Aqua therapy helps dogs, rabbits – even cats – rehabilitate from injuries

Aqua therapy helps critters rehabilitate For the last 10 years the Western College of Veterinary Medicine has been using aqua therapy to make a splash for its feline patients.

For the last 10 years the Western College of Veterinary Medicine has been using aqua therapy to make a splash for its feline patients.

Working with the team of veterinarians at the vet college, aqua therapy has become a regular practice for vets to help dogs, rabbits and even cats rehabilitate from injuries. The underwater treadmill provides a high-resistance low impact workout.

“It's really nice for example if an animal has a broken bone or something else that's causing pain, we put them in there with deep water then they've got less force on that sore limb,” said Romany Pinto who specializes in veterinary rehabilitation. “The water provides really high resistance so they can do a really good strengthening workout.”

Pinto said there are a number of ailments cats can have that respond well to weekly aqua therapy. From a broken leg, slipped disc or a neurological disease, aqua therapy has been so successful some cats at the clinic have been able to walk again after being paralyzed.

“We see a lot of older cats that have arthritis, and we see young healthy cats that are just overweight and need some help getting active,” said Pinto.

In her third year of study, Vanessa Fussell was inspired to become a veterinarian after working on her grandparents’ sheep farm. Taking an interest in the medical and neurological conditions of animals, Fussell works extensively with both cats and dogs.

“I think aqua therapy is super exciting and it's a really good opportunity for us to improve the strength in our patients after surgery. Sometimes one of the things that holds them back even though they're fixed is that they never quite get that muscle strength back.”

One thing aqua therapy can't change is some cats attitudes towards water.

“No I think in general, cats don't like water,” Pinto said. “But most cats tend to do well if we take our time, go slow, reward them for doing the right thing, they tend to actually do really well.”

Vetavision is a student-run open house that takes place every second year at the vet college. The event features a showcase of work in the veterinary profession. The event highlights the roles veterinarians play in animal health, public health, research, industry and community service.

The two days will feature displays, an animal rehabilitation demo, calving demo and guided tours.