Can Cats Develop Contractures?

[Courtforshort27]

My cat just had a bilateral knee replacement done about 7 weeks ago. He was born with luxating patellas, and so far the surgery has been a success and his kneecaps haven’t dislocated since. The healing process has been very long, as he was just able to be let out of his crate and have full roam of my house last week. He walks very strange and hobbeled over now, which isn’t too concerning because I figure it will take months for him to walk normally again. However, I’ve noticed that I haven’t seen him stretch his legs in the past few weeks. I religiously did his range of motion exercises in the beginning after the initial pain passed and at his 2 week check up the vet said he had full movement, but have since slacked off since I figured he was working them in just by walking. When I try to do his exercises now, the knee will not flex completely straight. I feel very guilty for slacking off and don’t want this 2k surgery to have been for no good, because at this point I feel he was better off without it. Has anyone ever dealt with something like this before and if I stretch his legs every day is this something that can be reversed? He is still very guarded towards his legs, so it could be that he is just resisting. Any advice would be appreciated!!

 

[Jem]

My cat had severe muscle wasting and mild contractures in his hind legs due to his CKD. My newest kitty also had mild contractures of her hind legs due to...a whole host of issues (long story).
We successfully helped both of them regain strength and range of motion with basic stretching and exercises.
What exercises were you doing previously? Have you started them up again?

We did basic range of motion manipulations with ours - moving the legs in their natural patterns with just a touch of stretching.
We also pushed and pulled on their legs (GENTLY of course), which encouraged them to "fight back" that help the ROM and strength. When you pull (stretch out the leg) hold the stretch and you may feel him resist you. Hold a few few seconds and release. The do the same while pushing on the leg. Push the leg (fold/bend it up) by the bottom of the paw, hold it there and you may feel him resist you/push back. Keep that contraction for a few seconds and do it a few times each leg.
Massage his legs, and you can even help things further by almost "milking" the thigh muscle. It massages and gently stretches the muscle fibers at the same time.
Do the ball exercise - I'll try to find a video.
You lay your cat on a ball (put his chest on the ball and hold/support him there) and slowly roll him forward until his back legs are off the floor, he will instinctively stretch out to try and find the floor. Then roll the back until his legs are back on the floor and just a bit more so he pushes against the floor. Do that forward and backward, very slowly, a few times each.
Then in a neutral position (still on the ball, with feet on the floor) roll the ball side to side to help with strength and balance.
I also encourage my cats to reach for things. Treats and using the scratch post for support worked great (put treats on the top (or hold above if he's tall) of the post so he has to stretch up on his hind legs to get them)

I'm going on a hunt for that video I found for the ball one.....

 

[Jem]

This is video I found (but it's a dog). When I rolled the ball forward I just went further so his feet were not touching the ground. But this gives you an idea what I mean.
My cats were not paralyzed so I did not have to worry about their feet folding under like this dog.

 

[Courtforshort27]

This is video I found (but it's a dog). When I rolled the ball forward I just went further so his feet were not touching the ground. But this gives you an idea what I mean.
My cats were not paralyzed so I did not have to worry about their feet folding under like this dog.

Wow THANK YOU SO MUCH!! All of that information was so helpful. That is so wonderful to hear you were able to help your kitties out! The vet did not go into detail about what to do (said just to stretch them out) but I have been massaging and stretching like you described and I did each leg about 10 times a day until 3 weeks post op. Stopped and didn’t pick up doing them again until 6 weeks but have been doing religiously since. I felt like his resistance to the exercises was a bad thing but I did know it was strengthening his muscles, so that is also good to know! He can just almost extend his legs straight (with me gently pulling them of course) so the main goal is to get full motion back in his legs and then try to start getting him to walk with them extended, as he kind of walks in a sitting position. We have a strap on life jacket we use for our small dog, and it has a handle on the top so I’m thinking about using that so I can lift him off the ground and encourage him to walk properly. Thank you again for the reply and easing my worry about this situation, to know that staying strict with his exercises could hopefully reverse the problem is so good to hear! I will definitely be investing in that exercise ball!

 

[white shadow]

.
Hi Courtforshort27.

I would really urge you to exercise caution here.

It's a very different thing for a cat post-surgery compared to a cat who has developed contractures exclusive of surgery......I don't believe that full healing will have occurred after only 7 weeks.

There are Vets who specialize/take special interest in physical rehabilitation, and I believe some techs do as well. Those might be a resource for you.

If nothing else, I'd be consulting with the Vet who did the surgery before I 'jumped into' something like this. And, even re-starting an exercise routine should be a measured, graduated process, I think.

Keep us posted!
.

 

[Courtforshort27]

.
Hi Courtforshort27.

I would really urge you to exercise caution here.

It's a very different thing for a cat post-surgery compared to a cat who has developed contractures exclusive of surgery......I don't believe that full healing will have occurred after only 7 weeks.

There are Vets who specialize/take special interest in physical rehabilitation, and I believe some techs do as well. Those might be a resource for you.

If nothing else, I'd be consulting with the Vet who did the surgery before I 'jumped into' something like this. And, even re-starting an exercise routine should be a measured, graduated process, I think.

Keep us posted!
.

I contacted the vet who did his surgery yesterday, and he didn’t seem too concerned and said to just continue his “exercises” and to give him time to trust his new legs. This is a very going point though, I do not want to be causing more harm than good. I will call back and have him specify exactly how much he wants me to do with them and how often. Will definitely update!