National Take Your Cat to the Vet Day is August 22. That is next week. I would argue EVERY day should be “Take Your Cat to the Vet Day”, but this gives me a chance to wrap up my feline exam & vaccination series.
Today I performed a routine exam and vaccinations on my new nurse’s (Larissa) cat name Dandi. She has been anxious in the past going to the vet and usually growls. We know that growling is a sign of fear and anxiety. She has had a lot of dental work and extractions, so maybe her fear was based on good reasons! To help avoid anxiety, Larissa gave Dandi a dose a gabapentin this morning on her food before going in the carrier & coming to work. We scheduled her on a light day, no barking dogs. She was transferred from carrier to cage while we did our morning cases.
At lunch, we moved Dandi to the cat room, with the pheromone Feliway diffuser, and covered her with a towel that had been sprayed with Feliway. Dandi never growled, , no dilated pupils, no ears laid back, and seemed comfortable throughout. We did our whole exam and vaccination without ever triggering fear or anxiety. Put that in the WIN column!
Dandi is a textbook example of how Fear Free can make a difference. Let us try it on YOUR cat. And tell Larissa how cute her cat is.
https://www.catvets.com/public/PDFs/Content-Articles/Cat2VetDayInfographic-2016%20FINAL.2.pdf
https://www.catvets.com/public/PDFs/Content-Articles/Benefits-Routine-Vet-Visits.pdf
https://www.catvets.com/public/PDFs/ClientBrochures/Cat-to-VetHandout.pdf
