Achy joints

I attended a lecture last night about DJD (arthritis) in dogs and cats. It was sponsored by one of the big food companies. They have just come out with a feline mobility diet that contains "nutriceticals" like glucosamine, chondrotin, and fish oils. They have studies to prove that these products actually do help arthritic cats and dogs.

This is not earth shattering news. I've been recommending them since I started practicing holistic medicine - at least 15 years now. The first time I suggested glucosamine, I wrote it down for a client but ask her not to tell anyone I'd recommended it - it was considered anecdotal and unproven - my professional reputation could have been compromised. That was many years ago, I worry a lot less about my reputation these days.

I'm fortunate right now. Nudge is young and healthy and very active, but I can see that with all the jumping and twisting and turning he does while at a full gallop, the day will come when he will suffer, with sore joints as most of our older pets do.

I really did feel encouraged last night to hear that conventional medicine is now recommending not only natural products, but also acupuncture, chiropractic and physiotherapy for these old friends.

Many dogs benefit from underwater treadmills or "hydrotherapy". There is a great clinic in town that offers this. But what amazed me was the recommendation that cats might also benefit this treatment. Cats? I'm not convinced, although if you check on You-tube you will find quite a few videos of kitties tolerating, if not enjoying this type of therapy.

My experience of cats and water has not been as benign. When I was about eight years old I decided, early one Saturday morning, to give my kitty - Tiger a bath. If you ever have the inclination do not fill the tub and try to put the kitty into it. I had to wear long sleeves and hide my mutilated arms from my mother for the next month. For years I wondered what on earth possessed me to try and bath a cat - one that was not dirty in anyway. It was only when I was an adult and packing up my Mom's house that I discovered an old booklet that had come from the pet store with Tiger. In it are detailed instructions on cat bathing. I'm ashamed to say, but even now when I look at the wet cat wrapped in a towel, my heart softens and I laugh inappropriately. I suspect I wanted Tiger to look just as cute as the one pictured in the book.

Today, I am owned by three older kitties. Tumbleweed is sore. I see it when he climbs the stairs. Still, it is my educated guess that he would prefer massage therapy, naps in the sun, and fish oils - preferably in the form of a can of salmon over being dunked into a tub of water, to ease his achy joints.