It’s a Cat!
Jennie Houghteling, LVT, Cat Mom Extraordinaire*
Yes, we see cats. Yes, we really do put them in the underwater treadmill.
The two biggest questions that I get all the time about cats are:
- Do you see cats at Pawsitive Steps?
- Do you really put cats in the underwater treadmill?
The answer to both of these questions is a resounding YES! We love seeing our kitty patients here at Pawsitive Steps. Rehab is more than just the underwater treadmill, so let’s take a look at what we can do for our feline patients.
Initial Evaluations – Checking everything out
We start all of our patients with an initial evaluation appointment. We do a complete physical, orthopedic, and neurologic exam. We take goniometry (range of motion of the joints), thigh and shoulder muscle mass measurements, and check for myofascial back pain. We also take videos of them walking to help us analyze their gait. (When they want to walk for us. Thankfully most of them do). Most cats are very tolerant of our initial exam, it just feels like a sort of strange massage. They enjoy eating treats and playing with cat toys. After the evaluation, we come up with an individualized rehabilitation treatment plan for our feline patients.
Rehab Sessions – Not just for the dogs
Cats participate in rehabilitation sessions, just like our dog patients. Kitties can do floor exercises like cavalettis, walk on uneven surfaces, reach for toys, follow a laser light, etc. They can also go in the underwater treadmill or walk on the land treadmill (sometimes even better than some canine patients). Sometimes we do have to think outside of the box for out feline patients, but they definitely can, and will, do exercises. (See Feb 2022 blog). It can be as easy as putting that empty box on the other side of whatever you want them to walk over.
Integrative Sessions – Spa days are the best days
Who doesn’t love a relaxing spa day? Our kitties are no different. They love coming in for acupuncture sessions, laser therapy treatments, and massage visits. They also enjoy spinal adjustments, stretching, and therapeutic ultrasound on an as needed basis. These no stress, feel good visits leave our cat patients “feline” fine.
Our love of cats is “fur real”!
As you can see, we love our kitty patients here at Pawsitive Steps. Whether we are putting them in the underwater treadmill, giving them a massage, or treating them with acupuncture cats love coming here. If you are interested in bringing your feline friend in for a visit, give us a call. We can get something scheduled and show you that we aren’t “kitten” when we say that we love cats.
*Please pardon all the cat puns in this blog post. It was written by an aspiring “crazy” cat lady.
~*~ In loving memory of Chaos ~*~
