My Cat Hates Going to The Vet

Concerned that your cat will be afraid during his or her veterinary exam? So are we!  At Countryside Animal Hospital, we have taken a number of steps to allow for a stress-free visit for your feline companion including a cat-only entrance and cat-only hospitalization area.  All of our doctors and technicians are trained in feline-friendly techniques to ensure a positive and stress-free veterinary visit.

  Dr. Marty Becker teaches pet owners how to prepare a cat for veterinary visit.

• • Helpful training tips to introduce your cat to the veterinary clinic, travel, strange places and strange people
  • Trained team members who are experienced handling cautious or nervous animals
  • Access to separate, quiet waiting areas
  • Cat friendly exam rooms
  • Calming pheromones for cats and dogs for a fear free visit

Feliway, a Pheromone that Calms Your Cat

Ever notice how your cat likes to rub its face against furniture, your legs, the carpet…?  What he or she is really doing is marking those objects (and you) with a secret scent that identifies them as his or her own.  This scent is called a pheromone, too weak for us to detect, but strong enough for cats to smell and give them the sense that they are in a familiar, safe environment.  Feliway is the synthetic version of that pheromone  It comes in small bottles that allow you to mist it into cat carriers (to lower the anxiety of travel) or as a diffuser to make whole environments, like our cat-only exam rooms, feel safer to cats.

In a study published in the American Veterinary Medical Association Journal, hospitalized cats exposed to the Feliway were more likely to eat, groom themselves, and engage in behavior that indicated that they were calm and happy.

What to do for Anxious Dogs?  Adaptil

Like Feliway, Adaptil  mimics a natural scent, but in this case, it’s a pheromone deposited by female dogs to their pups to make them feel safe and secure.  Cute, right?  Also like Feliway, it comes in small misting bottles and plugins.  If your dog is especially anxious, we can provide a kerchief, spritzed with Adaptil,  for him or her to wear while at our office.  Keep it for the ride home if you like!

Do you have a dog or cat that behaves aggressively or timidly while visiting the doctor? Both are signs of fear, not anger. Let us help.

Keep Your Pet Fear Free

If your pet is afraid to get in its carrier or is afraid of a drive in the car, Fear Free Pets can help.  Fear Free provides FREE resources for pet owners that want to create a fear free, happy home for their pets.