Annoying/sad

Was talking to my neighbour tonight about my female cat, who since her owning having to give her up in December has had a skin problem, conjunctivitis, needed an FIV/FeLV bloodtest, an ear infection, a dental, and now a urinary infection. I think this is the result of not being very well looked after for most of her life, never going to the vets and just being given whatever food was the cheapest. I said this to my neighbour who said that one of her cats had gone years without going to the vets. To me, that is nothing to brag about, and i told her that i think cats should have at least a yearly checkup (I have been to my vets at least 20 times this year, about 16 of those have been with cats!!) as there are certain things you cant pick up on unless they are blood tested. I did plan on getting both mine bloodtested on a yearly basis, and a twice yearly checkup, think i have exceeded that and they are both booked in at the weight clinic next month!! She did cat rescue for about 10 years, so supposedly knows loads about cats, and has had lots of dealings, yet doesnt even think of a yearly checkup (so un-vaccinated cats). Sorry, just needed a rant

I know exactly where your coming from!. Theres a girl i work with who has a cat aged about 13 and a dog aged 3, and she seems to think that because the cats the age it is it's pointless taking her to the vets as she probably hasn't got long left

I had to remind her the other day that cats can live up to the age of 20 and more if their lucky, but she doesn't take her to the vets for yearly checkups and shots either, and that really ticks me off!!

I think it should be made law that if you take on an animal you have to have it registered with a vet and make sure it has a yearly checkup and shots where necessary!.

I am not the best about check up but I do make sure all have there vaccines done... I got a card about shots for my will be 17 in 9 days cat I called since my records showed three years for shots.. computer error thankfully .. all kids should at least go to a shot clinic yearly for a basic check up

Meh, I don't take my cats to the vets unless they are visibly injured or sick. The only visit to the vet they have had is to get neutered. Personally, that's all I feel they really need.

Our cats don't get a yearly check up either..

Originally Posted by LaceyDF



Aren't you particularly concerned about the health of your cats, since you breed them and all? I'd want to make sure the cats were healthy so I didn't pass something on to the next generations if they weren't...

Just wondering.

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If there is something visibly wrong we will take them to the vets in an instant but we are not prepared to pay $20-$30 for just walking in for each of our animals. I don't know any breeders here in NZ that take their cats for regular checkups, infact I don't know any pet owners that do either. Also yearly vaccinations are pretty much useless anyway.

I thought breeders should to make sure their cats arent carrying any illnesses that could be passed on to offspring?

I have to admit up until this year mine werent vaccinated, but Ginger had 3 dentals 3 years in a row, all in Sept/Oct, and my vets do blood tests before the anaesthetic to check liver/kidney function.

The way i look at checkups is that cats cant tell you whether they are in pain or not, the only way to find out is to do a checkup and blood tests. Also, i had both mine vaccinated for the first time this year, they were checked over both times, the first time my males heart was slightly fast but was put down to stress and the fact we had just moved him quickly, the second time he had a slight heart murmur, so things can appear really quickly.

I am one of those people who will not take my cat to the vet unless they are evidently in pain, because I believe "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." I have never met a cat who enjoys a visit to the vet, let alone unneccesary needles for something they probably don't have. My cats don't go outside so I feel they are relatively safe...anything else is luck of the draw.
If one of them becomes sick, I would take him to the vet, but if it turned out to be some disease like kidney failure or something that couldn't be easily fixed, I would let them live until they were in pain and then put them down. I could not justify putting them through the pain of daily needles, IV's, etc. because they wouldn't understand why I was making suffer through that.

I don't believe cats feel the same way about life as we humans do-- they don't have goals, aspirations, dreams, besides daily accomplishments like getting the cookie can open, catching the bird, teasing the dog, etc. Once they are in pain they can't really see anything past that...just feel the pain.

I can't be selfish and keep my cats alive just for my enjoyment, so when my boys are eventually too uncomfortable to go on, I'm gonna do the nicest thing I can for them and let them go.

My cats get a free checkup everytime I take them in for shots.

I take them in for vaccinations at least twice a year so I feel pretty comfortable about the amount of checkups they get.

Until I got Kionu, I've never met a breeder that didn't take their cats/dogs to a vet. Had the breeder vaccinated and gave him proper flea treatment, he wouldn't have been in such bad shape when I got him. Then again, her entire place was horrid.

Originally Posted by RosieToes

I can't be selfish and keep my cats alive just for my enjoyment, so when my boys are eventually too uncomfortable to go on, I'm gonna do the nicest thing I can for them and let them go.

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I agree with that, but only to an extent. It would be far better to catch it before it develops into a painful problem and fix it then, than to just let it go until it gets so bad there's no choice. I love our kids and they deserve as long and happy a life as I can manage because in adopting them we've committed ourselves to to giving them this.

I've just come from the dentist & am still numb, so this is my analogy... I'm 31 and until this past month have only been to the dentist once (to have a root canal no less). I didn't have my teeth cleaned, didn't have cavaties fixed, nothing. Now I have several root canals coming or else I'll lose those teeth. I've been giving thought to just extracting one or two instead, not unlike what you've said you'd do... instead of going through that pain and expense, just let it go. But, if I had taken care of my teeth with simple, non-major low-stress dentist visits, I wouldn't have to make that choice.

Much like I'm (hopefully) far less than halfway through my potential lifespan, and would like to continue munching frito pie for the rest of it, I'm sure your kitty would trade a little bit of yearly poking if it ensured he/she would have a long lifetime of cuddles and purrrrs.

I second that, very well said. I told my neighbour that the cat should be bloodtested, as even if she wont eat the special food (and until they try, they dont know), at least they are aware of the problem and can alleviate it with a high protein diet. She also refused to take her dog for bloodtests even when they thought she had raised liver enzymes, as she didnt want to have to starve the dog and take her up cos she wouldnt understand, yet when the dog collapsed due to being in so much pain twice, she just pushed for stronger medication (7 tabs a day and £95per month), when she had a paralysed voicebox she paid for an op, and in the end her dogs lungs kept filling up with fluid, she went for daily injections for three days before her mum could convince her to let the dog go. I couldnt understand that if she was willing for the dog to have certain treatment (and spend days in the emergency vet) yet wouldnt have a simple bloodtest done for her liver function cos it would have meant pre-starving the dog.

Checkups are normal for me and my family when it comes to pets. Pets sometimes hide illnesses in ways we cant see... until it is too late. its a small fee for peace of mind. So are vaccinations - Read cabbits thread if you think vaccinations are pointless!