A common reason that deters many owners from bringing their cats into the veterinary clinic is that it’s too stressful the cat and the human family member. It may be difficult to get the cat in the carrier at home and she/he may become aggressive while at the clinic due to anxiety and fear.  Fear of stressing the cat out or fear of handling a fractious cat are very legitimate concerns but you cannot let that be the reason for neglecting to provide medical care. If your cat gets stressed out at the thought of being in the carrier there are some things you can do to allow your cat to become more comfortable with travel:

• Leave the carrier with the door open out in a room your cat frequents and/or feed your cat in the carrier.  Do this a week or two before a planned visit and periodically do this to help decrease stress during an emergency visit.  This will allow him/her to become comfortable with it so the carrier itself will not create stress.
• At Country Friends Veterinary Clinic we offer Feliway a pheromone spray that decreases anxiety in cats causing them to feel much more comfortable.  Please call the clinic for information.
• Minimize loud noises and/or cover the carrier with a towel.

Dr. Westwood and our entire staff cater to decreasing your cat’s stress while at Country Friends and will make every effort to make your cats visit as easy and stress-free as possible. Please let us know if you have any concerns regarding your cat’s visit so that we may discuss ways to put you and your feline companion at ease. If you missed Dr. Westwood’s article on the importance of an annual checkup for your cat, you can find it here.