Furry Physicians

Our family has four pets, three cats, and a dog. One cat thinks he is a dog, and another thinks she is a fierce mountain lion. The other two—a 17 year old cat named Rocky and a 3 year old Chihuahua named Zeva—believe they are my personal physicians.

Dr. Rocky: My helpful kitty

Rocky was and still is more in tune with my body than I am which became even more evident after my PsA diagnosis. Rocky is always by my side when I am riding out a flare. If I am experiencing a migraine, he lies near the top of my head. When pain in my hands or feet is elevated, he lies across them. His purring and the warmth of his fur comfort me, not to mention it forces me to lie still. Dr. Rocky, as I now call him, pinpointed the exact area that ovarian cysts were forming long before my real doctors.

Zeva the Diva: My all-knowing Chihuahua

Zeva the Diva, is just as in tune with my body as Dr. Rocky is, in fact the two of them compete to care for me. If I am pushing myself too hard, Zeva will bark and growl at me until I rest. She recognizes oncoming pain long before I am able to. When pain causes my body to tense up or if I am experiencing abdominal contractions she will lie on top of my chest and nuzzle my neck to distract me until the pain decreases. She also acts as a heating pad by lying next to my lower back at bedtime.

Both Zeva the Diva and Dr. Rocky know when I need to move my body and create reasons to lure me from my bed. On the flip side, they also know when I should be in bed and will go to great lengths to tell me so. These two furballs have been far more helpful than many of my real physicians when it comes to finding the source of certain pain. When my human physicians wanted to diagnose a new symptom with another condition, my furry physicians said nope and pointed out the area that needed to be addressed. Long story short, the new symptom was nothing new, it only appeared when a “regular” symptom flared and disappeared after I addressed it.

Listen to your pets; they may be saying “I love you” and a whole lot more!