Osteoarthritis

A week-by-week guide for the first month after diagnosis. The conversations to have, the small changes to start, and the habits that compound across the years ahead.

What to do when arthritis suddenly worsens. A calm, step-by-step plan for the first few days of a flare: ease back, keep them comfortable, give prescribed medication exactly as directed, and watch for the red flags that mean call the vet today. Flares are common and usually pass.

A room-by-room checklist for an arthritis-friendly home. The cheap wins, the bigger projects, and the small changes that matter most for an arthritic dog or cat.

A resource-by-resource home assessment for cats with arthritis. A cat's world is the home, and arthritis quietly removes the jumps and climbs between the litter tray, the food, the warm bed, and the favourite high shelf. Tick what's already easy; the rest becomes your plan, starting with the litter tray.

How to assess your dog's body condition at home, with side-on and top-down silhouettes for the 1-9 BCS scale. Weight management is the single most effective thing you control, and this is the tool that makes it measurable.

A weekly record of how your pet is doing, one page per week. The small details that compound across months: stiffness on rising, willingness on walks, mood, appetite, and the moments your gut says something's shifted.

A printable guide to capturing video your vet, and you, can actually use. The five shots that show how your dog really moves, how to get them right, and the one detail that makes or breaks the footage: the surface. Film on a normal day and the camera catches what a clinic visit often hides.

The companion to the filming guide: how to actually read the clips you have captured. Line up an older video against a recent one, watch one thing at a time across four everyday views, and spot the gradual changes day-to-day life hides. With an honest note on the subtle shifts the eye misses, and where objective gait analysis picks up.

Prepare before, take notes during, capture what's next after. A single sheet that turns a ten-minute vet appointment into one you'll actually remember properly a week later.

Questions worth asking, organised by the kind of appointment you're having: diagnosis, treatment review, surgical consult, end-of-life conversation. Pick what fits and bring it with you.

Everyone involved in your pet's care, in one place: primary vet, specialists, physiotherapist, hydrotherapist, behaviourist, end-of-life services. Contact details, last-seen dates, and what they're treating.

Compare cover on what actually matters for a chronic condition: lifetime vs maximum-benefit vs annual vs accident-only, per-condition limits, excess structure, and the small print on continuing conditions.

A week-by-week record built around how cats really show pain. Not an obvious limp, but the things they quietly stop doing: jumping onto the windowsill, using the cat flap, grooming, settling on a favourite high shelf. A few seconds of noticing each day builds a picture your vet can act on.

How to read pain in your cat's face. The Feline Grimace Scale scores five features, from the ears and eyes to the muzzle and whiskers, each from 0 to 2. A visual reference for spotting discomfort when your cat is resting calmly, with photos to compare against.

A menu of low-impact ways to keep a pet's mind busy when arthritis limits the body. Scent work, puzzle feeders, gentle play, and a full feline section, mostly free and all at floor level. Tick what you'd like to try. Slow the body, not the life.