Research Areas: Agriculture ; Veterinary SciencesThis article aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of intensive neurorehabilitation in
paraplegic cats, with no deep pain perception (grade 0 on the modified Frankel scale), with more than
three months of injury. Nine cats, admitted to the Arrábida Veterinary Hospital/Arrábida Animal
Rehabilitation Center (CRAA), were subjected to a 12-week intensive functional neurorehabilitation
protocol, based on ground and underwater treadmill locomotor training, electrostimulation, and
kinesiotherapy exercises, aiming to obtain a faster recovery to ambulation and a modulated locomotor
pattern of flexion/extension. Of the nine cats that were admitted in this study, 56% (n = 5) recovered
from ambulation, 44% of which (4/9) did so through functional spinal locomotion by reflexes, while
one achieved this through the recovery of deep pain perception. These results suggest that intensive
neurorehabilitation can play an important role in ambulation recovery, allowing for a better quality of
life and well-being, which may lead to a reduction in the number of euthanasia procedures performed
on paraplegic animals.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio