August 16-22 marks the second annual Take Your Cat to the Vet Week!
How often do you take your cat to the vet? Once a year? Only when they’re sick?
Though it’s rarely a pleasant experience (as Sal and Dean have proved to me time and time again), the American Association of Feline Practitioners actually recommends that we take our kitties to the vet for regular check-ups twice a year.
Feline Pine, a company that makes natural, pine-based cat litter, started the national campaign, Take Your Cat to the Vet Week, after they ran a survey in 2009 that showed fewer than 50 percent of cat owners brought their cats for regular check-ups. (See their Facebook page for more details!)
Cats can appear to be low-maintenance, independent pets, seeming perfectly fine even if they aren’t feeling well. Domesticated felines have a lot of instincts that are holdovers from their wild ancestors—one of them is to mask their illness if they can, so as not to appear easy prey. Sometimes the only way you can tell if your cat has a problem is by a regular vet visit. Not so different from us humans, right?
I know firsthand that vet visits can be expensive, unpleasant and time-consuming if a cat is sick. But according to the organizations behind Take Your Cat to the Vet Week, regular checkups can save you time and money by detecting problems with your cat in the early stages.
Feline Pine has a list of all the veterinarians in the country supporting Take Your Cat to the Vet Week. Perhaps there is one near you! If not, the Humane Society has some good advice for finding a good veterinarian, and the American Association of Feline Practitioners has an online database of its members.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to call my vet to make an appointment for Sal and Dean!
—Jessica Bloustein
