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Why Does My Cat Act Up At The Veterinarian?
My cat is not like this at home. Why does (s)he act up at the veterinarian.
One of the first things to remember is that there is no such thing as a “bad cat” just an afraid one. You read correctly – no “bad cats” just afraid.
So put yourself in side of your cat’s head. (not easy to think like a cat). You are the master of your territory. You LOVE your territory and guard it from others. You are comfortable in your territory and know where it is safe.
The next thing you know you are in box and arrive at a completely new and foreign place. So imaging yourself being taken from your safe and familiar confines and ending up in the Amazon where you do not speak the language or know the customs. Even a minor experience of going to a party where you do not know anyone can be stressful.
So now you are a cat, in a box and transported to a strange new land. Pretty scary?
What can we do to make this better? One thing is to leave out the carrier on a regular bases. This serves to make “the box” familiar and part of your territory. Even consider taking your cat for car trips on occasion.
So now you have arrived at the veterinarian. New unfamiliar territory. What’s next?
We try to allow your cat time to acclimate. They are NOT dumped from the carrier. The door is opened and they are allowed to come and visit if they would like. They can also remain in the carrier.
When the doctor exams them it can be done in the carrier if your cat prefers. Most cats given some time will come and start to acclimate to the new strange environment. Given a little time, your cat may make the examination room their territory. As we humans are all different so are all cats. We need to give them a little time and space
Some things we do at NOVA Cat Clinic to make things a little less stressful. We use Feliway diffusers to help the area smell more familiar and less threatening. We handle your cat in a respectful manner and try to minimize the amount of handling needed. We have a box for them to hide. They are also free to sit on the window sill to watch the birds and squirrels.
Some cats feel more threatened than others. For those sometimes pre-visit supplements or medication can be helpful.
We will discuss those in another post.
Always feel free to tell us what has worked well past visits. Also remember that your cat will be with you at all times. We do not take them to the “back”. The only time they would leave is for an x-ray.
We welcome your comments to help us improve our service to you and your cat.