By: Terry Lackmeyer, My Pet’s Brace Customer Service Representative
Sometimes, dogs and cats are as different as night and day. Call a dog and it will come running. Call a cat and it will take a message and get back to you. That same attitude tends to follow through with braces as well. Dogs readily accept braces with few questions asked. Felines, on the other hand, can take longer to accept a cat leg brace and are typically more difficult to fit. Cats may try to shake off a brace or freeze and not move at all. While we have made carpal, knee, and hock leg braces for cats, each one is on a case-by-case basis.
Determining factors include:
- Type of injury
- Slickness of fur
- Personality traits
- Ability to create suspension
- Current mobility
- Home environment
CCL Leg Braces and Cats
Cats and stifle leg braces—the braces used for cruciate ligament injuries—are challenging to fit. The fur is so soft and silky, almost rabbit-like in texture, that it may be difficult to have the brace suspend correctly. On an individual basis, we’ll discuss whether a cat may be a good candidate for a knee brace.
We Strive for Better Mobility for All Pets
While dogs constitute 99% of our clientele, we love animals—including your cat—and want to do our part to help with custom leg braces when we can. From goats to sheep to llamas, cows, and sometimes ducks, our main objective is doing what is best for the pet to help it live a happier life!
If you want to help your pet with a leg issue, we encourage you to contact us today to discuss conservative management alternatives to invasive surgery. Our experts can help steer you in the right direction to give your pet a better quality of life.
Junior — A cat with a carpal brace! Junior has a brachial plexus injury.
Zeke — This little cat wears a carpal brace for radial agenesis.