My cat hates the vet – and I WORK here!

Believe me, I understand how hard it can be to bring your cat to the vet.  My cat Lula is no joke.  I’m not just talking about having a hard time getting her into the carrier, or some meowing during the car ride here- in fact, she has no problem getting in the carrier willingly and doesn’t mind the drive.  I’m talking about the affectionate 10lb calico I have at home turning into a hissing, growling, striking panther the moment we get out of the car here at Frontier.  In fact, if you asked the doctors and technicians here to name their most difficult feline patients, I regret to say that Lula may top the list.

So what does that mean for her veterinary care?

Do I avoid bringing her in for exams?  Heck, no.  If anything, working here for nearly 8 years has made me so aware of feline health concerns that I’m a borderline hypochondriac by cat proxy!  Especially since I have seen firsthand how subtle and difficult to observe the symptoms of diseases like hyperthyroidism, kidney failure, and early diabetes can be, even to the most attentive pet parent.

Don’t the doctors and techs dread dealing with her?  No way!  In fact, when I suggested to Dr. Palmer & Dr. Yung that I was going to do a “wait and see” on an issue she had, they insisted that they wanted to see her.  And once when I was away on vacation and she was due for a no-charge follow-up, which I didn’t mention because I was embarrassed to ask, Dr. Palmer went ahead and did the exam without me asking.  Does this mean she’s easy to deal with?  Certainly not.  But our veterinarians and technicians actually, really, truly care about pets, and want every one of them to get the care they need, regardless of the challenges.

That’s right, there are challenges involved with bringing Lula to the vet.  I need to have a strategy when bringing her in for routine visits and for obtaining lab samples.  But I have worked with the docs and techs to figure out what will work best, and we are ok with the fact that Lula’s behavior will sometimes defy even our most educated guesses.  And when I had an emergency- string ingestion that meant visits to both Frontier and Dove Lewis- we had to just do our best and roll with her punches.  But it actually went better than expected, Lula made a full recovery, and we learned a lot so in the case of a “next time” (fingers crossed that there isn’t one), we know how to proceed.

The bottom line?  I LOVE her, with capital letters.  And I know you LOVE your pets, too.  And the way I see it, giving Lula the best possible healthcare is the #1 thing I, as a pet parent, can do for her.  Way better than material things.  Her favorite bed is a freshly delivered cardboard box, anyway.