Getting Your Cat to the Vet

GETTING YOUR CAT TO THE VET

Providing good health care, especially preventive health care, can allow your cats to have longer, more comfortable lives. However, this cannot happen unless they see the veterinarian for needed care. Many cats dislike going to the veterinarian, and that starts with the difficulty of getting the cat into the carrier. If we can make this step easier, the entire veterinary visit is usually less stressful.

The following tips will help make veterinary visits easier for you and your cat. 

Understanding your Cat's Behavior 

• Cats are most comfortable with the familiar, and need time to adjust to the unfamiliar. The visit to the veterinarian is often difficult because the carrier, car, and the veterinary hospital are usually unfamiliar. Respect your cat's need for time to become familiar with new situations, people and places. 
• Stay calm. Cats can sense our anxiety or frustrations, which may cause them to become fearful or anxious. 
• Cats do not learn from punishment or force. Give rewards to encourage positive behavior. For example, if your cat is sitting calmly in or near a carrier, give a treat. Likewise, rewards can be given to help your cat become familiar with the type of handling that may be encountered at the veterinarian (e.g., handling paws, ears and mouth). A treat is what is highly desirable to your cat, which may be in the form of food, play or affection. Be persistent and reward every time. 

Helping Your Cat Become Comfortable with the Carrier 

The goal is for your cat to learn to associate the carrier with positive experiences and routinely enter voluntarily. 

• Make the carrier a familiar place at home by leaving it in a roorn where your cat spends a lot of time. 
• Place familiar soft bedding inside the carrier. Bedding or clothing with your scent can make them feel more secure. 
• Place treats, catnip or toys inside the carrier to encourage the cat to enter at home. Often, you will first see that treats are removed from the carrier during the night. 
• It may take days or weeks before your cat starts to trust the carrier. Remain calm, patient and reward desired behaviors. 
• If you still have trouble, you may need to assess the carrier itself. 

Getting an Unwilling Cat into the Carrier 

If your cat needs to go to the veterinarian right away, and is not yet accustomed to the carrier, the following may help: 

• Start by putting the carrier in a small room with few hidhg places. Bring the cat into the room and close the door. Move slowly and calmly. Do not chase the cat to get it into the carrier. Encourage the cat with treats or toys to walk into the carrier. 
• If your cat will not walk into the carrier, and your carrier has an opening on the top, gently cradle your cat and lower it into the carrier. Another option is to remove the top half of your carrier while getting the cat to go into the bottom half, and then calmly replace the top.
• Use familiar bedding inside the carrier. Consider use of synthetic feline facial pheromone (Feliway®) analog spray in the carrier at least 30 minutes prior to transport to help calm the cat. 

Coming Home - Keeping the Peace in a Multi-cat Household

Cats are very sensitive to smells, and unfamiliar smells can result in one cat no longer recognizing another. Aggressive behavior can occur when one cat senses another as a stranger. These suggestions can help avoid problems between cats following a veterinary visit: 

• Leave the returning cat in the carrier for a few minutes to see how all of your cats react. 
• If all cats appear calm and peaceful, let the returning cat out ofthe carrier. 
• If you sense tension between the cats, or if previous home-comings have resulted in conflict, keep the cat in the carrier and take it to a separate room to avoid potential injury from an upset cat. Provide food, water and litter box for a minimum of  24 hours while it regains the more familiar smell of home. 
• If there is still stress after this time, contact your veterinarian for more advice on slower introduction or medication to help the process. 
• A synthetic feline pheromone (Feliway®) can help provide the sense of familiarity.
  For future visits: 
• Use familiar bedding or clothing with your scent, as it retains the smell of home and helps with reintroduction. 
• Use a synthetic feline pheromone (Feliway®). 
• Bring both cats to the veterinary practice together. This can prevent future conflict as both cats will carry the scent of  the clinic. 

What Type of Carriers are Best?  

The best carriers are inexpensive hard-sided carriers that open from the top and the front, and can also be taken apart in the middle. An easily removable top allows a cat which is fearful, anxious or in pain to stay in the 

bottom half of the carrier for exams. Your veterinarian can often do the exam in the bottom of a well-designed carrier. Avoid carriers that require a cat to be pulled from or dumped out for an exam.  

Choose carriers that are sturdy, secure and stable for the cat, as well as easy for you to carry. Carriers should be seat-belted into the car to keep your cat safer and to reduce the bumpiness of the ride. 

Some cats like to see out, whereas others are less anxious when the carrier is covered with a blanket or towel to prevent seeing the unfamiliar.

Pet First-Aid Kits

April is National Heartworm Awareness Month in the United States and every animal hospital / veterinary office makes a conscious effort to promote heartworm testing and heartworm preventatives more than usual, though all veterinarians promote heartworm prevention year round. Often missed is the fact that April is also National Pet First-Aid Awareness Month.

If you have a companion pet, it is essential to have a pet first-aid kit at home. Not only can it keep your pet alive in an emergency, it can save you an after hour emergency vet visit if it is a minor injury. There are kits that you can buy at many pet stores, but most of them do not contain all the items you should have. We recommend  creating your own kit and it should have the following items:

• Hydrogen peroxide
• Betadine
• Dosing syringe
• ice packkaopectate
• bandages & gause
• Benadryl elixir or capsules
• Non-stick bandages
• Adhesive tape
• 81mg aspirin
• Digital thermometer
• Safety gloves
• Anticeptic cleaning wipes
• Alcohol wipes
• Your veterinarian's phone #

With a basic first-aid kit you will be able to treat minor injuries and emergencies. Here is a list of basic home treatments for dogs.

POISON - 1 to 3 cups of milk or water slowly with dosing syringe. (Then bring pet to veterinarian)

VOMITING - 1/2 to 2 teaspoons of pepto (1 teaspoon = 5 ml)

PAIN - 81mg aspirin (1 tablet per 10 pounds) 

INSECT STINGS - Benadryl (1mg per pound), ice pack

BURNS - Cold wet cloth, apply Neosporyn

CONSTIPATION - 1 teaspoon of milk of magnesia

CUTS - Ice pack and pressure to stop bleeding, wash then apply betadine and bandage

DIARRHEA - 1 teaspoon of Kaopectate per 5 pounds

HEAT STROKE - Hose or bath in cold water until temperature of pet returns to 102 degrees F.

KEEPING YOUR PETS SAFE AT HOME

Of the more than 167,000 calls handled by the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center each year, more than 90 percent of the cases involve accidental poisoning. The first line of defense for protecting pets is knowing which substances pose the biggest threats to your pet's health. Here are some key culprits.

MEDICATIONS. Both over-the-counter and prescription human medications can be toxic to pets. Overdoses of pet medications can also pose problems. Since dogs can chew through plastic containers, make sure that medications are stored out of reach of pets. Storing them in a locked cabinet is the best option. When deciding where to store medications take into account how high your pet can climb or jump.

INSECTICIDES. If you use insecticides, keep pets out of the area until the spray is dry and odorless. Drying times vary widely, so be sure to follow label instructions.

RODENTICIDES. Rodent killers can be fatal to pets. Rodenticide poisoning can cause lethargy, internal bleeding, seizure, kidney failure and sudden death, so it is crucial to keep your pets away. If your pet has ingested a rodenticide, take your pet to the veterinarian right away. Make sure you bring the box of the rodenticide with you.

HOUSEHOLD CLEANERS. Several types of household cleaners are toxic to pets. Make sure that floor cleaners are pet-friendly. High PH cleaners like drain openers and oven cleaners are toxic to pets.

LAWN-CARE PRODUCTS. Pets need to be kept out of the yard while you are applying fertilizer to your lawn. Generally, wait until sprays are dry or granules have been watered in and are dry before letting your pet out. While not as toxic as chocolate, cocoa bean shell mulch can cause milder versions of the same symptoms as chocolate ingestion, such as vomiting and diarrhea.

OTHER HAZARDS. Other seemingly innocuous items can be hazardous to your pets. Artificial fire logs can cause vomiting and possible foreign-body obstructions. Hair relaxers and alkaline batteries pose the same hazard as high PH cleaners. Antifreeze is one of the most potent toxins in the average household. Several foods and plants can be toxic to your pet. Visit www.animalmedicalcenterfla.com/articles for a complete list of poisonous foods and plants.