Happy Thursday, everyone! If you’ve been around here for a while, you’ll recognize this post as a yearly staple in August. It’s Take Your Cat To The Vet Day! Most of you probably already know this BUT I have two super spunky, spoiled rotten kitties: Chester & Isabel. They are two peas in a pod and I’m completely obsessed with them. That is why it’s SO important to me every year to share WHY you need to be making sure you get your cats in for their annual vet visit. Let’s dive into it.
Take Your Cat To The Vet Day 2019
This post is sponsored by Royal Canin. All opinions are mine and mine alone.
Royal Canin & I are partnering in an effort to improve the healthcare of cats. Did you know that only 50% of cats in U.S. households receive regular veterinary care? That’s a far cry from the 80% of dogs in U.S. households that receive regular veterinary care. Cats may not be as vocal about their illnesses and ailments as their canine counterpart, but they need regular checkups JUST as much.
I know how hard it can be to take your cats in. When I have to take both Izzy & Chester in – it’s a battle. I’ve got two carriers, a baby in a car seat, and both cats are most likely yelling (and in all honestly, so is my kid). I GET it. It’s a struggle. But regardless, it still has to be done. I still have to pile my kitties into their respective carriers and make the trek over to the vet to make sure they are healthy and up to date on all their shots.
I have done a lot of work acclimating my cats into their carriers like leaving the carriers out in the open and allowing Izzy and Chester to get acquainted on their own terms. It’s really helped ease their stress when it comes time to traveling.
Last year, Izzy started losing a lot of weight and she was throwing up almost daily, sometimes several times a day. She was still her normal playful self, but I could tell physically that something was truly wrong. She had diarrhea and a huge increase in the amount she was self-grooming. The first signs of illness was that over-grooming. She was starting to lose some fur, and she was becoming a bit neurotic about it – getting anxious if we tried to stop her. After several vet visits, we became aware that she was actually trying to scratch itchy patches all over her body. Between the vet and I, we discovered poor Izzy had actually developed a food allergy and needed to be switched immediately. A few weeks after switching her food, her grooming became normal, the itchy patches disappeared, and her vomiting and diarrhea stopped completely. It took a few more months until she was back up to her normal weight, but without being able to confidently take her to the vet, I am not sure we would have successfully found a diagnosis and treatment plan that worked for her.
Two of the most common diagnoses for cats are dental tarter and obesity. Chester is RIGHT on the borderline for obesity (he’s a chunky boy) so we are working on a weight loss and food plan to help Chest shed some of those pounds. Izzy has a little bit of dental tarter, but since we have regular visits, the vet isn’t concerned and is going to keep her eye on it. The benefit of annual appointments is that I know that my pets will have these conditions caught and maintained or treated in a timely manner so they can live their best lives.
Starting August 22nd, you have the opportunity to win a free year’s supply of Royal Canin cat food! You must share a photo of your cat, preferably at their annual visit, on Royal Canin’s Facebook page and use the #Cat2Vet hashtag. You can also tag their local vet clinic and that veterinarian office will have the change to receive a cat-centric makeover from Royal Canin.
I am excited to be promoting good cat ownership again this year – and hope that you take the #cat2vet challenge and make sure your feline gets their annual check up.
