We understand that many cats don’t like coming to the vet and seeing your pet distressed is often enough to put off a visit to see us but there are things you can do to help them.
- Get them used to their cat carrier at home. You can do this by leaving it out all the time so they see it as a safe place to go and have a snuggle & sleep. If you have one with a removable top you can just use the bottom of the carrier as a bed for them if you prefer. You can try placing their food in the carrier so they have to go in to get their food for positive association.
- The easiest carriers for us to access your cat is one that has a removable top, this allows your cat to stay in their safe space while we examine them or give medication.
- You can use Feliway spray in their carrier before using it. You simply spray their blanket and carrier with a few sprays before putting your cat in. Feliway is a synthetic copy of the feline facial pheromone. This is the pheromone that cats leave naturally when they feel safe and secure in their environment.
- When arriving at the hospital be mindful where you are placing your cat carrier, there maybe a dog sitting right next to them that doesn’t look scary to us but might do to them. If you can place the carrier on your lap as cats like to be up high.
- Bring a towel or thin blanket that will cover all 4 sides of your cat carrier to place over the cage, this will help your cat feel more secure and invisible. If you forget a towel you can ask us for one.
How we help your cat feel more comfortable at the hospital
- Did you know we offer cat only consulting hours? These are usually on a Tuesday & Thursday 11.50 – 12.30pm. We will add more if there is demand for them.
- If your cat is particularly scared we can offer a quiet waiting room away from the reception area – just ask on check in.
- We use feliway spray on a clean towel for every cat consultation. Feliway is a synthetic copy of the feline facial pheromone. This is the pheromone that cats leave naturally when they feel safe and secure in their environment.
- Our cat patients have their own ward away from the dogs and we use Feliway diffusers in our hospital to help them feel calmer.
- Our staff are trained in low stress handling techniques to help your pet feel less stressed when in our care.
- We can do a home visit to see your cat if all else fails. There is an additional charge for this and your cat may still need to come into the hospital for treatment.
We understand that your cat may be scared and this can make it difficult to bring them to see us but it is in their best interest to keep up with the vaccinations and to have a full examination with the vet.
At a minimum we would recommend brining a urine sample in for us at least once a year, twice a year for cats over 7 years old. We can tell a lot from their urine such as diabetes, chronic kidney disease and hyperthyroidism. There is a small fee depending on the urine tests we run but these are done in-house so we can get the results quickly. If you do bring a urine sample in we need it in a small clean container with your name & phone number and the cat’s name. *Please note this is a last resort and would only give us basic information, nothing can compare to a consultation with your vet. Also if any abnormalities are found your cat would need to see a vet for any medication or treatment plan. An easy way to catch a urine sample is to use plastic straws cut up in a clean letter tray, this allows your cat something to scratch around in which won’t contaminate the urine sample.
A useful website for all things cat is https://icatcare.org/advice
