Any sort of special diet for Scottish Folds to help prevent arthritis and joint problems?

margaretcharles

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Hello!

I have a 3 year old Scottish Fold cat, Charles, that I got as a kitten from a rescue organization. I know the breed can have problems with their bones and joints and are more prone to arthritis in their later years, but I was wondering if there was any sort of special diet or supplement I could put him on now to help delay the onset and keep him healthy for as long as possible. I tried asking my small-town vet about it, but I don't think he's too familiar with the breed and he seemed to suggest any food that he eats is fine and that the only difference in the breed is that their ears are harder to check.

I saw Charles's siblings and some of them had regular ears, so I know at least that he isn't the offspring of two folded ears and is less prone to troubles, but he does have a very straight and rigid tail that certain sources say to be a sign of potential problems later. He doesn't seem to really be having any sort of pain or trouble now, so I'm mostly just trying to be proactive about his health.

Right now they're on Fromm Gold formula, which they've seemed to like for the past 6 months. My two cats split a can of fancy feast in the morning (I actually found this site trying to determine whether or not fancy feast was horrible for cats!), but otherwise they mostly eat the Fromm...and then pester me all day for more wet food. They've become exceedingly picky eaters. I've had to rotate them off Nutro Maxx cat, Nature's Variety Instinct, and Simply Nourish because after a few months they refuse to eat it and then act like they're starving. They've just completely refused to even try some Blue brands and most recently Canidae, so whether or not they'll actually eat the food might be a dilemma (although they'll rip open my loaves of bread and even steal apple pie - so I really don't know what their problem is).

Any help or advice is greatly appreciated, and I look forward to checking out this site more!
 

andrya

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Hi @MargaretCharles    and welcome to the TCS forum from a fellow Foldie owner View media item 192257
You might want to consider doing an x-ray if Charles' tail has rigidity to see how things look. Hopefully it will show things looking normal, in which case you'll have a good baseline with which to compare as he ages.

l hope my rambling helped somewhat 


Feel free to post pictures, l'd love to see more of him.
 

peaches08

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I don't have a Scottish Fold, but is the pacing indicative of anything? I have a 2-2.5 year old DSH that paces and has a different hip action than my other 2. Just thought I'd ask here in case it helps lurkers too.
 

catpack

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Peaches, have you mentioned this to your vet? Could be nothing, though could be mild hip dysplasia.
 

andrya

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Personally, l think it does. l'm in contact with 3 of the owners of Rhys' littermates, one of which has folded ears, and none of those other three pace! l've looked up cats who pace and got nothing, but if you check on dogs who pace, you'll get info on dogs who have muscle problems!! l'm wondering in Rhys' case this is part of his low K.
 

peaches08

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I haven't mentioned it to my new vet...I need to. The first vet checked his hips 2 years ago and said he couldn't find anything wrong. Gadget only does it occasionally, which is weird. The way his haunches are put together reminds me of a racking horse. He's kind of cow-hocked, which is probably part of what I'm seeing when he walks.

ETA: Time got away from me. He's closer to 3-3.5 years old.
 
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cprcheetah

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It wont hurt to add something like Cosequin to his food now (Glucosamine/Chondroitin).  I believe that Glucosamine/Chondroitin can help prevent the breakdown of the joints.  It wont hurt.
 
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margaretcharles

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Where is a good place to get Cosequin? I'm not familiar with it, looks like I have some Googling to do!

I'll have to ask the vet for some X-rays for Charles. And I definitely know what you guys are talking about with the gait. When I'm playing with them and chasing them through the apartment, my other cat runs like a normal feline, kind of close to the ground and mostly graceful. Charles just looks really bad at it and keeps his butt up in the air, like he doesn't know how to cat. 
 

ritz

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Amazon sells Cosequin. Are you in the USA? If so, sometimes Petco/PetSmart have buy one get one free of their version of Cosequin. That's the brand I used when the cat I was fostering had arthritus.
Chicken feet, necks and heads have a fair amount of Glucosamine. You might consider seeing if your cats will eat these as a treat.
 
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margaretcharles

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Interesting! Knowing my cats, if I just give it to them they probably won't eat it. If I set it on a plate and pretend they're not allowed to have it, I'm sure they'll steal it and eat it as soon as my back is turned.

This is a stupid question, but if I get chicken feet/neck/head, will I want to cook it first? Or just give it to them raw?
 

andrya

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Definitely raw only. We can never give cats (or dogs) cooked bones. 

Mine won't eat feet, necks, heads, or wings - they insist on ground meat  
  

l have tried to give Rhys a couple of the Cosequin caps, since l bought them already. The vet said, "He'll LOVE them, they taste like tuna. All cats like them". Not so much, apparently. He wouldn't eat the food with the Cosequin "hidden" in it, so l'm not pushing it until he's old(er).
 

ritz

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Yes, I should have made that clear: raw, never ever feed cats/dogs cooked bones.
You can certainly grind up the raw necks/feet/etc though I suspect you'll need a heavy duty grinder. (Ritz loves chicken heads, but hadn't a clue what to do with a chicken foot--either as a food source or toy.)
 

peaches08

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Yes, I should have made that clear: raw, never ever feed cats/dogs cooked bones.
You can certainly grind up the raw necks/feet/etc though I suspect you'll need a heavy duty grinder. (Ritz loves chicken heads, but hadn't a clue what to do with a chicken foot--either as a food source or toy.)
My Tasin will grind chicken thighs with bone in them, I imagine those would be fine as well.

Mine get at least a piece of gizzard at every chicken thighs meal, which is most of the time. I believe they have glucosamine/chondroitin in them as well.
 
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