The Cat Clinic

Full service feline only veterinary hospital

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Environmental Enrichment for Stressed Indoor Cats

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Happy Indoor Cat
Happy Indoor Cat

What is Environmental Enrichment for Stressed Cats?

What does your cat do all day while you are at work? Most likely the answer is sleep. But is there a way that we can improve life indoors? I believe that there is.

Some of my clients worry that by not allowing their cats the freedom of the outdoors that we are keeping them from the normal activities of being a cat. My answer is that although it would be more exciting to live in Iraq, I feel safer living in the United States. I think that with a little ingenuity we can make indoor life just as exciting as outdoor life but safer.

The Life of a Cat

Think of what cats do outside. They hunt, they climb, they scratch, they problem solve and they move! So how can we help them do this in the safety of their homes? Providing an enriched environment can prevent many behavior problems.

A Checklist for Relieving Stress

  • Vertical Space increases overall space available to the cat and allows them the opportunity to climb. Provide cat trees, cat perches and shelves.
  • Appropriate scratching materials allow the cat to exhibit normal cat behavior to mark territory, stretch and keep claws healthy. Each cat has a preference for scratching material. See my blog regarding how to train your cat to scratch appropriately. https://catclinicplymouth.com/blog/
  • Interactive Toys and Hunting Games provide both mental and physical stimulation. Play with your cat several times a day allowing them to stalk and catch!
  • Keeping the home predictable without being rigid keeps cats from being bored. Making small changes that provide novelty like rotating toys or purchasing new toys. Cats play the most with interactive toys that involve their human.
  • Make feeding more natural for your cat. Cats in the wild forage for food and eat 10-20 small meals daily. Although I recommend a majority of the diet be canned, dental kibble can be fed in small amounts using interactive food toys or balls, food puzzles or hiding it around the house for the cat to hunt.
  • Provide cover to hide in. Boxes, bags and carriers left out can provide these coveted spots.
  • Provide interaction outside. Cats can be trained to walk on a leash. There are also companies that can design a cat safe outdoor enclosure. Simply having some bird feeders in window near their perch can help.
  • Clicker training or training for food can teach your cat to sit, come or do a variety of other “tricks.”

Finally, cats are social animals. So even if you are tired after work. Try to carve out some time to groom, pet or play with your feline furbaby. You will both benefit from it!Cat Clinic Plymouth MA

By Cassandra Kelley DVM, veterinarian and owner Cat Clinic of Plymouth

Breakdown of a visit to the Animal Hospital

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Veterinarian performs an exam on a cat at the animal hospital
Veterinarian performs an exam on a cat at the animal hospital

Entering the Animal Hospital

Ever wonder what all the people racing around your animal hospital are doing? What is the veterinarian looking for in my cat’s mouth? I can remember going to the animal hospital visit when I was small and trying to make sense of everything that was going on in this tiny office full of barking dogs and crying cats. Luckily, we have no barking dogs at the Cat Clinic of Plymouth so things are less hectic feeling.

Well, the first person that you meet might seem to have the most obvious job. The veterinary receptionist will great you and let the rest of the staff know you arrived. They confirm you and your cats information and find out any other information that the rest of the staff might need to know before the appointment begins including new medical history, medical concerns or how your cat seems today. That receptionist takes care of this while also answering sometimes complex veterinary questions via telephone, email and social media. They stay very busy!

Preparing for the Veterinary Exam

Once the receptionist informs the veterinary technician or their assistant, the veterinary technician will again familiarize themselves with your pet and prepare the room to make sure that it is clean and comfy. One in the exam room, the veterinary technician will take a history of basic husbandry questions plus changes in medical history since the last appointment as well as any new medical or behavioral concerns for the veterinarian. We will usually open the carrier and allow your cat to comfortably patrol the exam room of the animal hospital and get comfortable with the new space. Sometimes with a more nervous patient that gets defensive if over stimulated, we will allow them to relax in their own space within their carrier. (See How to get your cat to LOVE its carrier). Eventually, we will ask the patient to step out of their cat carrier. We avoid pulling or dumping them from their carrier if at all possible. If there is a top door or if the top half of the cat carrier can be removed we will use that option sometimes performing the entire exam in the safety of the bottom of the carrier if at all possible. If appropriate the veterinary technician will collect a basic health assessment including heart rate, respiratory rate, temperature and blood pressure.

At that point, the veterinary technician confers with the veterinarian allowing the veterinarian to reexamine the cat’s chart in light of any new information that the veterinary technician has discovered during the conversation with you or assessing your cat including prior examinations or treatment plans, prior blood results or radiographs or the new medical history that was provided.

The Preventative Care Exam

The veterinarian then enters the room and hopefully after some pleasantries with you and your feline fur baby, the exam begins. Every veterinarian has their own systematic approach to the exam so that no body system goes unexamined. My exam begins when the patient is exploring the exam room. I watch how they are getting around. Do they get around comfortably? Are there any signs of pain or lameness? I also take note of their attitude and body language. Sometimes I will spend some time on the floor with them before moving them to the exam table.

After some chin scratches and some treats for the patient if appropriate, I usually start with the cat’s head. At this point, I am looking for obvious abnormalities like dirty ears, cloudy eyes, oral disease and enlarged lymph nodes that may require further investigation. Continuing down the body, I stop to check the neck and chest again for enlargements especially of lymph nodes or thyroid glands all the while trying to get more specific information about the issues that were brought to the veterinary technician’s attention.  With my stethoscope safely plugged into my ears, I then listen for heart sounds. This is usually when my client wants to start a story. So between the cats growling, purring, breathing and the client talking, I listen to the heart for specific heart sounds, beat abnormalities and heart rate. I then turn my attention to the breath sounds of the cat, they should be relatively quiet and at a normal rate.

Once the stethoscope is off I palpate the abdomen of the cat looking for a normal sized liver, spleen and bladder. Once these are identified, I concentrate on the intestines feeling for masses, thickenings, amount and consistency of stool in the colon.  Finally, I run my hands over the entire body of the cat looking for lumps and bumps and health of the skin and coat.  At this point, I will investigate more intensely any areas of concern found on initial veterinary exam. This may include looking at the ear canal with an otoscope or looking at the eyes with a ophthalmoscope.

Preventative Care Plan

Hopefully there are no abnormalities and we can administer preventative vaccinations or draw blood for preventative lab work. If there is an abnormality after discussing with the client, the veterinarian and veterinary technician come up with a diagnostic or treatment plan that the technician can then explain to the owner. If everyone is in agreement, we proceed with the plan. The technicians and veterinarians work together to set up what is needed so that when the patient is ready, we efficiently work through the punch list attempting to decrease stress to the client and the cat.

Veterinary Medical Record Documentation

Once the appointment is concluded, the veterinary technician and veterinarian make sure that all of the exam findings and discussions are noted within the medical record as well as all of the treatments or diagnostics that have been suggested. The clients are walked back to the receptionist to make their next appointment and receive any necessary documents.

So while what I have described here is the protocol of the Cat Clinic of Plymouth and other animal hospitals may have slightly different takes, the basic idea is fairly universal. As always I encourage my clients to ask questions and raise concerns at any point of this process. We are here to be a health advocate for your special fur baby. As their health care proxy, you must be just as comfortable with your experience at the veterinary hospital.

To schedule an appointment for your cat, Contact Us

 

By Cassandra Kelley DVM, veterinarian and owner Cat Clinic of Plymouth

Hairballs

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Cat Veterinarian, Dr Kelley, Cat Clinic Plymouth, MA
Preventative Care Exam for cats

Hairballs, Hacks, Gags and Gas: Learn why you should schedule your cat’s annual preventative exam today!

When you’re a cat owner, you know all the benefits of living with a furry friend in your home.  Kisses, head butts and loud purrs. Did you expect hairballs on the carpet? Partially digested garbage strewn all over the floor?

Did you expect you cat to belong to the “Speed Eaters Anonymous Club,” where they eat so fast it comes right back up?

Like many cat owners, you may assume these digestive ailments just happen. You may assume they’re normal and chalk them up to coming with the territory of living with a pet. Perhaps they’ve become regular occurrences that you simply handle with mild frustration. Overall, no worries, you say!

The important thing to know is that many seemingly “normal” digestive problems are best to be checked out by a veterinarian. We know there’s a lot of information on the Internet you can read, but nothing replaces a face (yours) to face (ours) to face (your cat) visit with your veterinarian.

When you schedule your pet’s yearly preventative care exam, your veterinarian can discuss and answer all of your questions. During the veterinary exam, your veterinarian will perform a “hands-on” inspection of your cat’s abdomen by feeling each of the organs and evaluation the shape, size and position. They will listen through a stethoscope for any abnormal gut sounds. They may want to take a look at your pet’s poop to check for parasites and harmful bacteria. It’s all about digestion and it’s how to keep your cat healthy!

Schedule your cat’s annual preventative care exam today! Determine what’s normal and what’s not when it comes to your cat’s digestive tract.

Just think, after your visit, you may never have to clean up a hairball ever again.

Why does my cat or kitten bite me? Play Behavior and Training

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Training Your Cat to Play
Training Your Cat to Play

Natural Cat Behavior

Have you been there? You are walking down the hallway with shorts on and your cat suddenly without warning or provocation jumps out from a doorway launching themselves at your bare legs with claws and sometimes even teeth! As a veterinarian, I often get these stories at the veterinary hospital and recommend training.

Think about a cat’s idea of fun. It usually involves stalking, chasing, attacking and killing things. From a very young age kittens begin to learn this hunting behavior by practicing on their litter mates. The game begins when one kitten jumps and bites their sibling. Let the games begin! When the game becomes too rough the sibling responds with body position, vocalization or hissing, or finally a well-placed claw until they are taught what is acceptable among the litter. However this cat behavior is also training to protect territory from predators including other cats.

Cat Instincts

Furthermore, other games include hunting training. Momma cat usually brings home some fresh carcasses with which the kittens can play. Gradually as the litter gains more expertise, mom will start to bring mortally wounded prey as a play item. Then gradually less wounded prey will be introduced until the kittens hunting prowess progresses to being able to capture and kill fully living prey. My point is that cats are true carnivores and there idea of play does not included coloring.

Training Your Cat

So once these hunting, clawing but cute as can be felines start living with us, how can we make play more tolerable to the human household? The absolute first rule of thumb is to never reward biting, clawing, and scratching of humans no matter how big or small that human may be. Even if there is one person in the house is willing to put up with this play, the rest of the household will continue to be targets. This is the training phase of both the humans and the cat of what is not acceptable. Animal hospitals around the country get many requests to euthanize “aggressive” cats because they scare the grandchildren, the neighbors or even the husband just because they are play aggressive and have never been trained.

What does this mean? NO playing with hands, feet, toes or hair as toys. Not under a blanket or under a box, with socks on, hand tucked into a sleeve…..never. There are plenty of toys out there for cats, some we can even make at home. We will talk about that later. And if or when, a cat attempts to use these items as toys, they must be distracted with an appropriate toy. A food reward can be used if the cat plays with the appropriate toy.  Remember unless there is an underlying cat behavior issue, this is for fun! You know what else is fun? When the human playmate screams, squeals, runs, sprays the cat with a squirt bottle, wags a finger sternly yelling “NO!” and all of these things will reward this initiation of play. If the cat cannot be distracted, I recommend that they be gently, calmly and safely be placed into a quiet place for a minute or two, because that is no fun. Then continue to choose appropriate toys to continue the play and training.

Cat Play

Here’s the fun part! Playing with your cat should be fun! Of course, cats are inclined to play with a stuffed mouse, ball, pillow, empty bag or box etc. however cats adore social interaction from you! Finding interactive toys that they enjoy bring you into the action in a safe way. Laser pointers, mice on the end of a cat safe string, feathers on the end of a stick are great choices that allow you to play at an arm’s length from hunting teeth and claws. Just remember to put all strings out of reach of cats when they are not supervised.  Another option is tossing treats or dental diets down the hall or through the kitchen can provide entertainment as well. Different cat personalities will have different preferences. Some cats are bug hunters so a laser pointer is purrfect. Others prefer to hunt mice or birds so mice on a string or feathers on a stick are more appropriate. And make those things move up onto perches, across the bed and around the dining room table. Don’t forget about vertical spaces! Remember that the idea is that sometimes they catch their prey and that is part of the reward. It may take some time to get to know what your cat likes but once you find out… just give it to them!

The key to success in training any cat behavior is commitment, patience, and consistency. And as always your favorite cat veterinarian should always be a source of information if issues arise or especially if you think that there is a cat behavior issue.

For more information check out Cat Clinic Blog

Why Does My Indoor Cat Need a Rabies Vaccine?

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Indoor Cat Vaccinated for Rabies
Indoor Cat Vaccinated for Rabies

What is rabies?

The state of Massachusetts requires that all cats are vaccinated against the rabies virus by a licensed veterinarian. Rabies is a virus of the central nervous system and is almost always fatal. It is spread through the saliva of the infected animal. All animals are susceptible to catching rabies usually through bite wounds although it is usually carnivorous animals test positive for rabies. Smaller rodents usually do not test positive most likely because they don’t live through the initial skirmish with the rabid animal. Bats are also known to carry rabies and are the highest cause of human rabies in the U.S.

Indoor Cats and Rabies

So if a cat never leaves the house, why does the state of Massachusetts require the vaccine? There are several reasons but here is the most frightening.  Imaging waking up and finding a dead bat with YOUR unvaccinated cat hovering over it. Did my cat kill that bat? Did the bat die from rabies? Did the bat bite my cat? Did the bat bite me?!?!? These are frantic calls that the Cat Clinic of Plymouth and I am sure many other animal hospitals all too frequently.

Usually, home owners are completely unaware that bats are getting into their home until one dies. This becomes a terrible dilemma as the recommendations from not only the state of Massachusetts but also the Center for Disease Control  are to euthanize any unvaccinated animal that has come in contact with either an animal testing positive for rabies or any known carrier unavailable for testing.  They’re asking you to euthanize your beloved feline fur baby. Why would anyone take that chance?

After Exposure

And if you decline to euthanize your cat and your cat becomes exposed, you are required to quarantine them from the rest of the household for 45 days! This is to protect you and the rest of your family from being exposed to rabies, a disease that kills 99.9% of its victims!

So I guess I understand why the state requires veterinarians to vaccinate ALL cats regardless of how they are housed. For a relatively inexpensive, safe and easy assurance against a deadly disease – and doesn’t sound like a fun death, I make sure all my pets are vaccinated against rabies.

Pleasant veterinary visits

Check out the blog on stress free veterinary visits.

NEXT – how safe are rabies vaccines?