He was x-rayed and no damage to his spine or pelvis was visible. The Veterinary Surgeons likened his injury to that of a severely ‘dead leg’. He was hospitalised for two days, and was unable to stand or use his right hind leg. When he was discharged from the practice, I was told to keep him on cage rest. I knew the importance of soft tissue damage and the impact that it has on length of recovery and immediately phoned Julia to discuss his case.

I have known Julia in a professional capacity for several years after she kindly gave a guest lecture to degree students that I was teaching.  I was also aware that Julia’s main area of expertise was dogs- not cats. Luckily Julia was more than happy to see Albert. On veterinary referral, Julia agreed to treat Albert. The first session she was able to identify several areas of pain and soft tissue damaged. Julia said that his gluteals felt like they had been damaged. She massaged the affected tissues and manipulated the soft tissue in several areas. Julia also gave me some extension exercises and finger tip massage movements to apply to the damaged muscles while at home. Within two days Bert was able to walk dramatically better. His hind leg whose foot had been turned outward at a 2 O’clock position and had a stiff non flexible walking posture was starting to turn back to the correct position of facing forwards. I continued with the extensions and the massage treatment and phoned Julia a week later to  discuss progress and the next appointment. Julia wanted to see him the following week to re-evaluate his progress. She was amazed that after two weeks, he was walking like a normal cat! Bertie was back!

I am a strong believer in ensuring that soft tissue is treated during rehabilitation programmes, but I am amazed that the outcome and speed of recovery can be so dramatic. Bertie regained full flexibility in the hind leg, but unfortunately did not gain any more brain cells.

I would recommend this gentle treatment for anyone who has a cat recovering from soft tissue injury or associated soft tissue damage from orthopaedic surgery. It is essential that your vet refers you, and your cat does need to be well socialised and comfortable being handled as cats are not renowned for their compliant attitude to being physically manipulated and restrained. Julia was naturally ‘in tune’ with handling cats and was able to read the cats behaviour and assess how much treatment the individual would tolerate. So, a big thank you to Julia for her help and willingness to treat a new species.

Sarah Cottingham BSc(hons), PGCE, PGDip CABC, RVN