One of my biggest concerns in my business is how kitties often take the back burner when it comes to health care. When dogs come in every year, get their check up, heartworm test, vaccines, and heartworm prevention and dewormer, that same family often gives less than a second thought to the needs of the resident family member who meows rather than barks. So I am here today as an advocate that the same frequency and quality of care be extended to our feline friends.
Let me give you an example of how things can go terribly wrong when the cat is forgotten. Unlike dogs, many cats are a bit reclusive, don’t take daily walks or chase a ball. so I think people tend to “not Notice” when the cat isn’t feeling well. They are very good at hiding illness, in fact the signs can be very subtle and unless we are very intune to their habits and behaviors, serious illness is missed until they are in dire straights. And often by the time I get my hands on the furry beast the treatment is expensive or it is to late to help. I don’t want any of you to have to face such a situation, so I would like to give some tips on how to make certain they are healthy, how we can prevent illness, and how we have the ablility to find problems while they are still small.
Not long ago I had a kitty come in for a dental. The owner did not want to perform an exam and the kitty had never been to see us. He had been a stray who wandered up several years before and she had taken him in. She was concerned about his mouth because he was grinding his teeth and not very active. When I saw the kitty, the first thing I noticed was his breathing. It was not normal, in fact he was having difficulty and literally had his mouth open to breath. This is never normal in a cat.
Upon further evaluation I took x-rays of his chest, and it was discovered he had a diaphragmatic hernia. this is where the diaphram is damaged and the organs of the abdomen are actually in the chest cavity. this makes it very difficult to breath and many times can cause their death. In his case we were able to perform surgery and repair the damage. This had been an old injury, and from the condition the kitty was in when he showed up at her door it was likely due to trauma from years ago. This cat lived with this life threatening issue for years and could easily have died, but thankfully we were able to help him. His owner felt terrible, but the point of the story is many people don’t know what to look for or what certain things mean. that is why we are here. As veterinarians we are trained to recognize and treat serious problems before they become more serious or actually cause the demise of the pet.
So what can you do? The same thing you would do for your dog and hopefully for yourself. The difference in ourselves is we know when we don’t feel well or a child is hurting or not feeling up to snuff. we can verbalize these troubles. And as for the dog, well we have learned through the years that caring for the canine in the family is important and we know he needs to go to the vet at least once a year. What I ask in regards to your kitty (or dog) is please don’t wait until they are sick.
All of you who have kitties, remember that for every one year of our life, they age 5-7 years. Things can change quickly and dramatically, but we can often recognize the signs before they become untreatable. Bring them in every year for an exam and perferably twice a year after the age of 8 so we can keep them healthy. It is our job, but more importantly our passion, to keep your friends with you as long as possible. And if we keep them healthy through preventative measures, the cost is much less than trying to treat them once they are very ill. Or worse the cost of having to euthenize them because they did not get the benefit of a good physical exam, preventative medications and labwork as needed.
