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What about cats??
Although the name of our clinic is the Lothian Canine Rehabilitation Centre, we do not deal exclusively with dogs and have a broad based experience in dealing with cats with locomotor problems too.
These problems range from the usual age related degenerative arthritis through specific joint problems such as cruciate rupture affecting the knee, through to intensive weight reduction programmes in cats that have just proved very difficult to manage by normal dietary methods.
It is surprising how amenable many cats are to the physiotherapy modalities we use. That is not to say we can do as much as to a very docile dog with regards such things as electrical stimulation etc but many cats will not mind physical manipulations, exercises such as 'wheelbarrowing' and even swimming or walking in the underwater treadmill as shown here.
As with dogs in the underwater treadmill, cats are placed in a comfortable harness so that the physio assistant has total control during the procedure and can remove the cat safely and quickly if needs be without risk of injury to the cat or the operative.
Cats in the treadmill are invariably accompanied by one of the assistants in order to control the exercise. Without this cats are far more likely than dogs to refuse to walk and just sit on the treadmill belt until they nonchalantly reach the end of the belt and step off!
As with dogs, cats are usually exercised on the treadmill for up to 4 sessions of approximately 4 minutes each during which time they may walk a total of 400m partially under water.
The resistance of the water in the treadmill combined with the steady pace means the muscles are worked up to three times harder than the same distance on land. This is ideal for weight loss programmes and for toning up underused muscles without leading to any joint damage.