Have we seen your cat lately?

Cats account for over 50% of the pet population, however, nationwide they account for fewer than 30% of vet visits. Why is that?

Actually, The answer is complex, but two recent events will help explain both the reasons why cats rarely see the vet (especially in Tucson where all of our cats are indoors) and why they really should be seen more often.

I have been in the veterinary industry for over a decade, and so, I would hope that at least some of my constant carping about poor pet care would have rubbed off on my family.

Alas, my own sister who just acquired a kitten called to ask if her kitten, now that she has had all her shots will ever need to see the vet again. 'Really?!' I thought, "you've got to be kidding me!? Have not heard one word I've been saying?' Then because I assumed my sister couldn't hear the ranting in my head, I decided to share it with her. She was impressed with my passion if not my actual words, which in the end amounted to a, "Yes!!"

Then my own mother, whose evil cat finally succumbed at age 21 after years of hyperthyroidism and slowly escalating kidney numbers, explained to me how her year and half old cat didn't need a rabies shot because it was indoors. This time I didn't rant, I sighed, after all if the people closest to the veterinary profession don't understand that their own beloved cats should receive regular veterinary care maybe it wasn't their fault but mine - or in the case of the profession - ours.

After all, we are the messengers and if the message isn't getting out it certainly rests on our shoulders to investigate why.

Of course, in the case of my own family I was able to explain that cats are prone to painful dental disease and that only regular visits will uncover this, and that I personally know of two cases where indoor animals were exposed to rabies and subsequently euthanized because of overdue vaccinations (one was a case of a bunch of indoor cats exposed to a rabid bat that got into the house, the other was a Labrador chased through the doggie door by a rabid skunk).

And so, maybe one on one conversations are the way to go. So, that is where we will have to start, with each pet owner, on the phone or in person, with the simple question, "have we seen your cat lately?" We hope that this will trigger a discussion that will ultimately lead to better cat care by the very people who care most for them, their owners.

We at Ventana Animal Hospital are making a concerted effort to speak better to cat owners, to address their concerns and treat their cats. We have a skilled cat guru in the person of Alaina Rhodes a Certified Veterinary Technician, she, working in concert with cat specialists and our doctors, will be driving some of the changes that cat owners will be seeing in how their cats are handled in our practice, our renewed focus on cat owner concerns and a better feel for cat needs.

Alaina, who wrote several of the blog posts you will see in the coming weeks has dedicated her professional career to feline care. She has worked with the Heritage Shelter as an interim director and knows first hand what happens when we, the veterinarians entrusted with their care fail to speak out for cats. Cats are often relinquished because of easily solvable urinary issues and avoidable behavioral misunderstandings.

We take feline care seriously and are striving to express that with renewed enthusiasm to our clients. We our launching our initiative with a cat-focus month. We will have two cat adoptions during the month of April, we are partnering with Boeringer-Ingelheim to provide staff education, and we will be having cat focused contests both within the hospital and out in our community. Our neighbor, Risky Business and the vaccine manufacturer Boerhinger-Ingelheim have both generously donated towards our raffle with the proceeds benefiting Tucson Two Tails Feline Rescue. I hope you will join us in our renewed efforts to provide proper veterinary care to the cats within our community.

The first contest starts right here. As you may have noticed, this post contains no photos. This is because I personally have no cats, so, if you would like to have your cat's photo included in our upcoming blog posts, please post them on Facebook, and the photos with the most likes win. It's that simple!