This Week is National Take Your Cat to the Vet Week
My friend, Romeo the Cat, did a survey: Please describe your cat’s behavior when going to the vet. Here are the results:
- Somehow knows what’s up and runs to hide before we even leave – 43%
- Won’t get into the cat carrier – 60.2%
- Won’t come out of the cat carrier once at the V-E-T – 44.3%
- Yowls and complains the whole way to the V-E-T – 67%
- No problem, my cat loves the V-E-T – 10.2%
This week marks National Take Your Cat to the Vet Week–an event created in 2009 by Feline Pine cat litter. They started the event because, in a survey they conducted last year, fewer than 50% of cat owners took their cats to the vet unless they were sick. Many of these people said they didn’t realize they needed to.
It’s recommended that all cats have annual check ups. For senior cats (10 years and older) the American Association of Feline Practitioners recommends bi-annual visits because many diseases begin in middle age and problems in older cats tend to accelerate more quickly.
Why?
- Cats have a reputation for being “low maintenance,” which is not entirely accurate. They still need regular vet care to keep them healthy and catch problems early before they become more difficult to treat.
- Cats age faster than humans. Much can happen to a cat’s health in between vet visits.
- It’s recommended that most cats (especially those 10 years and older) visit the vet every six months because many diseases begin in middle age and problems in older cats tend to accelerate quickly.
- Despite the many products on the market to help keep your cat’s teeth clean, nothing compares to a thorough dental cleaning by your vet. Regular dental care can prevent serious problems – and expense – later on and dramatically improve your cat’s well being.
- Regular vet visits are a cost-effective way for owners to take care of their cats as many problems, when caught early, require less extensive – and less expensive – treatment than if the problem progresses and more aggressive treatment is needed.
How long has it been since your cat had a vet visit?
Bev, thank you for your insights on the pawscoop blog post for 5 Things to Consider When Choosing Dog Food: http://blog.pawscoop.com/?p=504
It’s definitely important to educate pet owners – as well as encourage them to join create pet causes.
There is a boatload of misinformation about my company out there in the ethernet. Frankly, there’s a lot of misinformation about dog and cat nutrition out there, too.
One suggestion I would like to make to you as you compare ingredient panels on dry food: if they have to add taurine to the food, then it’s not a meat-based diet. Taurine is an amino acid–amino acids are what make up protein–that is only found in meat. Eukanuba and Iams dry diets do not need to add taurine because our protein source is animal-based.
Anytime you have questions about our products, don’t hesitate to shoot me an email (petcarebev[dot]im[at]pg[dot]com).
Oddly enough my cat immediately lies down on the scale and just stays there…so weird b/c she is usually a totally tough-cookie with serious catitude…:)
Next week on Sept 9 our cat, Smudge, will be 19 years old, born in 1991 in Longwood, FL. She had her last vet check-up a few months back, and the vet said she is in really good shape for an 8 year old cat (he had misread her chart and didn’t see the “1″ in front of the “8″). When I told him she was almost 19 he decided he needed to do some blood work to check kidneys, etc. After the tests were run, he came back in and told me “Our blood work should be this good.” She still runs around and jumps and enjoys sleeping at the highest spot she can find. Her only indication of “old age” is her voice, which sounds like a Sr. Citizen. With very few exceptions she has been on Iams her entire life. It has certainly kept her healthy.
Oh, and when it is time to go to the vet . . . she has the strength and resistance of a very young cat. She has been known to have the vets staff chasing her all over the office.
Last week my 20 year old cat went to the vet for her 6 month check-up, she was so fiestly they couldn’t take blood, I had to bring her back the next day to stay while they gave her something to calm her before drawing blood – everything came back fine. I think that she is going to outlive me…..