Our hospital cares for a wide variety of animals, which is why our motto is “Quality Care for Pets of All Kinds.” This includes our furry feline companions, a common species owned by the thousands in our community. And as one of that wide variety of animals, they get a wide variety of ailments.
Unfortunately, for some reason, far too many of the cat-owning public feel that cats never need to see a veterinarian. Others think that the ride to the hospital and the ensuing exam are too stressful. As a result, we see fewer of them in relation to their population when compared to other animals. This is unfortunate, because cats are masters at hiding illness from owners.
By the time the obvious signs of sickness—typically poor appetite and weight loss—are present, the disease is well entrenched, and the outcome for treatment is poor. We are presented on an almost daily basis with sick cats that were perfectly fine “just yesterday” but are now in a crisis situation.
These cats were not in perfectly fine health—they were fine at hiding the major problem that was brewing, and their owners were in denial about the need for an exam and rationalized about the cost and time being not worth an exam on their supposedly healthy cat. Now we have a very ill cat with a poor prognosis that will lead to more expense and suffering than would have occurred if we had diagnosed the problem earlier during a yearly exam.
To prevent these unnecessary problems, we perform wellness exams on a yearly basis, paying particular attention to disease-prone areas. This includes a blood panel and a urinalysis to look for problems before they become untreatable.
Some of the most common problems are:
- kidney disease (chronic renal failure)
- dental disease
- heart disease
- high blood pressure
- obesity
- liver disease
- thyroid disease
Early treatment can cure every one of these common problems or dramatically minimize the deleterious effects, leading to a higher quality of life for many more years. The cat section of our website has detailed information on these diseases.
Click this link to learn more.