Hello and welcome to yasu. Her name is Japanese origin and means peace and tranquillity.  Her dad said that does not reflect her personality! I found her to be super calm and sweet and kind.

She has had a very busy life and has seen the vets far too many times. She has had a lot of cat fights and comes off the worst. She even lost half her tail due to a cat bite abscess.

Her parents noticed her slowing down and being less keen to jump. She was not venturing out as often, so they took her to see the vet. Following x-rays, she was diagnosed with osteoarthritis in both knees. The x-rays were sent to a referral centre, where it was confirmed. The most likely reason for this is cruciate disease.  We often think of this in dogs, but it does happen in cats, too.

Due to the time that had passed and the low severity of the lameness, it was decided that she should have a conservative approach to the problem. She was sent to me for physio.

I have set her up with a mental program to begin, and it will gradually improve.  She has none impact weight shift work and regular walking. Cats have a terrible habit of being too sedentary, and it’s not ideal for reducing stiffness. She has also been put on a diet as she also needs to lose weight.  we also set 3 SMART goals so we can monitor her progress. These goals are 3 things the the owner picks as lifestyle goals to work towards regaining. It helps us measure how well she is doing.

She goes back to Hamilton referrals in 6 weeks for a review. If we are not having enough impact on her, then she may have to have  TPLO surgery on the knees, just like the dogs do.

Well done, Mum and Dad, for spotting her changes and getting it checked out. Good luck to Yasu!