Claire Martin, CCMT (that’s Certified Canine Massage Therapist), CVT, shares how massage therapy can improve our cat’s physical and mental state of health. Read more about her services at Peak Animal Wellness and Massage.
Utilizing All Tools.
As veterinarians continue to advocate for their patients by better understanding and researching different means to combat chronic and acute pain in their patients, bodywork such as massage therapy and acupuncture are becoming much more commonplace in veterinary medicine. Consistent use of these modalities continues to positively enhance the lives of pets living with different levels of physical and emotional pain. While some may gawk at the idea of massage therapy for cats, the results at Peak Animal Wellness and Massage steadily speak for themselves!
The Power of Touch.
As humans, we understand that touch is essential. It carries us through our most vulnerable stages in life, and helps us better connect with who we surround ourselves. Whether being held as a newborn, holding a newborn, a hug during times of sorrow or joy, the power of touch and it’s importance never waivers. There’s no doubt that massage therapy for people has long been used for relaxation and emotional support, and now is greatly utilized for chronic and acute pain. While the studies are limited surrounding the exact responses and effects of massage on animals, Peak Animal Wellness and Massage (along with plenty of other animal massage practitioners and veterinary practices across the country), is seeing direct results with this therapy on both large and small companion animals. In fact, massage therapy has been used for horses and agility dogs for many, many years — and with great success!
Benefits of massage therapy include (but are not limited to!) increasing circulation, preventing muscle atrophy (wasting), pain relief, increasing flexibility, prevention of injuries, speeds healing processes, and emotional support.
According to a recent American Hospital Association survey regarding the use of complementary therapies in human medicine, almost 82 percent of responding hospitals offered massage therapy among their health care offerings — and over 70 percent utilized massage therapy as a part of their pain management program. Since our pets experience many of the same medical conditions that we do, it only makes sense that massage therapy has a similar response for pain and emotional management!
What About Cats?
According to the ASPCA, the average lifespan of an indoor domesticated cat is somewhere between 13-17 years old, however it’s really not uncommon to see cats who are 20 years and older (I have a 20 year old cat myself!). Because they live such long lives, we know that their bodies (even without significant medical conditions or physical traumas) experience age related changes, such as arthritis. It’s important to remember that a cat’s pain tolerance is absolutely through the roof, and often times guardians will have no idea that their cat is experiencing any discomfort at all!
As a body practitioner, it’s clear to me that the mind and body act as one vessel, so subtle signs of pain and discomfort may vary greatly. For example, a cat may not limp, hunch over, or vocalize from pain like we may expect. Alternatively, the signs may consist more of a subtle personality change, becoming distant, hiding more, or perhaps a change in appetite.
How Can We Help Our Cats? 
Going forward with complimentary modalities such as massage therapy for cats, it feels really important that we dismiss our judgement and expectations of how we “think” our cat will react. Sure, we have ALL met cats who request to be petted, only to become incredibly perturbed minutes later. The truth is though, our companion animals are extremely intuitive, and immediately understand the innate difference between being petted and massaged. I have found almost every one of my feline clients to be receptive to massage therapy, and most experience some kind of life changing result which involves living a more pain free life.
Meet Chester:
Chester is an 8 year old domestic shorthaired cat who has experienced chronic lower back pain for years. He receives regular acupuncture, and is on an excellent diet. While he usually does well with his regular bodywork regime, his condition recently regressed, and so his guardian decided to try regular massage therapy sessions with Peak Animal Wellness and Massage. After only a few weekly sessions, Chester’s guardian noticed a substantial shift in his personality. He was happier, more playful, and overall less distant. His veterinarian also noticed a decrease in pain while assessing his condition, and he became more receptive to his acupuncture treatments. Yay, Chester!
3 Essential Pieces for Your Cat’s Success With This Therapy:
- Connection: It is incredibly important that the body practitioner and your cat have a good connection. Enjoying each other’s company is powerful, and once the relationship is established, increased healing can occur. While rooting and deepening this connection may take time, it’s critical that your cat doesn’t feel fear or discomfort in the presence of their massage therapist.
- Respect: Respecting your cat’s boundaries is a key component for healing with massage therapy, especially during the beginning stages of the relationship. How the therapist responds and reacts to your cat’s communications will ultimately mold the success of this therapy. Beginning sessions may be shorter in duration and then become longer, as your cat begins to associate massage sessions with a more pain free life!
- Results: With connection and respect achieved, along with skill and technique, results should occur within 4-6 sessions. Some progress occurs in baby steps, others in leaps and bounds. However, if you are not seeing results in this time frame, it may be time to discuss other options for your pet. These options may include acupuncture, chiropractic adjustments, laser therapy, or other recommendations by your veterinarian and veterinary team.
The Future for Cats and Massage.
Our cats are family. As guardians and professionals, our understanding of them — both medically and behaviorally — continues to grow each day. As Peak Animal Wellness and Massage continues to flourish, we will further advocate for your cat’s wellbeing, and also for their place within this complimentary modality.
I hope that this blog has sparked an interest in you, and that you see the potential that I see for all of our cats! Any questions or comments? I’d love to hear what you have to say! Wishing you and your pets health and happiness, now and always.
Wags and Kisses,
Claire, CVT, CCMT
Simple Diet Solutions for Anti-Inflammation
in Cat Health, Diet & Digestive Health, Dog Health/by Chelsea NiekelskiInflammation is a healthy and normal response the immune system uses for healing, but if not kept in check, can cause pain and more damage. For animals suffering from chronic inflammation and inflammatory diseases, we look for diets that are anti-inflammatory instead of pro-inflammatory.
When is inflammation a good thing?
Inflammation is a useful response of the immune system to attack foreign debris, objects, viruses and bacteria. When the body is attacked, white blood cells surge to the affected area to combat possible infection and to repair or destroy affected cells. The increase of blood flow and the release of healing chemicals cause the affected tissue to warm and swell, which creates pressure or pain. In acute cases, inflammation is a great response, it lets us know we are hurt, and it helps us to recover.
Inflammatory Disorders
Chronic inflammation results in conditions like ear infections, allergies, arthritis, colitis, IBD and IBS, dermatitis and pancreatitis, and can cause cancer and chronic pain. Most inflammatory disorders begin as a healthy immune response. Inflammatory disorders develop for a few different reasons. 1) The cause of initial inflammation is not eliminated, 2) the immune system responds to the pain resulting from the initial inflammation and more inflammation occurs to treat the existing inflammation, or 3) the body suffers from an autoimmune condition where the immune system mistakes healthy tissue for a pathogen, and the body attacks itself.
Anti-inflammatory Diet
Unfortunately, we can’t control everything that contributes to inflammation, but we can control what our animals eat. Because the body’s natural response is inflammation, we choose foods that keep that response in check. This is especially important for animals suffering from disease, but healthy animals benefit from an anti-inflammatory diet as well.
Remember, inflammation occurs when something foreign enters the body, so we want to feed our animals foods that the body recognizes and accepts as natural nutrition. Our animals evolved eating fresh meat, and we can mimic that with species appropriate raw diets that are either frozen, freeze-dried or dehydrated.
Fruits and veggies with anti-inflammatory properties like berries, cruciferous vegetables (like brussels sprouts, kale and spinach), and dark leafy greens. Some commercially available raw foods, like SmallBatch and Bravo include these ingredients in their dog food formulas. For cats, we always want to avoid plant-based proteins and carbohydrates.
High cooking temperatures actually increase the pro-inflammatory property of the food. Processed, dry dog food (we call “kibble”) are heated to temperatures of 400°, resulting in denatured proteins and high levels of AGEs, both of which can trigger an inflammatory response.
Inflammation Fighting Supplements
How to Decipher Pet Food Labels & Misleading Marketing
in Diet & Digestive Health/by Natalie SoonthornswadImprove Your Cat’s Health with Massage Therapy
in Cat Health/by Claire MartinClaire Martin, CCMT (that’s Certified Canine Massage Therapist), CVT, shares how massage therapy can improve our cat’s physical and mental state of health. Read more about her services at Peak Animal Wellness and Massage.
Utilizing All Tools.
The Power of Touch.
As humans, we understand that touch is essential. It carries us through our most vulnerable stages in life, and helps us better connect with who we surround ourselves. Whether being held as a newborn, holding a newborn, a hug during times of sorrow or joy, the power of touch and it’s importance never waivers. There’s no doubt that massage therapy for people has long been used for relaxation and emotional support, and now is greatly utilized for chronic and acute pain. While the studies are limited surrounding the exact responses and effects of massage on animals, Peak Animal Wellness and Massage (along with plenty of other animal massage practitioners and veterinary practices across the country), is seeing direct results with this therapy on both large and small companion animals. In fact, massage therapy has been used for horses and agility dogs for many, many years — and with great success!
According to a recent American Hospital Association survey regarding the use of complementary therapies in human medicine, almost 82 percent of responding hospitals offered massage therapy among their health care offerings — and over 70 percent utilized massage therapy as a part of their pain management program. Since our pets experience many of the same medical conditions that we do, it only makes sense that massage therapy has a similar response for pain and emotional management!
What About Cats?
As a body practitioner, it’s clear to me that the mind and body act as one vessel, so subtle signs of pain and discomfort may vary greatly. For example, a cat may not limp, hunch over, or vocalize from pain like we may expect. Alternatively, the signs may consist more of a subtle personality change, becoming distant, hiding more, or perhaps a change in appetite.
How Can We Help Our Cats?
Going forward with complimentary modalities such as massage therapy for cats, it feels really important that we dismiss our judgement and expectations of how we “think” our cat will react. Sure, we have ALL met cats who request to be petted, only to become incredibly perturbed minutes later. The truth is though, our companion animals are extremely intuitive, and immediately understand the innate difference between being petted and massaged. I have found almost every one of my feline clients to be receptive to massage therapy, and most experience some kind of life changing result which involves living a more pain free life.
Meet Chester:
3 Essential Pieces for Your Cat’s Success With This Therapy:
The Future for Cats and Massage.
I hope that this blog has sparked an interest in you, and that you see the potential that I see for all of our cats! Any questions or comments? I’d love to hear what you have to say! Wishing you and your pets health and happiness, now and always.
Wags and Kisses,
Claire, CVT, CCMT
Understanding CBD Cannabis for Pets
in Cat Health, Dog Health/by Chelsea NiekelskiAs the cannabis industry expands, interest in hemp and marijuana’s health benefits for pets has grown. The cannabis plant is cultivated for both hemp and marijuana harvests and hemp is already a popular material in dog toys, beds and collars. Now even more people are using CBD supplements to improve their pets’ health and well being.
The CBD used in the supplements and treats we carry at The Happy Beast is extracted from cannabis plants grown to produce hemp and contains less than .3% THC (the psychoactive chemical found in marijuana.) This means: 1) You and your pets will not get “high” from ingesting CBD, and 2) CBD is legal to purchase and possess in all 50 states.
How it works:
All mammals, including dogs, cats, and people have a endocannabinoid system composed of receptors in the brain called CB1s and other receptors in the body called CB2s. Our bodies produce endocannabinoids that bind to these receptors to maintain homeostasis, which means the body stays in balance regardless of environmental changes. A good example of this is how our body temperature stays around 98 degrees even when it’s very hot or very cold in our environment.
Homeostasis becomes more interesting when the body experiences a disruption or injury. We know that pain and inflammation are important in healing, pain lets us know that something is wrong and inflammation initially occurs to protect the body. CBD goes to work on immune and nerve cells to regulate pain and inflammation.
Why supplement with a CBD oil when our bodies already produce endocannabinoids?
First, endocannabinoids are produced by our bodies (“endo” meaning “within”) whereas phytocannabinoids come from the cannabis plant (“phyto” meaning “plant).
New studies show that supplementing with a small daily dose of phytocannabinoids increases the number of CB1 and CB2 receptors which augments the function of the entire system. Some scientists propose that deficiencies in our modern diets decrease the body’s ability to produce a sufficient supply to the point that supplementation becomes necessary.
How to try it:
If you have a healthy dog, PetReleaf treats are perfect for a small daily dose to create balance in the endocannabinoid system.
If your dog or cat is suffering from anxiety, pain, cancer, arthritis, or an otherwise compromised immune system, PetReleaf oil and CannaCompanion capsules provide a concentrated, higher dose of CBD. While CBD has shown no contraindications with other medications or serious side effects, if your animal is under vet care make sure your vet knows you are using it.
And finally, if you’d like more information, just stop by The Happy Beast in Lafayette and we’ll walk you through the various options and benefits.
P.S. Marijuana is STILL not safe for our pets. THC is not the same as CBD, and animals can have adverse reactions to THC, so keep it out of paws reach!
How To Train Your Cat to Walk on a Harness
in Animal Behavior, Exercise/by Natalie SoonthornswadCats are made for hunting and exploring. This is how it’s always been and always will be. Understanding the true nature of a cat allows us to address their individual needs and avoid unwanted behaviors.
While we understand that it is not always possible or desired to allow cats outside unattended, we do believe for cats who exhibiting restless or aggressive behavior, it is important for their mental and physical well-being to allow them to interact with the natural environment. We feel strongly that every cat benefits from fresh air and the sight, sound and smell of the outdoors. Fortunately, there are ways to give your indoor cat the benefit of the outdoors. Two of our favorites? Cat enclosures and training them to walk on a harness.
Signs your cat needs more mental and physical stimuli:
Many people think that having a cat requires less maintenance than a dog. However, indoor cats need lots of additional environmental enrichment because they lack the opportunity to hunt and explore the outdoors. A great way to provide your cat with the stimuli they need is to start harness training your cat, and yes it can be done!
Ideally, you would start harness training your cat as a kitten because they are naturally more accepting of new things. However, if your cat is older, the biggest trick is to make your cat think the harness is their idea by rewarding the desired behavior with a fun treat.
First Steps to Harness and Leash Training Your Cat
Important Tips to Remember:
We suggest scouting your prospective walking area during the time of day that you plan on walking your cat. Cats are both predator and prey, so if you find that there are lots of dogs out at one time of day, pick another time that is more mellow in order to reduce chance encounters with dogs.
In general, we recommend walking close to your home and not hopping in the car with your cat for a hike that’s miles away from his/her familiar environment. If you allow your cat to slowly expand his/her territory around your home turf, you have a safeguard that if your cat gets loose he/she will be able to find the way back home.
For those of you interested in taking your cats on vacation, be sure to scout out your pit stops before taking your cat out. Your cat should be 100% comfortable walking on a harness if you are planning on taking them to unfamiliar areas.
Our store kitties are benefiting from an enclosed “catio” since our busy store location in Lafayette does not allow for safe outdoor access. Check it out next time you’re at The Happy Beast!