Cat friendly Handling: Your cat is worthy of a positive Experience at the Veterinary clinic
guest post by Ellen Carozza, LVT
Thanks to the internet, cats are the most popular pet, yet they receive less medical care than their canine counterparts. join me and the conscious cat in this two part series on what actually happens when your cat is handled in the veterinary clinic, and how you and your cat can have that positive experience you’ve always wanted.
But first I need to take a step back and discuss a few things…
Handling practices for cats
One of the top comments I see in numerous of my pet related messages on THE cat LVT is how so numerous people don’t like how their cat is handled at the veterinary clinic.
In my 20+ years of being in veterinary medicine, I’ve seen quite the evolution of animal restraint in practice. So why are our dealing with practices for cats still so primitive? Is it because we don’t care to acquire even more knowledge and relocation forward in our standards of care? Is it worry of the animal itself? Or is it because “we’ve always done it this way?”
As pet guardians want to be much more involved in their pets’ care, and as we treat the newer generation of pets, our industry needs to make much needed changes both in terms of treating clients and to keep a practice thriving. While these changes are happening, it feels like they are happening at a snail’s pace.
As veterinary professionals, we are dedicated to offering outstanding care: care and compassion that is paid for by you, the client.
Veterinary medicine is categorized as a “for profit” industry, as animals by law are considered personal home for which you elect us to offer medical care. Yet I see on numerous Facebook forums for veterinary professionals how anti-cat they can be. how is this possible? we all work in this field for various reasons. To see the negative comments about our feline clients can be disheartening and downright embarrassing at times.
How can we as caregivers boast of our love for animals and then speak of them in a negative manner? I see cats labeled as “demons”, “aggressive”, “awful”, and numerous four-letter words that don’t need to be repeated. This is not only unprofessional and abhorrent behavior on the professionals’ part, it also implies that they either do not understand the language of the cat, or they really don’t want to learn and work with them.
I’m not a fan of working with dogs. I never have been and I’m not scared of admitting it. I don’t understand their language, and their presence can be too much for me to deal with physically. I grew up with dogs. My family still has them as pets. I just choose not to work with them. So what did I do? I found a practice that was exclusive to the species I wanted to work with: cats. There is nothing wrong with admitting that you don’t choose to work with a particular species, but if you have made the choice to work at a mixed practice, you are expected to be kind, compassionate, and understanding regardless of what species your client is.
Understanding cats sets up a much more successful vet visit
Learning how a client acts and reacts in a medical setting can help set up a much more successful visit. We as professionals need to make sure we are prepared in advancement to make sure that happens. You as a client need to be truthful about how your cat has behaved at previous veterinary check outs so we can anticipate your and your cat’s needs accordingly.
The feline client has a distinct body language and can arrive at the clinic already stressed out. Those of us working the veterinary field need to learn how to understand the clear signals cats give us, and adjust our behavior accordingly to be able to work with them safely. In reality, these cats are scared, and are acting out in a manner completely suitable to a situation they did not willingly put themselves in. once that is understood, speaking their language gets easier, and they are quite gratifying to work with.
However, we do need your help. We need to know if your cat prefers certain staff members. We need to know if your cat needs or has been given an anxiolytic (medication to ease anxiety before the visit) in the past or might benefit from such medication, or if your cat needs to be sedated to handle.
Outdated restraint and anesthesia techniques
Unfortunately, the American Veterinary medical association (AVMA) still requires the veterinary professional to learn outdated restraint/anesthesia techniques for companion animals. Restraint methods such as scruffing, and even worse “tanking” or “boxing”, (putting the cat into an oxygen tank and running anesthetic gas into the tank to sedate them) are not only unsafe, but are considered outdated, cruel and unnecessary dealing with methods. They are also risky for the staff performing the task.
Not only does scruffing put harmful tension on the cervical vertebrae, it can be uncomfortable for cats with arthritis and skin ailments. Inullnull