How often do you bring them to the vet?

urbantigers · May 7, 2006

Mine go once a year for vaccinations and health check. Jaffa will be 9 in a month so might start going twice a year for check ups. He had a blood test recently prior to a dental examination and something to do with his kidneys was a little high. Vet said not to worry and that it might just be due to dehydration as a result of fasting for the dental but he will have a further blood test when he goes for his vaccinations in September. If there's any chance of him having a problem with his kidneys I want him checked regularly so that it can be picked up before he starts showing symptoms.

cloud_shade · May 7, 2006

Willow (now age 7.5) went once each year until I got Spot. Now I take her twice per year and as needed (she had cystitis, so if she shows any signs of that coming back, in she goes). Spot, however, was always ill and it was rare that more than two weeks went by without a vet visit. Now that he's gone, I'm in vet withdrawl

, so I took Willow in early for a quick check-up.

trouts mom · May 7, 2006

Originally Posted by AbbysMom

Abby has her shots and physical once a year. She is an indoor cat. Of course, if a problem crops up, she would go in.

Yep, Trout too.

icklemiss21 · May 7, 2006

Originally Posted by squirtle

Oh my, Poor Scully!

Do you have a thread about this? If so, I must have missed it..... What are you doing to help with the weight?

There isn't one on here as I had him a while before joining TCS, so the basics to recap

We got him just over two years ago, the first time we weighed him he was 32lbs (we couldn't calm him down enough to weigh him before that and the vet gave up in the first visit because he was so stressed and it was obvious he needed to lose some so we put it on the chart as 33-34lbs).

He belonged to friends of my BF's sister in law (who is owned by Scullys sister), who had to give up their two cats because they thought that their toddlers allergies may be caused by the cats.

As toddlers do, he would throw food on the floor which Scully would (and still will) quite happily clean up (everyone calls him the feline vacuum) so my guess is that a lot of the weight gain came from the frosties etc he was eating.

He also spent a great deal of time hiding from their other cat who was cruel to him and has some behavioural issues that need to be addressed (the reason we took just Scully and not both).

They realised he was getting a 'bit chubby' so started feeding him Iams weight control so when he moved in with us he was less than impressed in what we were feeding at the time (a mixture of holistic blend - a Canadian brand - and chicken soup) so he wouldn't eat much and got no human treats so he dropped the first couple of lbs pretty quickly.

The first vet visit dealt mostly with the scabbing on his tummy (from the skin dragging on the carpet) and we ended up shaving off his fur and applying an ointment to his tummy twice a day until healed.

Then we found out he has mild diabetes (controlled by diet) we fed diabetic food for a while but he gained weight and fussed alot and kept getting to the others' food anyway so we gave up on it and just monitored him more carefully. Thankfully as his weight went down the diabetes calmed and he can now eat whatever food. So they have all been eating Evo and doing pretty well dieting on it (as long as I serve up the portions because daddy feeds them too much!)

Then he needed some teeth pulled because his teeth were so bad.

Now he has this strange lump and goes in to a new vet for a biopsy on Wednesday.

This is one of the earliest pics I have of him, most of the fur had grown back but you can still see the pinkness of his tummy

and a more recent one (a lot lighter):

lionessrampant · May 7, 2006

The younger cats go in at least once a year for a check-up and then they have shots updated every 3 years. Raph, who is about 8, goes in for 2 physicals a year, one of them with a full CBC. I only do blood workup on the younger cats every few years unless they were to start showing unusual symptoms, but they're generally quite healthy.

vanillasugar · May 7, 2006

Nya and Buddy used to have me in and out of the vets office on practically a monthly basis. After switching them to raw diet, any unexplainable issues that kept cropping up seem to have stopped, thank goodness. Buddy went in for his yearly exam a few weeks ago, Nya's is in August I think. We havn't had any "emergencies" (or random illnesses) since November, and I hope it stays that way!

icklemiss21 · May 7, 2006

Julia, I hope they stay that way... Buddy was starting to spend more time at the vet than Sculls!

vanillasugar · May 7, 2006

He was perfectly healthy at his last exam

so I think we may just be in the clear *crosses finger*

kittycorner · May 7, 2006

Hi!
I am a vet tech and it seems as though I always have one of mine at the vet for something, but then I think I am a little overparanoid since I know alot of what causes most kitty problems and at the first sign of trouble I always think the worst.

Then again with Melody only having one kidney and Uno only having one eye we kind of have a little bit more cause for concern. Here is my 2 cents worth-I think that up to the age of 10 yrs. they should be seen atleast once a year whether it is for vacc. or just a yearly thorough exam. After the age of 10 then I suggest twice a year, as kitties get older they tend to start having kidney/liver troubles especially kidney-and it is always cheaper to take them in twice a year for exams then to wait and suffer the concequences when they do run into trouble. Like I said it is just my opinion and nothing else-and like I mentioned before I am kinda PARANOID when it comes to my little angels! I also do not believe that vacc. every year are neccessary-especially if they are indoors only. Keep them up to date on Rabies vacc. so you do not get in trouble with animal control but everything else if it is important to you, then do every 3 yrs.

icklemiss21 · May 8, 2006

My vet gives shots every two years for indoor cats unless you call up and ask for them yearly, but they go for a check up in between

squirtle · May 8, 2006

Originally Posted by icklemiss21

He is such a pretty boy!

I think that it is amazing that you brought him in and took such wonderful care of him. His poor little tummy though... I bet it broke your heart while he was going through all of that.

He really seems to be doing so much better now. Sending good vibes your way that the lump turns out to be nothing. Please keep us updated

sea witch · May 8, 2006

All my pets have always seen the vet for an annual physical. I do my own shots, except for the ones which must be administered by a vet.

misty8723 · May 8, 2006

I have only had my two since December and they had shots and check up at the shelter before we got them

I've had Swanie to the vet twice (to check on things I was concerned about) and Cindy three time (ditto). I have been like a new mama, I guess, but I think taking Cindy the first time and the vet giving her the steriod was resposible for her other problems (lump at the shot site and chin acne).

I plan to take them once a year for a gereral check up and any shots I can't wiggle out of getting (I'm very anti-shot at this point after reading what can happen to the cat because of the shot, and also my experience with the steriod shot).

babyharley · May 8, 2006

I actually just called the vet on Friday about this!

Harley got fixed this past December, so he'll start going yearly - every December. He of course went all the time when he was a kitten, for his shots - but he has not been back since he has been fixed, and I think he likes it that way!

Of course if something were to be wrong, he would go in

luckygirl · May 8, 2006

that's a great question for all of us new meowmy's... I just assumed it was annually...and didn't know about the over 7 yrs going twice rule. But here's a ? for everyone....how often do they have to get boosters? My LuckyGirl got her 1st shots & blood work on April 22, and she has to go back for boosters soon (vet said 3 weeks). So do kitty's have to get shots every year?

luckygirl · May 8, 2006

Originally Posted by icklemiss21

There isn't one on here as I had him a while before joining TCS, so the basics to recap

We got him just over two years ago, the first time we weighed him he was 32lbs (we couldn't calm him down enough to weigh him before that and the vet gave up in the first visit because he was so stressed and it was obvious he needed to lose some so we put it on the chart as 33-34lbs).

He belonged to friends of my BF's sister in law (who is owned by Scullys sister), who had to give up their two cats because they thought that their toddlers allergies may be caused by the cats.

As toddlers do, he would throw food on the floor which Scully would (and still will) quite happily clean up (everyone calls him the feline vacuum) so my guess is that a lot of the weight gain came from the frosties etc he was eating.

He also spent a great deal of time hiding from their other cat who was cruel to him and has some behavioural issues that need to be addressed (the reason we took just Scully and not both).

They realised he was getting a 'bit chubby' so started feeding him Iams weight control so when he moved in with us he was less than impressed in what we were feeding at the time (a mixture of holistic blend - a Canadian brand - and chicken soup) so he wouldn't eat much and got no human treats so he dropped the first couple of lbs pretty quickly.

The first vet visit dealt mostly with the scabbing on his tummy (from the skin dragging on the carpet) and we ended up shaving off his fur and applying an ointment to his tummy twice a day until healed.

Then we found out he has mild diabetes (controlled by diet) we fed diabetic food for a while but he gained weight and fussed alot and kept getting to the others' food anyway so we gave up on it and just monitored him more carefully. Thankfully as his weight went down the diabetes calmed and he can now eat whatever food. So they have all been eating Evo and doing pretty well dieting on it (as long as I serve up the portions because daddy feeds them too much!)

Then he needed some teeth pulled because his teeth were so bad.

Now he has this strange lump and goes in to a new vet for a biopsy on Wednesday.

This is one of the earliest pics I have of him, most of the fur had grown back but you can still see the pinkness of his tummy

and a more recent one (a lot lighter):

OMG He is SOOOO BEAUTIFUL!!!! He has the same colorings as my LuckyGirl..but she is a DSH. He is just gorgeous! And SO BIG!!!! How could you even say no to those beautiful eyes... poor baby, he went from eating cheerios and gerber cookies to diabetic cat food?! No wonder he lost a few the 1st week!!!

I hope everything goes well @ the vet this week! We'll be keeping you guys in our thoughts!!!

laureen227 · May 8, 2006

mine go for vax once a year, but other than that only when i think there's a problem.

sharky · May 8, 2006

I spend alot of time at the vets..lol.. due to the dogs accupucture once a week...

Kandie will be 18( GOD willing June 30th) ... she goes to the vet twice a yr now other than "issues" which with her canned and raw diet havent been... Her vet now didnt see any reason for blood work done more than twice a yr ... prior to she had it done every two months...

Zoey is just two and will go as needed

yosemite · May 8, 2006

Ours get yearly check-ups and of course trips to the vet if we suspect anything is wrong with them.

I'm considering having a good discussion with the vet at our next annual regarding vaccines. After reading lots of posts here, I'm beginning to suspect they don't need yearly shots but I'll do more research into that before making a final decision.

luvmy4cats · May 9, 2006

At the clinic where I work (in Pennsylvania) we give the kitten series followed by a booster one year later. After that they get their rabies and their Distemper vaccines every three years. We still give the Feline Leukemia vaccine yearly though (because it's still recommended to do that). We only recommend it for cats who go outside or live with another cat that goes outside though. We are only one of two clinics in this area that don't give Distemper vaccines every year. The other clinics are really resisting change. I think they're probably afraid of losing money. We tell our clients that they should still bring their cats in for an annual physical exam even if they're not due for any shots (and most of them do). As a pet owner I would refuse to do the Distemper vaccine any more frequently than every 3 years. There are several well documented studies that show that it lasts for at least 3 years (and probably closer to 5 years).

How often do you bring them to the vet?

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