Otto's Adjustment

Every now and again, Otto needs an attitude adjustment, and either Elroy, Wanda or Mister are all too happy to oblige.  But sometimes, Otto just needs an adjustment adjustment.  As in, a chiropractic adjustment.  Yeah, they do those for cats, too.  But wait (you're thinking to yourself), why would a cat need a chiropractic adjustment?  Aren't cats the most laid-back, slinky, practically-liquid animals around?  Isn't chiropracty really for us humans, who get all stressed out and (literally) "bent out of shape" over silly things?  Well, yes and no.  Cats, it turns out, can get stressed out and tensed up, too.  (Anybody who has ever watched Otto doing evasive movements trying to avoid Elroy can attest to this truism.)  

We had been watching Otto's right elbow jutting out at a 45 degree angle from his body for years.  Dr. McKisson manipulated it every way he could think of, and could find no structural issue.  We weren't aware of any injury he might have had, but it was clear that he was uncomfortable, and he wasn't walking as smoothly as he had in his youth.  Sean had visited a really nice chiropractor for his own body troubles, one whom he discovered also did chiropractic work on dogs, cats, and even horses.  (Yes, it works, but it takes a lot of leverage...)  

A few weeks ago, Otto went to the "people chiropractor" for his own visit.  Since Otto doesn't seem to mind vet visits at all, save the driving part, we weren't too concerned about his reaction.  Our expectations were completely borne out.  Otto wandered around the office, checking everything out and gingerly touching the mechanisms on the chiropractic table.  The chiropractor told Sean that Otto had a lot of tension around his shoulder, which was causing his elbow to stick out, and was probably causing some weakness, but was unlikely to be giving him  any actual pain.  That was a big relief.  The chiropractor did some gentle adjustments, and taught Sean some exercises that he could do with Otto while at home, mostly of the deep massage variety.  

Otto went back a week or two later for a follow-up, which I got to attend this time (yay!).  He does seem to be doing a little better, and it was a tremendous lesson for us to find out that even these noodle-boned creatures can actually experience muscle tension, just like us.  And just like us, sometimes they need help with it.  I think Otto appreciated the adjustment almost as much as he appreciated the attention.  And he probably really appreciated the fact that Wanda didn't smell the vet's office on him when he got home.  I'm sure he'd already had enough "adjusting" for one day...