The first sign of a stiff old animal is rarely a limp. It is a dog that stops meeting you at the door, or a cat that has quietly given up on the windowsill, and because it arrives slowly it gets filed under getting older rather than under something anyone might do about it.

These tablets are aimed at that stage. VetIQ build the formula on glucosamine HCl, chondroitin sulphate and manganese, then add krill fish meal as the omega-3 source, along with hyaluronic acid and vitamin C. Their stated aims are lubricated joints, cartilage support and maintained muscle mass in an older animal. There are 45 tablets in the pack, and the same pack is sold for both dogs and cats.

• 45 tablets per pack
• Glucosamine HCl, chondroitin sulphate and manganese
• Krill fish meal as the omega-3 source
• Hyaluronic acid and vitamin C included
• Formulated for senior dogs and cats

One thing the pack does not give us: a single quantity. VetIQ name every active ingredient and put no milligram figure against any of them, and no daily amount has been supplied to us either — so the instructions on the box are the only guide there is, and if the amounts matter to you it is worth reading them before you commit. A supplement is also not a painkiller. An animal that is genuinely sore, or that has gone lame suddenly, needs a vet rather than a tablet off a shelf.

Who it's for: owners of an older dog or cat who want to do something about stiffness, and who would rather it were a tablet than a powder to be argued over the food bowl.