Flourishing Felines

Everybody wants their kitties healthy and flourishing.  Ben Franklin once said, "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."  And with us kitties known to hide our illnesses well, this is especially true, so our mom takes us to the vets once a year.  We aren't happy about it, and sing a loud protesting kitty song all the way, but it is in our best interests to go.

Carl makes his feelings known.

Yearly preventative check ups are important.  Vets are trained to find things our parents would overlook.  And the earlier a problem is found, the easier and cheaper it is to treat.  

 Oui Oui being weighed at the vet's.

Why me?

In one study done, 59% of owners said they acquired cats without intending to, and almost 70% of cats are free.  We bet no one is surprised at this!  The kitties showed up on their doorstep, or found them in some other way.  So cats tend to be adopted without guidance or instruction in proper care.  While the majority of cats are taken in when newly adopted, after the first year veterinary care falls off dramatically.  81% of owners felt cats were independent, self sufficient and so required little attention.

 Julie awaiting her fate.

Judging from her heart rate, the vet says she isn't afraid.

Annoyed, probably.

In 63% of cat-only households, the cats are indoor cats.  But remember, most diseases like heart disease, diabetes and kidney disease, are issues whether the cats go outside or not.  At the beginning of the disease, symptoms could be so slight they might not be noticeable.  And what happens if the cat slips outside accidentally and isn't vaccinated?  Proper veterinary care is like insurance if that happens, at least kitty won't pick up a terrible disease.

Mica Moo feels safest being held.

We might not like it when our parents stuff us in the PTU, and the vet may not be our closest furriend, but we need to do some things we don't like.  Our parents can look for cat-friendly vets or maybe even ones who come to our homes.  One website to help us know what to expect, and what questions to ask the vet, even how to find a vet is at Partners for Healthy Pets.  Scroll down for all the good things!  PHP is a committee of the non-profit American Veterinary Medical Foundation.

We are going to share about the mom's health.  About a year and a half ago she went in for her annual check up, something she didn't always do.  They found she had diabetes.  Because she didn't have it long and was in the beginning stages, she was able to control it by diet without medications.  Now her blood sugar is normal.  She doesn't have any of the bad effects like macular degeneration or nerve damage because it was caught and controlled early.  Isn't that what we want for our kitties too?

The mom met PHP at Blogpaws and said she would talk about their important mission.  They offered us a fleece kitty blankie, but that isn't our motivation.  Kitty health is. 

If you'd like to read the study cited in this post, go here.

Live long and healthy, kitties!