34th Annual Scientific Meeting proceedings

Objectives:

While force plates (FP) represent the gold standard for kinetic gait analysis, cats are too short-strided for this system. Consequently, pressure sensitive walkways (PSW) have historically been utilized. Recently, an over-ground FP treadmill (FPT) was validated in dogs, however, its use in cats has not yet been evaluated.

Methods:

Institutional ethical approval (IACUC) was obtained. Cats with no evidence of orthopedic disease were prospectively enrolled and randomly assigned to walk on either the FPT or PSW first, following acclimatization. Cats were gaited until 3-5 valid trials were obtained. After normalizing to body weight, peak vertical force (PVF), vertical impulse (VI), symmetry index (SI) and time for data collection were statistically compared between systems, using a paired student’s t-test.

Results:

Fourteen cats with body weights of 5.0±1.4kg met inclusion criteria. PVF was not different (P≥0.1) for either forelimb between FPT (combined mean 58.9±2.6N) and PSW (55.7±12.3N). PVF was not different (P≥0.07) for either hindlimb between FPT (46.2±3.5N) and PSW (42.8±7.9N). VI was higher in forelimbs (P<0.001) and hindlimbs (P<0.001) with FPT (28.4±3.9Ns fore; 21.0±3.4Ns hind) compared to PSW (15.4±7.7Ns fore; 7.7±4.4Ns hind). SI was not different (P>0.2) between FPT (1.0±0.1%) and PSW (1.1±0.2%). Data collection time was shorter (P=0.001) for FPT (3.5±1.3 min) than PSW (8.9±4.6 min).

Conclusions:

The FPT produced consistent and repeatable kinetic data, was easy and fast to use, and cats readily participated in most cases. The homogeneity of protocols using this system could allow for useful comparisons between studies, hospitals, and patients in future investigations.