So many cat parents come to us after having their cats to the vet – and feel like they aren’t sure what to do next. Feeling comfortable about asking our vet the when’s, what’s & why’s about our cat’s health is super important. In fact, our cat’s lives can depend on it.
As pet parents, it’s imperative to have a medical professional we can rely on for help when we need it most. But it becomes a very difficult and precarious situation if we aren’t communicating with our vet. As cat parents, we must do our part to help create an honest and healthy relationship with our vet(s).
This also means that we need to question our vet when we don’t understand what’s happening.
If you took your child to a pediatrician and they said they needed to give your kid a shot or pill, wouldn’t you ask why first? Of course you would, because you are your child’s best advocate.
So – let’s think about this: We’re our cat’s only advocate.
Taking your cat to the vet when it’s not an emergency and when he/she is not sick is important. Our vet deserves to get to know our kitties – and develop some history together – outside of traumatic situations. This also nurtures the opportunity to build a healthy relationship between pet parent and vet. If we feel comfortable with our veterinarian, then we shouldn’t have any issue asking questions – however dumb or controversial or redundant they may seem. Yearly or bi-yearly wellness exams are a great way to build this relationship – and also one of our biggest recommendations for being a responsible cat parent. 🙂
Learn, share, and grow… from our mistakes
Regular wellness exams are something we’re passionate about because… we neglected them for so many years. Often with painful consequences. We used to only utilize the veterinarian clinic that was closest to our home – and only go in for emergency situations. We also didn’t appreciate some of the ‘protocols’ they enforced – or the popular foods and medications they encouraged us to use. But instead of communicating our thoughts to the vet, we would look for a different clinic to go to the next time there was an emergency. This turned into us changing vet clinics seven times in a 12 year period. We were never happy with the results – and it was really our cats that suffered most.
Fast forward to today and we love our vet. Honestly – we get excited to take our kitties to her office for their wellness exams. We learned a lot the hard way – and did our best to start this relationship with open and honest communication. Now we enjoy what feels like a real partnership – a shared advocacy – with our cats best interest at the center of our relationship.
Communication isn’t always easy – and sometimes it’s downright messy – but it’s totally worth it to find the right veterinarian for you and your kitty.
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