Tag Archives: Veterinarian

At the veterinarian

ZORRO : We are beautiful and healthy. It’s not us who says that, it’s the veterinarian.

On Tuesday morning, we went to the veterinarian for our annual visit : as you can see, we were delighted.

Mr Burnand checked us from every angle (yes, he looked there also !) ; we are grateful to him, because he did not consider to play with his thermometer … He dewormed us, and weighed us : I weigh 5,4 kg (11,9 lb) and Pixie 3,4 kg (7,5 lb). We have magnificent eyes, quite clean ears, dense and silky hair, no fleas, in brief, we are beautiful and healthy.

He found that I had lost 100 grams since the last visit, what is very well, and that’s where Claire dropped her small bomb :
– They eat raw since 3 months…
– And what do you give them ? simply asked the veterinarian.
Claire explained the fleshy bones, the giblets, etc, etc….
– Ah, that’s all good ! said the veterinarian. It’s important to give also bones and cartilages, they need it. They should not eat only steak !
Claire was over the moon : she had heard a lot about veterinarians who were fiercely against Raw Feeding. She enjoyed that ours is also favorable to this feeding mode, as far as it is done correctly and in a well-balanced way.
The only concern of the veterinarian was that we could have too much vitamin A, what would be bad for our joints. According to him, it is not necessary that we eat liver every day.
– It’s a feeding mode that is respectful of the needs of your cats, he added, and close to what your cats could eat in nature, but it’s a little longer to prepare than a can…
Claire answered that that take her only half an hour a week to prepare our portions for 7-8 days.

– You are someone organized ! said Mr Burnand.
We didn’t dare to tell him that Claire had to have an additional gene for that, because we were afraid that he keeps her to run some tests !

Why do cats snore ?

We took well advantage of our hour of additional sleep this weekend…

ZORRO : It’s true, you even snored !
PIXIE : Zorro ! A young lady does not snore, come on !

What is snoring ?

Snoring is a noise emitted during breathing. It occurs when soft tissues of respiratory tracts begin tp vibrate during breathing, or when they are blocked.
Some cats snore, and for the majority of them, there is no reason to worry. A regular snore during the sleep, which is not bound to a respiratory difficulty, to a cough, or to a loss of appetite, and which does not modify (apneas or worsening) is generally not a problem. Breeds with a short nose, as the Persian or the exotic shorthair are more inclined to snore than other breeds : the shape of their snout involves that their respiratory tracts (and often lacrimal canals) are compressed. Our angel Hercule was a champion : we heard him snoring up to the next room !

However, in some cases, snoring is the sign of a health problem.

Obesity : the surplus of fat around the neck of overweighted cats can lead to snoring. Obesity is more disturbing than the snore in this case, but it would be better to maintain your cat at a normal weight.
Allergies
Foreign matter : a simple blade of grass badly placed in the pharynx can cause a snore, and the help of the veterinarian can be necessary to remove it.
Asthma
Infections : a commonplace affection of the respiratory tracts which is not cured by itself can turn into infection. Tissues are congested, there is production of mucus, and respiratory tracts are shrunk. A medical treatment is necessary.
Cyst, tumor, or polyp : these invisible thicknesses are difficult to detect and require a surgical operation ; it can be cancerous.
Respiratory distress syndrome : a snore combined with difficult breathing, a cat who snores by inhaling with an open mouth in a jerky way, which seems to look for his air, is a medical urgency !

Cats of any age and any breed can snore, but at the slightest doubt, go to the veterinarian !

PS – PIXIE : I do not snore.

Routine visit at the veterinarian

ZORRO :
Of what does it remind you ? Of an ambush ?

That was exactly it !

Our PTU are available permanently, but yesterday, they had changed place. We naively followed treats up to the bottom, and Claire treacherously closed the door behind us ! I was not even able to tell her that I needed to do a wee !

After 3 minutes of car, I mewed all the same to tell it to her. I mewed even one or two times to protest against the trip by car. 10 minutes later, we had arrived in front of the veterinary office, but it was too late : hardly taken out of the vehicle, I roared ” I don’t hold any more ! ” and I flooded the attractive pillow of my PTU. Fortunately, Claire was on time, and the veterinarian also : he posed me on the table, Christelle, his adorable assistant, put my pillow in a plastic bag, she took paper towels, she wiped my PTU, and the veterinarian wiped my paws and tummy. After this entertaining interlude, the medical examination really began : I came first, and Pixie later.

What is a routine visit at the veterinarian ? For us who are young healthy cats, the (annual) visit consists of the following points :

Weighing
Control of the ears
Control of the eyes
Control of the mouth and the teeth
Control of the coat (to see if we have fleas)
Listening of the heartbeat with a stethoscope
Vaccines
Vermifuge (because we go out and go hunting from time to time)

Claire also asked the veterinarian to trim our claws, but he disadvised her from doing it. He explained that it was indicated for indoor cats who don’t use enough their claws or for old cats who could have embodied claws, but not for us. We have scratching posts inside, we have tree trunks outside, we don’t normally need a pawticure. The fact of cutting regularly the claws of cats can modify in the long run the way the claw grows. She can become more thick, and annoying for the animal.

Result of our visit: I weigh 5,5 kg (12.1 lb) and Pixie 3,2 kg (7 lb), and we are in excellent health.

Back to home, Claire wiped my paws and my tummy with a wet wash glove and put at once my pillow to be washed. She gave me a big cuddle, I played with Pixie, and the “wee-wee » incident was fast forgotten.

And you, how do your visits at the veterinarian take place ?