Hi everyone,
This month a little about cats… If people sometimes say, “do dogs need physio? Don’t they just get better by themselves?”, they are far more likely to say that about cats.
You know the myths about cats, ”they land on their feet”, “they have 9 lives” and “they are not affectionate like dogs”.
I think we are all individuals. Some dogs are very independent souls and don’t like too much touch (but still love you madly), while some cats are very affectionate and will walk around the block with you and the dogs (both of mine do).
Regarding treatment and hands on, I have had some cat clients who calmly sit in their owners lap while I assess, touch, and provide dry needle therapy. While there are others I either treat from a distance, instructing the owner, or perhaps leave in their cat cages and treat through the cat door from a respectful distance.
We are featuring Roxy the cat this month.
When I first assessed and treated Roxy it was for a very short time, with lots of help from the owners. Roxy had recovered from a serious injury, broken bones, surgery, a long hospital stay, restricted cage rest, and she was sick of being restrained, examined and handled. She had loads of muscle wasting, no stamina, some nerve damage and was very stiff after her trauma, surgery and confinement.
Roxy definitely needed rehab, physio and a graduated exercise programme for her home environment. She would have survived the accident but not likely to be the fit, agile 20 year old she is today. It helps that Roxy’s mum is a physiotherapist as well, and did all the homework as instructed!
2 videos of Roxy walking up the stairs:
You might say, ”isn’t this a cat just walking up the stairs?” yes and no…
- Roxy cheating on the stairs with a bunnyhop (2 legs used at same time), and
- Roxy striding beautifully, one leg at a time. This requires strength, balance, co-ordination, and proper use of all her pelvic and hind limb muscles.
Roxy did well with minimal handling and exercises we “tricked” her into doing around her home… and is still going strong at 20.