Water Therapy Appointment Continued

Moki wasn't sure at first if he wanted to share these videos with you, but after receiving so many comments about his braveness, he wanted to let other cats and kittens know, that it's ok to be scared, as long as you don't let fear stop you!

Moki like any normal, or should we say, perfectly healthy cat or kitten, was definitely unsure of being placed in the water. Fear and dislike however our two separate emotions and Moki is perfectly capable of showing both. Whenever Moki dislikes something, or has had enough, he will tilt his ears back on his head to indicate he has had enough. The initial fear of being placed in the water is part of what makes this particular therapy work, at least for cats. Being placed in a body of water allows their natural instincts to kick in, and causes a normal, or perfectly healthy cat, to kick, or paddle in an attempt to get out of the water. This kicking and paddling, helps to strengthen Moki's muscles and flexibility, in a non-weight bearing setting, which in turn improves his range of motion and ability to walk, without straining any of Moki's muscles or joints.



With the life jacket on, Moki refused to paddle, so in an attempt to get Moki to move his legs, Rebecca removed the life jacket and held Moki. As you can see from the above video, this method did yield some paddling. Moki did however freeze up alot in this first session and part of that we believe is because Moki needed to overcome the fear of drowning. Moki has never been placed in even a bathtub of water so being placed in a pool, was a bit scary. Now that Moki knows that Rebecca and the water will not hurt him, we suspect his next appointment will go a bit better, and that it will be a bit easier for Moki to paddle his legs.

Since Moki was still getting use to being in the water, and wasn't paddling his legs as much as we would have like, Rebecca decided to take Moki out of the pool and place him in the water treadmill. The treadmill itself moves much to fast for Moki to be able to walk on it, so Rebecca left the treadmill off. Moki seemed to be a bit more comfortable in this environment since his feet could touch the bottom, and he could hold his head above water. Rebecca worked with Moki to get him to walk around and do a number of exercises.

Moki who was by now worn out from being in the pool and from all the exercises finally indicated that he had had enough. Notice the difference in Moki's ears. Despite meowing while in the pool, Moki never once put his ears back to indicate that he disliked it.

While he was at first afraid to be in the pool, he worked through and with his fears. Just like with humans, physical therapy is not easy for the person or in this case, cat, going through it. Moki somehow seemed to understand that, and while he did not like being in the pool, it seems he knew that this was going to help him. It wasn't until the very end of his treatment, when he was physically worn out, that Moki finally expressed enough is enough...and his therapy session came to an end. After Moki's therapy session, Moki was given a nice shower. He now smells wonderfully clean...Upon returning home, Moki relaxed for awhile with Orange Boy and told him all about his experience...
Moki's next physical therapy/water therapy appointment is this coming Saturday. We will continue to bring you more pictures and videos, so you can watch with us, as Moki continues to show signs of improvement!!!

On a separate note, we still need to raise the money so that Moki can continue his therapy. If you haven't already done so, please consider buying a raffle ticket. Details about the raffle can be found on Deb and ML's Auction Blog. The money from this raffle will allow us to continue Moki's therapy in addition to help the kitties in need at Criz Cats Sanctuary. To all those who have already purchased a ticket, we can't express enough our thanks!!!

Water Therapy - Pictures From Moki's 1st Appointment

As many of you know, today was Moki first water therapy appointment, and as promised we took lots of pictures for you all to enjoy. Here is Moki upon entering the pool with Rebecca. Rebecca is Moki's R.V.T. and holds a credential in canine rehabilitation from the University of Tennessee.Rebecca placed Moki in the pool, but on an edge, so that his feet had something to rest on while he was getting acquainted with being fully emerged. As you can see, a life jacket was placed on Moki for his own comfort and safety.

Moki isn't quite sure what to make of this new experience. Although he meowed loudly from time to time, his ears did not go back, or indicate in anyway at this point in time that he disapproved of his treatment...

After getting Moki comfortable being on the edge of the pool, Rebecca slowly worked Moki out to the deeper end/center of the pool, where Moki would have no choice but to paddle his legs, since he could no longer touch the bottom with his feet.

While being fairly ok on the edge of the pool Moki wasn't to sure about being in the deep end of the pool... That's all for now, we will continue the story of Moki's first physical therapy appointment tomorrow, so be sure to stay tuned. We have more pictures to share, and the story of how Moki moved from the pool, to the water treadmill!!!!

(P.S. If you would like to help us support Moki and you haven't already done so, please consider buying a raffle ticket. In addition to the possibility of winning a great prize, the money raised from the raffle will go to a great cause, not only will it allow us to continue our physical therapy work with Moki, it will help all the wonderful kitties at Criz Cats Sanctuary.)

Let The Raffle Begin!!!

Thanks to the generous nature of so many people, we where able to put the items now featured on Deb and ML's Auction Blog together, so that a second raffle could be held to benefit both Moki and Panther. ML despite not feeling well was so inspired by watching Moki's videos, that she was able to get the raffle up and running this afternoon. Thanks ML.

This raffle is really one of a kind. Amongst the many wonderful items being raffled off, are two books which have been autographed by their writers, thanking you personally for helping Moki. As many of you know Amy Shojai, one of the co-authors of "Chicken Soup For The Cat Lovers Soul," wrote a wonderful piece on Moki awhile back on the blog she authors for http://www.petside.com/

Amy has now written one of two follow up pieces on Moki which can be found at the following web address: http://www.petside.com/tips-treats/blogs?BlogUrl=/petsideblog/2008/06/moki_update.html. In addition to writing these two wonderful pieces on Moki, Amy has come to the rescue once again, by donating an autographed copy of her book, "Chicken Soup For The Cat Lovers Soul." Amy has been so wonderful and done so much for Moki that we ask that you please help us express our thanks. You can write to Amy personally at amy@shojai.com, learn more about her, or help us express our thanks by visiting her personal site at http://www.shojai.com/ and signing her guest book.

In addition to the book donated by Amy, Quasi and his owner Steve have also donated an autographed copy of their book, "The World Is Your Litter Box." Both Steve and Quasi have personally autographed the book, as you can see from the above picture, expressing their thanks to the winner of the raffle for helping Moki out. Please help us express our thanks to both Quasi and Steve by visiting Quasi's blog and leaving them a wonderful thank you message. It was Quasi's offer of donating a copy of his book, that really got this raffle started!!!

Once again, you can find these and many other wonderful items being raffled off together on Deb and ML's Auction Blog, so be sure to check it out!!! (Due to the cost of transferring money back and forth between Paypal accounts, tickets for the raffle can be purchased directly through the raffle button located on our left hand side bar, however you will have to visit Deb and ML's auction blog to learn more exciting details about the raffle...) Let the fun begin!!!

Physical Therapy Consultation

Today was the big day. Moki had his physical therapy consultation, and from it, we have determined a course of action, which we believe will help improve Moki's ability to walk.

After filling out the typical new client paperwork, and discussing Moki's prior medical history, Moki and I where escorted into a small private office by both the Dr. (physical therapist) and R.V.T. Blankets had been laid out on the floor, and we placed Moki on them after removing him from his prisoner transport unit.
The consultation consisted of both the Physical Therapist and R.V.T. moving Moki's legs, so as to record his current ROM (range of motion.) Once the ROM had been recorded for all four of Moki's legs, the physical therapist tried to get Moki to walk so that he could examine his gait. Moki however refused to budge. He just laid on the floor taking in his surroundings. Fortunately, I had brought my camera, and still had the videos I recorded yesterday of Moki walking on it. By showing the physical therapist the videos I had recorded of Moki, I was able to provide him with a good idea of Moki's gait.

We discussed the possibility of putting braces on Moki's legs, but the physical therapist feels that braces would do more harm than good at this point, because Moki has such a limited ROM in his legs. With that said, we got to work developing a plan in which we both agree, holds the possibility of improving Moki's ROM (range of motion) and thereby his ability to walk. The physical therapist recommended a course of massage therapy preformed by the R.V.T., followed by swimming therapy treatments. Since I am a certified massage therapist amongst other things, I asked if the massage therapy was something I could work on with Moki at home. Given my background, the physical therapist agreed that I could preform the massage therapy at home, and recommended that I preform the massage therapy 30 mins prior to bringing Moki to his office for the swimming therapy. Normally, swimming therapy consists of placing an animal in a pool, but given Moki's small size, we thought it would be better to have his therapy preformed in a whirlpool (to learn more about whirlpool therapy click here.) So starting this Saturday Moki will begin his first whirlpool treatment. We hope to bring you more pictures then!!!

I tried to take a picture of the estimate given to us, but am not sure if you can actually read it. So I will break it down. The total cost of Moki's physical therapy will come to $700.00. This is made up of 10 separate treatments. Currently not counting Saturday's treatment, we have $150.00 set aside for physical therapy, this means that we need to raise a total of $550.00 in order for Moki to complete his treatment. In order to help us obtain this goal, another raffle is being held at Deb and ML's auction blog. This raffle contains some pretty special, awesome, autographed one of a kind items, so please stop by their blog to check it out. All proceeds from the raffle will benefit Moki's physical therapy and our friends at Criz Cats Sanctuary.

Update:

The start date of the raffle which will be held by Deb and ML on their auction blog has been postponed due to Deb having injured her leg, and ML being sick. Once Deb and ML start feeling better we will announce the beginning of the second raffle, so stay tuned. In the meantime, please send both Deb and ML healing thoughts. We hope they both start feeling better soon!

Next Stop Physical Therapy...

With Moki's physical therapy appointment being just around the corner, tomorrow afternoon as a matter of fact, we thought now would be the perfect time to share with all of you some recent videos of Moki walking...



As you can see, walking is still a struggle for Moki. However like most stroke victims who suffer nerve damage, we truly believe, that with physical therapy, we can improve Moki's ability to walk...just as stroke victims suffering from nerve damage, can sometimes regain their ability to function on their own again...

To learn more about what the physical therapist has to say, be sure to check back tomorrow. We hope to have lots of new information to share with you in addition to some awesome physical therapy pictures!

On a different note, momma bean has been looking for an accounting position for quite some time now. Yesterday a staffing firm contact her, and thought that she would be perfect for a long term temp assignment that they have open. At this time the assignment is still only temporary, but it may have the possibility of becoming a permanent full time position. The staffing firm has forwarded momma beans resume to their client who is in the process of reviewing it. In the mean time, the staffing firm has requested that momma bean come into their office tomorrow morning to fill out some paperwork. It is with this in mind that we ask everyone to please purr for momma bean in hopes that she lands the job...Thanks again for every ones continued support!!!