Doc Truli's Top Five Medical Pet Peeves
Doc Truli is feeling raw and honest today. Enjoy!
1. Here’s 1 practice that probably bothers you, and a veterinarian has probably told you it is normal when you complained or expressed disbelief and a little shock on your face. What am I talking about?
Scruffing Cats.
This may come as a shock to you, but, in my hospital, no one ever scruffs cats. Never. It is an unneccessary practice that is to be avoided. Additionally, it does not provide the best control of a cat’s body anyway. Many cats experience pain from excessive or hurtful scruffing and many animal care workers get clawed or even bit when they attempt to scruff a cat for everything.
While we’re on the subject of cats:
2. “Boxing down”. Do you know what this is?
If your small pet, usually this happens to cats, is impossible or difficult to handle and needs sedation or anesthesia, they may be placed in an “induction chamber.” Anesthetic gas is allowed into the box until your pet is anesthetized, then they are taken out and the procedure resumes.
I never “Box Down” anyone. It uses excessive anesthetic gas, which is a potent carcinogen for the pet and the hospital staff. It is physiologically very stressful for your pet. Pets die during and just after this procedure. And, most importantly, it is completely unnecessary. There are wonderful, effective injectable drugs to accomplish restraint for your pet.
Here’s my point of view of “boxing down:” Your cat is placed in a clear lucite chamber and the top is held down. A tube is attached to the side and invisible gas is let in. The cat usually flips out, claws at the sides, tries to push out the top, and turns upside down and struggles. Most of the cats urinate and defecate on themselves in their terror and panic. All in the name of medicine!
It is, literally a gas chamber. It smells bad. The eyes sting and burn. And it is scary. It usually only lasts a few minutes. But it is unneccessary. I would videotape it for you, so you would never allow it, but I will not do that to a cat, not even for educational purposes!
3. Truli speaking, I cannot believe that veterinarians extract teeth without dental x-rays!
There is a huge gap in the standards of care. Approximately 5-10% of animal hospitals have dental x-Ray capability. Of those which do, few use it regularly. Try to find a good veterinarian in your area who can x-Ray your pet’s teeth when they are performing the cleaning and exam.
4. Do not let anyone perform a non-anesthesia dental cleaning. They are purely cosmetic and your pet will still have unhealthy gums and teeth. The American Veterinary Dental College has formally spoken out against non-anesthesia dentistry.
5. Reluctance to sedate or anesthetize a pet for proper testing and treatment is archaic.
The excuses are many:
Too old
Heart murmur
Slow to come out of it last time
Pet years ago, or neighbor’s pet, passed away at some vet clinic somewhere
Great outcomes from sedation:
Discover and fix painful teeth
Properly diagnose knee and hip problems
Perform deep ear flushing, repeatedly if needed
Perform yearly physical and laboratory screening on ” impossible” cat, find diseases early, help cat live longer.
I am positive that people who perform these practices day in and day out will feel defensive. I understand. Everyone starts somewhere. Ask yourself what little things you can do to make your patient’s lives better. Soon, all those little things will add up to a professional life having been worth living!
