Did you know that you can actually find the word “scaredy-cat” in the Merriam Webster dictionary? If you have one of those fearful cats, you already know that her fear may be affecting her quality of life. A fearful cat is a stressed cat. fear or anxiety is more than just an emotional problem for cats. It can also cause many serious physical health issues and intensify others.
Fear and anxiety in the veterinary clinic
Fear and anxiety are common for cats when they have to check out the veterinarian, and for far too long, this has been accepted as “that’s just way cats are” by both cat guardians and veterinarians. Thankfully, this is changing. The American association of Feline Practitioners’ cat friendly practice initiative was created to transform the experience of a veterinary check out for cats and their guardians by supplying support and training for veterinarians and their teams to deliver care in a way that integrates a better understanding of cats unique needs and behaviors.
Cats who are scared from the moment they enter a veterinary practice (and typically even before that, when they are put in a carrier at home,) will not show the same behaviors or symptoms they may have shown in the safety of their own home. since stress impacts body chemistry, blood and urine samples collected during an examination will be skewed by the cat’s stress response to the situation.
An even bigger concern is that a negative experience at the veterinary clinic will traumatize cats and can have lingering impacts on the cat’s emotional health and ultimately, her physical health. Guardians and veterinary staff must stop accepting that fear is normal in a veterinary setting, and focus on acknowledging and eliminating anxiety rather than reinforcing it.
Identify indications of fear
The first step to changing this dynamic is for cat guardians and veterinary staff to be able to identify the indications of fear. indications can be as subtle as clinging to the guardian and avoiding eye contact to hissing and growling. By moving slowly, speaking to quiet voices, managing the cat gently and with a minimum of restraint and providing lots of treats before, during and after the exam, veterinarians and staff can make a vet check out as pleasurable as possible for scared cats.
There is nothing to be gained by proceeding with a veterinary examination or procedure if a cat is terrified. The cat will not forget, and will only be even more scared and more difficult to handle at the next visit.
Fear impacts the body
The stress of the fear response impacts virtually every system within the cat’s body. A continued or frequent stress response can affect the heart, thyroid, gastrointestinal tract, and immune system. Chronic stress has also been linked to urinary tract issues in cats. Chronic stress can is not something that should be taken lightly, as it can cause permanent damage.
It is imperative that cat guardians and veterinarians work together to reduce the stress of vet visits. There’s no question that vet sees are important, but muscling cats who are fearful into diagnostics or procedures does not serve anyone. These cats need to be approached with care and understanding, not brute force.
What does your vet and his/her staff do to make your cat’s check out less stressful?
Ingrid King
Table of Contents
Fear and anxiety in the veterinary clinic
Identify indications of fear
Fear impacts the body
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24 comments on fear in Cats: more Than just an emotional problem during Veterinary Visits
Kim says:
February 29, 2020 at 8:51 pm
I have a very lively cat who will be 4 years old in June, we have two other cats with one being his brother. We had to take him to veterinarian in Dec 2019 he had a respiratory infection but it had not gone down in lungs. He did terrific at the Vet and sent home with antibiotics. He was awful trying to get him to take the medicine, would gag drool and make himself throw it up. We did manage to get some down him during that time. but he was still his normal lively self during all of that. We observed he started coughing again recently thinking he probably did not get over the December infection. We took he back to Vet 3 days ago and they stated never really got over the respiratory infec. he had. because he was so bad about taking the medicine at home, we had to take him to the vet 3 days in row to get a shot of the antibiotics. My question is, the first day we took him to vet, we had to drop him off because they were busy and then pick him back up fewnullnull