If you had to do it over: lessons learned

[daftcat75]

I have had good and bad experiences with cat-only vets and all-animals vets. It's often the doctor, not the hospital that makes a difference.

One thing I did do differently with Betty was that I got her seen by both cat docs in her home base VCA so that she can see either one if the other is not in, or not available. This doubles our appointment opportunities and covers the off-day gaps.

Another thing I did differently with Betty than Krista is contrary to most here. I put more trust in the vets rather than trying to off-road it or go natural/alternative therapies. That's not to say that I don't also do my own homework and call them back when things don't seem right. Betty is young enough that I decided to engage a specialist right away when it looked like I had another IBD cat on my hands. I gave steroids and prescription food a try, and she's doing much better than my attempts to do it on my own with naturals and alternatives.

 

[lucyrima]

Good idea - vets vs homeopathic types (who may be terrific tho'), because I am so science oriented and while alternative meds may be good, if given the choice I know where I'll go first.

 

[thefishyone]

I would have done so much stuff differently if I could do Terra’s kittenhood over again, but the biggest would be trying to discipline her for behavior issues. I had grown up with dogs, and Terra was my first cat. As Jackson Galaxy would say, I was looking at her through dog colored glasses.

Once I stopped looking at her as a defective dog and started looking at her as a good kitty, things just clicked.

 

[lucyrima]

 

[fionasmom]

My recommendations would be to have insurance. At least here, vet bills can become impossibly high or higher, if specialists become involved.
Accustom all cats to accept handling, entering a carrier, and pilling. I should not complain because all of my pet cats were, at one time, ferals. No matter how affectionate they are now, they are still not hardwired to let me check teeth, put my hand in their mouth, or check certain parts of their bodies. But I feel that I could have done a better job with this, especially with the ones who were rescued as tiny kittens.
Find a good vet early on, but stay informed about medical care and do not hesitate to change vets if it is necessary or to get second opinions. No decent doctor is threatened by that. Get traditional medical advice before you decide to try home remedies or holistic solutions.

 

[Alldara]

Yes that's true! I think it's their ability to stay up to date with the specific animal you have, plus personality.

I agree on the homeopathic end. The only homeopathic remedy that is fool-proof to me, is the one that was recommended by a vet vitamins and such.

 

[FeebysOwner]

I keep reading these posts, and think I have nothing to offer, so I haven't responded. But I decided to now, because first and foremost, annual exams for cats even when they are young, including blood work and urinalysis, are important. This establishes trends to follow so that subtle changes are identified early on for potential issues. Keeping your own copies of the results and comparing them for yourself. Learning what the values mean and how deviations can be interpreted.

Short of that, for me the bottom line is this: One can try to prepare all they want, but what really matters is how you handle each cat based on their individuality and personal needs. And, yes, there are some things like insurance and getting educated on basic needs and health issue that can be considered regardless.

But none of what I learned from any of my cats would have/did apply to the others. And, in some ways, I could have caused harm to successors if I had tried to apply a learned lesson from a predecessor. You can learn things to look for and things to avoid, but no cat follows any playbook. While asking questions on this site - or others - can give you some ideas as to what to try with your cat, it all comes down to learning/knowing your cat - a living, ongoing, never-ending endeavor.

 

[Elvgrengrl]

I keep reading these posts, and think I have nothing to offer, so I haven't responded. But I decided to now, because first and foremost, annual exams for cats even when they are young, including blood work and urinalysis, are important. This establishes trends to follow so that subtle changes are identified early on for potential issues. Keeping your own copies of the results and comparing them for yourself. Learning what the values mean and how deviations can be interpreted.

Short of that, for me the bottom line is this: One can try to prepare all they want, but what really matters is how you handle each cat based on their individuality and personal needs. And, yes, there are some things like insurance and getting educated on basic needs and health issue that can be considered regardless.

But none of what I learned from any of my cats would have/did apply to the others. And, in some ways, I could have caused harm to successors if I had tried to apply a learned lesson from a predecessor. You can learn things to look for and things to avoid, but no cat follows any playbook. While asking questions on this site - or others - can give you some ideas as to what to try with your cat, it all comes down to learning/knowing your cat - a living, ongoing, never-ending endeavor.

Great advice. Thank you.

 

[nurseangel]

Why did you (and others) say not to trust vets? Curious!

My vets practically forced me into having Big Gray PTS because he had feline HIV. One of them said it wouldn't be fair to other cats. Another (same office) said he was like, "Typhoid Mary." I wish I would have done my homework, but he became sick and the decision seemed urgent.

I will never fully trust a vet again. I was crying, upset, pleading, and didn't have time to think or do research. Somewhere in my mind it should have clicked that vets are just like people doctors, only with a more advanced skill set.

I am not making a judgement on whether your cat needs to be PTS. Or if you have a really great vet you can trust. Every situation is different. I am just weighing in on why I don't trust vets, even though we use them on the regular.

 

[lucyrima]

Was there no real chance of e.g. keeping him somewhere away from the other cats (I know it seems unrealistic as a lifetime thing)?

On the other hand, would it be realistic to sue them - it happens for worse reasons than yours! And we're so 'trained' to believe everything doctors say.

 

[arr]

I feel pretty good about how I’ve raised my kittens. They are good about eating well at mealtimes, not picky, they are on mostly wet food, no aggression, good litter box habits, dont scratch up the furniture, let me brush their teeth, will go in carrier, good at the vet, stay off the counter, etc. We found an excellent vet that we trust and he has already successfully helped us with some health situations. My only real regret is i didn’t train them to be okay with travel. They hate riding to the vet, which is the only time they ever leave the house. It was for the most part a conscious decision, though, because it would be hard to carry around three cats. I wouldn’t bring three cats on vacation with me, I don’t see a real reason to drive around running errands with three cats in the car. So it just didn’t seem practical, but I do feel bad about how they cry on the way to the vet.

If I only had one cat, though, I wouldve done it. There are some vacations I could have brought just one cat on, and it wouldn’t be hard to wrangle just one cat when running errands.

 

[treeclimber]

I have four:

1. The best way to tire out a young cat is another young cat. Two adolescent cats will cause far less trouble/destruction than one adolescent cat with no playmate.

2. Adopting adult cats is AWESOME. Their personalities are already developed, so you can adopt a cat you know you click with instead of hoping a kitten grows up to have certain personality traits. And if you don’t want the kittenish rambunctiousness, you can adopt a cat who’s old enough to be past that and will just be happy to have a warm human to sleep on.

3. If you try walking a cat on a leash, never let it investigate/climb a tree. They can climb FAST - something startles it and suddenly that cute little exploration at the base of the tree can turns into you holding a leash while the cat is several feet above your head. There is no good option at that point - you don’t want to pull on the leash and make the cat fall - so the best solution is to avoid ending up in that situation.

4. Occasionally adoptions don’t work out. Give it at least a month. Do not give it more than two months unless there has been some noteworthy improvement by then. Spending six months trying to “make it work” while you and the cat make each-other miserable is unlikely to improve the situation, and a cat that’s had six months in your home will have a harder time readjusting to shelter life than a cat that only stayed for a month.

 

[strider rose]

E Elvgrengrl i would do everything you mentioned except the insurance as i too can not afford to get that and i would talk to other cat parent for sound advice

 

[Neko-chan's mama]

I think the only thing I'd do differently would be to adopt two kittens. Neko-chan's kitten days were exhausting being her only play mate. I really couldn't at the time though. Our lease specified one cat.

 

[Antonio65]

My vets practically forced me into having Big Gray PTS because he had feline HIV. One of them said it wouldn't be fair to other cats. Another (same office) said he was like, "Typhoid Mary." I wish I would have done my homework, but he became sick and the decision seemed urgent.

I will never fully trust a vet again.

I've been advised too many times about having a cat put to sleep because thier health conditions were beyond recovery, and I had to be humane and let them go, when those same cats recovered fully and are now very well.
It happened with my sweet Lola, my former vet advised me about euthanasia, but I switched to another vet and Lola lived another year.
And it happened with a few of my feral cats, and it seems that vets do not want to get involved with feral cats, for some reason, even though the bills would be paid all the same.
Also, I lost count of the misdiagnosis I have seen so far.

Like you say, I will never fully trust a vet again.

 

[Antonio65]

And we're so 'trained' to believe everything doctors say.

This is the mistake most people make.
I can say no more.

 

[Antonio65]

3. If you try walking a cat on a leash, never let it investigate/climb a tree. They can climb FAST - something startles it and suddenly that cute little exploration at the base of the tree can turns into you holding a leash while the cat is several feet above your head. There is no good option at that point - you don’t want to pull on the leash and make the cat fall - so the best solution is to avoid ending up in that situation.

That's ironic, given your username
I occasionally did the opposite, my cats didn't seem so interested in trees, so I helped them climb one in my garden, but they seem to be scared of height (4 to 5 feet from the ground), and ask to come down.

4. Occasionally adoptions don’t work out. Give it at least a month. Do not give it more than two months unless there has been some noteworthy improvement by then

This is true. I fostered a few cats, with the option of keeping them, but none of these cats showed to be at ease in my home, and eventually I had to rehome them. All within 2 months.

 

[Zerthax]

I've been advised too many times about having a cat put to sleep because thier health conditions were beyond recovery, and I had to be humane and let them go, when those same cats recovered fully and are now very well.

My advice here: if you have doubts, get a second opinion if possible. This can be hard to do in a sudden emergency, but in the case of an illness of some sort when there is time, this can make a real difference.

My Alex had lost significant weight and was indeed showing the typical signs of dying. Our primary vet had recommended euthanasia, but as a last ditch we took him to the emergency vet. They had put him on prednisolone and antibiotics (he had chronic rhinitis), and he bounced back in just a few days. He lived on for another year and a half. Not just limping along either, but the best I'd seen him in a few years.

 

[Zerthax]

I have gotten adult cats rather than kittens, but I agree with working with cats to make giving medicine, claw trimming, and tooth brushing easier.

One thing I wish I had done differently is take more videos. I have almost a thousand photos of my cats, but only a few videos.

 

[Antonio65]

The thing I wish I had done differently is take more videos. I have almost a thousand photos of my cats, but only a few videos.

This!
And it seems that no matter how many thousands photos we have of our cats, they are always too little.