A three year old Abyssinian female cat, Mawn, recently had a fight with another cat. Since then, she showed a prominent limp on her right front limb. When resting, she often held the limb up and also became less active and social with her owner.
The regular veterinarian diagnosed a strain of the shoulder joint and prescribed an anti-inflammatory drug to treat the condition. While these drugs are efficacious in many cases, no major improvement was noted in this instance.
The cat was brought for assessment to my consulting rooms three months after the injury. The initial examination revealed limited range of movement in the shoulder area, as well as a couple of tender muscle nodules located behind the joint. Mawn tolerated well the insertion of a few fine acupuncture needles in the area.
On the next visit, four days later, the owner was happy to say that the cat's movement had improved significantly. Also, Mawn became once again friendlier and started to venture once more into the garden. In total. three acupuncture treatments were necessary to deactivate all the tender muscle nodules. The range of movement of the joint increased and the muscle nodules disappeared. Four weeks later the cat was still sound as before the injury and does not exhibit any signs of pain.
Acupuncture can be useful in providing lasting pain-relief in the case of soft tissue injuries in small animals. It is, however, always important to eliminate the possibility of more serious injuries such as acute arthritis, joint dislocation, torn muscle or ligaments, local infection or bone fracture among other possibilities. A proper veterinary examination is thus imperative.
Unfortunately, not all cats are suitable subjects for acupuncture treatment, especially those particularly defensive or aggressive.