Can You Make Vet Clinic Appointments Easier For Your Cat?
Vet appointments are just as critical to your cat as general health checkups are to you and your loved ones. However, considering how skittish and anxious cats can become when faced with unfamiliar surroundings, some pet owners may put off these visits until their furry friend falls ill rather than have to go through the trouble of taking their cat to the vet for a routine physical checkup. Fortunately, some tips and tricks could be helpful in easing your cat's anxiety and overall making visits to the vet clinic less stressful for both you and your furry friend. This article outlines some handy techniques that can make your vet clinic appointments more manageable.
Train your cat to get used to being touched
From the moment you adopt your cat, you should start to carry out physical inspections on a regular basis. These inspections should entail examining your pet's paws, their teeth, running your fingers through their fur, checking inside their ears and anything else that you can think of. The routine physical contact coupled with the intimacy of the experience would make it easier for your cat to allow this behaviour from a vet since they will have gradually become accustomed to it.
Take your cat on regular car rides
One thing to bear in mind about vet clinic visits is that the anxiety does not just spontaneously show up once you are on the premises with your furry friends. If your cat is not familiar with car rides, every single time that you put them in your vehicle would be a trigger for their anxiety. Not to mention that if the only time they take a car ride is to the vet, and then they will begin to associate getting into the car with heading out for vaccinations. It may seem like a small measure to take but helping your cat become acclimatised to car rides can go a long way in easing their overall anxiety. Start off by driving a short distance, and you can progressively increase the duration of your journeys until your cat has no issue with being in a moving vehicle.
Carry a cover blanket for your cat's carrier
The waiting room in a vet clinic can be a prominent source of anxiety to your cat as a host of unfamiliar scents from other animals assaults them. Since it would be impossible to avoid encountering other pets at the clinic, you should always carry a blanket to cover your cat's carrier. The coverage not only provides privacy by blocking out strange odours and sights at the clinic, but it would also have the familiar scent of home to comfort your pet.