthritis is if it becomes way more irritable than it usually is. Because of the increase in pain when being handled one of the common things pets tend to do is become very irritable to the point where they might end up scratching or biting.
6. Muscle Atrophy – as you can imagine as your pet starts using their leg or legs less and less you’ll notice that the muscle will start to become weaker which will lead to the legs becoming thinner due to infrequent use. This can be a tall tale sign that your pet has arthritis and is simply avoiding using that leg which is showing muscle atrophy due to the pain of their arthritis.
7. Licking, Chewing or Biting – last but not least, a common thing that your pet might tend to do is to lick, chew or bite the area that’s hurting them the most in efforts to relieve the pain. This is one of the most obvious signs that your pet can do when a certain area is afflicting them and this can be a tall tale sign that your pet might have arthritis in that area.

So at the end of the day one of the ways you can help alleviate your pet’s arthritis is to give them the best liquid collagen supplement designed specifically for pets. You can also try and find the best collagen protein powder for your pet and mix it in their food. Just like humans, pets have cartilage that surrounds their joints and as this wears with age it’s important to make sure that they get adequate amount of collagen which will not only help with the problem but might help them to actually avoid it in the first place if taken early enough. Don’t wait until your pet start showing signs of arthritis before giving them collagen supplements. The earlier the better!