August 22nd is National Take Your Cat To The Vet Day! It’s a good time to think about scheduling your cat’s annual vet checkup if you haven’t already.
Routine checkups with our doctors ensure that our bodies are running smoothly and healthily. Yearly appointments keep tabs on our health and may even catch an illness before it becomes symptomatic. Logic dictates that we should give our cats the same routine attention.
But the American Humane Society claims that cats don’t go to the vet as often as their canine counterparts, and it’s often only if the cat is showing signs of illness.
The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) says that less than half of households that have cats in the US seek routine preventative care.
In honor of National Take Your Cat To The Vet Day, we here at CatTime cannot stress the importance of routine check-ups enough. Here are five reasons why you should set up a regular check-up for your cat, stat.
Have you scheduled your cat’s annual vet visit yet? Will you help get the word out on National Take Your Cat To The Vet Day? Let us know in the comments below!
National Take Your Cat To The Vet Day
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Not All Diseases Are Symptomatic Until It's Too Late
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The best way to take care of serious illness is to prevent it before symptoms start.
Many types of cancer in felines may not result in any symptoms until the disease has progressed. Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV) may not show signs until YEARS after the initial infection has occurred.
Routine, yearly checkups may not always prevent these types of illnesses, but they can often catch them at an early enough stage to treat them and eliminate pain and discomfort for your cat.
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Cats Are Masters Of Masking Illness
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Cats may not be able to hide a runny stool or vomit from you, but they aren't exactly known for their outward and direct communication if something is hurting them.
Due to both their actual and perceived independent personas, many cat parents may not be able to tell their cats are suffering just by looking or interacting with them.
Regular visits to your veterinarian will eliminate a ton of guesswork when it comes to deciphering whether or not your cat is telling you they're in pain.
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Regular Visits Make The Vet Less Stressful
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If you only bring your cat to the veterinarian when they're sick, chances are they associate the vet office with sickness, pain, and loads of anxiety.
To prevent vet visits from becoming huge stressors for your cat, schedule your regular annual -- or semi-annual, if your cat is older and your vet deems it necessary -- exam for your cat.
Cats love routine, and going to the vet when they're not ill will help them not associate it with fear and pain.
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Cats Age Faster Than Humans
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If a younger human skips their annual exam once in a blue moon, chances are it won't be a matter of life or death. However, cats age much more rapidly than humans.
In their first year, cats age up to the equivalent of 15 "human years." By age two, they're 24 human years.
After that, vets believe a cat ages four years, more or less, for every 365 days around the sun. A lot can change in your cat's body in "four years," so it's vital to make sure everything is healthy on a yearly basis.
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Preventative Care Is Better Than Reactive Care
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As previously stated, prevention is the best route of care when it comes to your cat's health. Having regular visits with your cat's veterinarian allows the two of you to come up with a plan to keep your cat healthy.
Although it may seem costly at the time, or even silly if your cat seems perfectly healthy, routine checkups can also prevent massive emergency medical bills. Vets can detect diseases or conditions long before they turn into a chronic or life-threatening state for your cat.
