pet care

Sasha pointed me to an interesting story in Slate which discusses when and how to say no to your vet. It draws some interesting parallels and contrasts with health care for humans, noting, for example, that most of us would recognize in a human when to accept the inevitable, or when to avoid unnecessarily painful treatments. The article also notes a technology convergence: "pets can get chemotherapy, dialysis, organ transplants, hip replacement, and braces for their teeth. In 2004, Americans spent $18 billion to treat the country's 164 million dogs and cats." A few details were revelatory to me, such as questioning the need for yearly vaccinations ("Never forget how often they need to be given to you or your kids. ONCE!!!").

You know, the vet I had just before I left A2 advised me on the vaccine issue with the kitties. Of course, having talked to breeders before, I knew the stance and have avoided many of them as a result. There is also the major difference in that we can make decisions and understand what is going on; but our little furry friends don't necessarily and to put them through extensive chemo or medical treatment seems almost cruel. It's an interesting article though, reminding us that like doctors, vets are a business. And given what my mother has recently gone through with her orthopedic surgeon, it's all about the dinero. Revive a dead dog? I'd be weary to revive a dead person.

This is why I love my cat vet. First, she does house calls (which let me tell you is great when you have 4 felines) She told us up front, if we don't let the cats outside, and never plan to, then there is no reason to vaccinnate them for things that outside animals are exposed too (feline aids/FIV..etc) We give them the legally mandated rabies shots every year, and that's about it. However, she did try to sell us on kitty dental treatment - because one of my cats has some serious dental problems, but she did follow it up with "if' he's eating ok, and you have not seen a problem, then I would not worry too much about it." Vet care has come along way, and It would be a difficult decision to make if my cat had some disease, that was treatable with a costly procedure. Which is why the newest thing out there is Pet Insurance! Coburn

We have been through the ringer with Scout a couple of times as far as major health issues go, and we've seen both the good and the bad vets. I really like the vet we have now. He is expensive, but I think he's worth it. And every time something expensive comes up, he's always very straightforward about what it might cost vs. what the outcome might be. About 2 years ago Scout had a cancer scare--we thought for sure a lump she had was cancerous, so yes, we paid for the biopsy and the ultrasound. But before paying for the ultrasound, the vet did tell us that we should decide what we wanted to do if it was cancer before paying for the test. In other words, if we decided we wouldn't treat it no matter what, then don't bother with the test and just manage any symptoms she may have. Well she was only 9 so we went with the test and luckily have a healthy dog now. Our favorite vet, however, was the one we had in Germany--Dr. Bielan. He only spoke German so I never met him, but Kevin described his office as an "All Creatures Great and Small" environment. When Scout hurt her back and couldn't stand or use her back left leg (I freaked out), Dr. Bielan gave her 3 shots (a steroid, an anti-inflammatory, and something Kevin was never able to translate) and then told us to keep her in her crate and buy an infrared heat lamp to shine on her back for a certain number of minutes a day. I don't know what the lamp was supposed to do (we couldn't really translate that part either) but apparently it's a common medical prescription in Germany. Scout loved it--we called her Lizard Dog.

I've been taking Simba and Puma in for yearly shots since I've had them. In their last visit to the vet, I was surprised to find that the veterinary community has been changing their stance on these shots, stating that some can be given every two or three years instead of every year once the cat reaches a certain age. Whatever is in those shots stays pretty stable once the cat has had a chance to get those levels built up.

To give credit where credit is due, I found the article in question through Heidi's blog. I find the whole concept of guilt-tripping you into treatment for your pet that you would never get for yourself really interesting, particularly after Mina's summer health fiasco.

Wow, Coburn, where do you find a vet that does housecalls? Before I moved I had to get all rabies shots updated and took all four to the vet at once. It was a 2 hour ordeal I swore I would never repeat... 2 hours later, covered in fur, sweat, blood and urine I would have paid twice as much for a house call!!