July 2, 2024 • 33 mins
Join us as Dr. Černá, a renowned feline specialist, shares invaluable tips on reducing your cat's stress during vet visits. From selecting the perfect carrier to finding a feline-friendly vet, we've got you covered. This episode is a must-listen for all cat owners aiming for stress-free veterinary trips. Enhance your cat's vet experience today!
In this episode you will learn:
- How to choose the right vet for your cat
- Tips for preparing your cat for a vet visit at home
- The benefits of using the right carrier
- How to reduce your cat's stress during car rides
- Importance of fear-free and feline-friendly certifications
- Techniques for calming cats in the vet's waiting room
- Effective use of treats and familiar items during vet visits
- Understanding cat body language to assess stress levels
- Post-visit tips to help your cat relax at home
References:
Crazy Cat Vet Website
Fear Free Certified Veterinary Practices
American Association of Feline Practitioners (AAFP)
International Society of Feline Medicine (ISFM)
FELIWAY Website
Carriers Recommended by the Crazy Cat Vet:
Sleepypod
Catit Cabrio
Petmate 2 Door Kennel
SturdiBag (Great option if you are set on a soft carrier)
Van Ness Calm Carrier
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Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Dr. Tyler Sugerman (00:00):
Welcome back to another episode of
Vetsplanation everyone.
Today we have a treat for allthe cat lovers out there.
Joining us again is our favoritefeline specialist, Dr.
Černá.
She has been busy with her newlitter of kittens and we've been
loving all the adorable photosshe's been sharing.
But more importantly, she's hereto share some invaluable tips on
how to make vet visits lessstressful for our beloved cats.
(00:25):
From preparing at home, tofinding the right vet.
We've got a perfectly packedepisode for you ahead.
So stay tuned because you won'twant to miss a minute of this.
Also, don't forget to like andsubscribe.
All right, welcome back toanother episode of
Vetsplanation, everybody.
I'm really excited we have ourCrazy Cat Vet back today.
She's had some kittens that I'vebeen seeing pictures of, which I
(00:47):
absolutely love.
But we're going to be talkingabout how we can best take our
cats to the vet, and like how wecan like really prepare cats at
home before we even get there,and how to prepare them to just
see the vet in general.
How are you doing, Dr.
I'm Černá?
Dr. Petra Černá (01:03):
Hey, I'm actually doing really well.
I just managed to vaccinate mysix kittens at home on my own
today.
I know, right?
And all distal right front limb.
So I was actually prettyimpressed.
Dr. Tyler Sugerman (01:20):
That is really impressive, actually,
especially for kittens whowiggle a lot.
Dr. Petra Černá (01:25):
Yes, yes.
No, they were, I fed thembreakfast.
They were all very hungry andpretty distracted.
And yeah, it was, it was good.
So they actually didn't have togo to the vet, but we're already
starting to practice for whenthey move to their new homes,
they are actually set up forsuccess, right?
Dr. Tyler Sugerman (01:42):
Perfect.
Perfect.
Exactly.
So when we decide we're going toactually go and take our pets to
the vet, you had just mentionedhow they're going to be going to
a new home.
How do you decide how to find avet then before you even have
your pet?
Dr. Petra Černá (01:55):
Yeah.
I think that's very hard, right?
Because my cats are very luckysince I'm a feline..
Dr. Tyler Sugerman (02:01):
Right?
Dr. Petra Černá (02:01):
I'm a crazy cat vet, so they are very lucky.
However, I specialize in felinemedicine, so I still need for
some things a vet for my cats,right?
Because I don't do surgeries, Idon't do dentals and so on and
so on.
And I am very picky.
So my cats actually have apersonal cardiologist, they have
a personal dentist, they have apersonal surgeon and so on and
(02:25):
so on.
So I am very picky with how Ichoose vets for my personal cats
as well.
And I think it's really, reallyimportant that we actually are,
because it is very important forthe cats not to be stressed and
try to find someone you trustand someone the cats feel
comfortable with as well.
Dr. Tyler Sugerman (02:44):
What do you think about finding somebody
through the fear free websiteor..
Dr. Petra Černá (02:49):
Yeah, absolutely.
And I'm feel free certified, butI actually enjoy a little bit
more the AAFP or ISFM actuallyfeline friendly certifications
because they are very muchfocused just on cats and being
cat friendly.
So the fear free is great.
And I think it is definitelybetter than nothing.
(03:09):
But it also, of course.
Those people are trained also tobe feel free with dogs because,
even though I do not work withdogs, I think it's still very
important that our caninepatients get the best care that
they can, and they can bestressed at work as, sorry, at
work, at my work, so
Dr. Tyler Sugerman (03:24):
Yeah.
Dr. Petra Černá (03:25):
at the hospital.
As well, but yes, so you canactually look online and go to
the fear free website or ideallyeven to the AAFP, because there
are actually a lot of crazy catvets, that do not even see dogs.
So if you actually go to thatpractice, there will be no dogs
anywhere for the cats to smell,for the cats to hear.
(03:46):
And that's really exciting, butof course it doesn't happen
everywhere.
But if you look at the fear freewebsite or the AAFP the feline
friendly professional website aswell, you can actually find
clinics in your area that aretrained to work friendly with
cats and they are interested todo their very best for the cats.
Dr. Tyler Sugerman (04:09):
So can you explain to me real quick, like
fear free versus the AAFP?
Dr. Petra Černá (04:15):
Absolutely.
So they are actually both greatoptions.
So what does it mean being fearfree or the feline friendly kind
of certified means that thosevets, and usually it doesn't
just go to the vets.
Usually most of these placesalso have veterinary technicians
that are trained, but also we'llhave other professionals like
receptionist and the supportstaff that have been trained to
(04:37):
handle animals in a fear free orthis feline friendly kind of
way.
So we are being very proactivebecause we more and more
appreciate how pets get stressedwhen they come to the vets.
And we of course want to do ourvery best.
And I can tell you the vet visitalready starts at home and there
are so many things people canactually already do at home
(04:59):
before they even come to thevet.
And I always try to, because Iactually give a lot of lectures
on this topic too.
And first slide of my lecture islike the vet visit starts at
home.
So we need to really do our bestalready at home.
So we are setting up our catsand us too, right?
Like I would hate, I hate seeingmy patients, also my cats being
stressed.
So it brings absolutely tonobody joy when those patients
(05:23):
are not enjoying the life.
Dr. Tyler Sugerman (05:25):
Absolutely.
So what are some of the thingsthat we can do to try to help
our cats at home before we evendecide on the vet visit?
Dr. Petra Černá (05:32):
Absolutely.
So I think one great thing isactually trying to teach the
cats to be used to the carrier,because of course, if the cat
only sees the carrier twice ayear to go to the vet, it's not
going to work out great.
So these days, they are actuallyselling these like soft carriers
that are even, they can be madeinto beds.
(05:52):
It's really actuallyfascinating.
I work with this one rescue andthey have these carriers at
home.
They are not cheap, I can tellyou that.
However.
They are little beds at home.
So they can sleep in them athome.
They smell like them and theyfeel very comfortable with them.
And they open, they completelyclose on the top.
So what you do, like when thecat is sleeping in, you can just
(06:14):
close it on the top and actuallysee, you know, how the cat would
react when she's at home or he'sat home.
And then, then we actually bringthem to the vets.
It's super easy for us too,because we can open these
carriers on the top.
So we don't have to drag thecats out.
We don't have to wait for 30minutes for the cat actually to
come out.
And it just, it just so mucheasier.
(06:35):
So also getting a good carrier.
I've actually had a lot ofclients over the years when they
came with these very oldcarriers that you couldn't even
open it because the screws weregone So they actually had it
Dr. Tyler Sugerman (06:48):
Zip tied?
Dr. Petra Černá (06:49):
Yes.
Exactly, and I literally afterthe first visit told them if you
show up with this carrier again,I am NOT seeing you and your
cat.
And I'm like..
Dr. Tyler Sugerman (06:59):
They're so hard.
Yeah.
Dr. Petra Černá (07:01):
I know, but it just, it was breaking my heart
to see how stressed that catwas.
It's sometimes when they also,get very anxious.
It is not even safe for them ormy staff or me to actually even,
trying to get them out.
And it gets to a point whereit's breaking my heart.
It's causing me stress.
It's causing my support staffstress.
(07:21):
It's causing the cat so muchstress and then they go home.
They pee themselves on the wayback and everything.
So really having good carriers,just like the best investment
ever.
So I actually provide, if myclient show up with these
carriers, I actually providethem with a list of carriers
that I really like to work withand not all of them are crazy
(07:42):
expensive, so it's really justto have something that is safe
for the cats.
Actually, the other day I had aclient who brought her cat in,
and it was see through on threesides.
The cat came in and respiratoryrate was 80 because the cat was
seeing all the dogs, everythingthat was happening.
And I was like, next time,please just put a blanket over
(08:03):
him or over the carrier, becausethis is really stressing him so
much, or...
people are bringing these catsin these backpacks, right?
There was the movie about it.
So now everybody's buying thesebackpacks, these like windows.
And I'm like, this is not..
Dr. Tyler Sugerman (08:18):
The big globe in it.
Yep.
Dr. Petra Černá (08:19):
Because it was in a movie with a Scottish Fold.
Like they actually came with ahuge statement, how this movie
should have never been evenfilmed in the first place
because it's a promoting adiseased breed and also really
not cat friendly at all.
So I didn't even go to see it.
I'm like, I cannot watch threehours or two hours of a movie
(08:39):
where this, we are, we areseeing this.
So I can't believe likeHollywood has like billions or
millions of dollars and theycan't find a consultant when the
movie star in the movie is acat.
So I was like shocked.
I was like, can you please hiresomeone to actually tell you
all..
Dr. Tyler Sugerman (08:56):
You're like, I'll volunteer.
Dr. Petra Černá (08:59):
Exactly.
I would like, I don't even wantto get paid for this.
Just please do not show this topeople.
But yeah, so I could actuallyprobably talk about carriers for
a very long time.
And I've been through a lot ofdifferent carriers and stuff.
And I think it's really thecrucial and number one important
things for these cats.
Dr. Tyler Sugerman (09:16):
So it sounds like, so our ideal carrier
should be opens from the top.
It's something that you can,they don't see through, or at
least can put a towel over.
What do you think about softversus hard carriers?
Dr. Petra Černá (09:29):
Yeah, I think that's a great question.
I think hard carriers aredefinitely safer and easier to
clean because of courseespecially if you have to drive
for a while to the vet, cats canhave accidents, right?
You can have an accident in thecar.
The soft carriers are not alwaysthe safest carriers,
unfortunately, because likesometimes they have these zips
(09:51):
on the top and there's like ahole.
So I've actually had cats escapefrom that as well.
Cats are smart, right?
Like they will figure thingsout.
So they might be a little bitmore comfortable for the cat.
So what I usually do, I usuallyput like a better blanket in my
hard carriers.
So it's, it's more cozy andcomfortable for the cats, but I
think the hard carriers are alittle bit safer when it comes
(10:13):
going to the vet.
But I actually have one type ofa soft carrier that I go not to
the vet because it doesn't openon the top, but it opens only
from the side and from thefront, but I, I take my cats to
cat show there because, the catsI show they are very easy going,
like I open it and they, theycome out and so I know.
Exactly.
But I do not use it to go to thevet.
Dr. Tyler Sugerman (10:34):
I have seen ones that are really cool that
it does open from the top andthe sides, but it has like this
like an extension to it.
So it just makes it more roomyfor them.
So you can close the extensionor you can open the extension up
and it just gives them moreroom.
I thought that was a really coolone as
Dr. Petra Černá (10:48):
Yeah, that's cool.
Most of my Maine Coon clientsactually have those because, the
Maine Coon cats are really big.
Dr. Tyler Sugerman (10:54):
Exactly.
Dr. Petra Černá (10:54):
They actually have those that open up so when
they're like in the car, theyhave more space and they only
close it up when they come to meand I have to like literally
move them from the front to theback, and then we do it again
when we get, get to the back.
Yeah, I think three or four ofmy clients who have Maine Coons,
they all have it.
Dr. Tyler Sugerman (11:12):
Nice.
I will say one other thing withthe soft carriers is I do also
find that cats, when they getstressed, they also can roll the
soft carriers which is verydangerous because they can roll
off of a table.
I've had that happen to myclients.
Yeah.
Dr. Petra Černá (11:27):
Wow.
Yeah.
Actually, it's never happened tome.
Most of the time, it's like, onetime I actually had a cat who
like threw up in it and stuff.
And then I was like, we, wetried our very best to clean it,
but it really needs to go to awashing machine at home.
So it was, it was quite hard.
So I definitely am pro like hardcarriers with like soft bedding.
Dr. Tyler Sugerman (11:48):
Yeah, exactly.
And then how long do you thinkthe carrier should be left out
for, at a minimum beforedeciding to go to the vet?
Dr. Petra Černá (11:55):
Yeah, I can tell you from my experience, do
not do it the morning of becauseyou will not see your cats that
day.
Dr. Tyler Sugerman (12:01):
Right?
Dr. Petra Černá (12:03):
So it has happened to me a couple of
times.
So now I usually try to put itat least a day before we have to
go to the vet.
And ideally, like sometimes,especially when you're teaching
young kittens and stuff, I thinkeven having it there so they can
go in and out and use it as aplay.
That's what I'm doing now withmy kittens.
It's definitely a good ideabecause my kittens now are at
this phase, they're eight weeksthis week and they just like
(12:26):
love to explore.
I'm like taking every advantageto even learn to explore the big
litter boxes and stuff, youknow?
So I'm just like using thisadvantage and like teaching them
a lot of kind of, cool thingsand tricks, like even the
vaccines, right?
We were doing the treats and Ilet them play with kind of the,
the vials and the syringes andstuff.
(12:47):
So they actually came to me whenI was vaccinating them because
they're just so curious at thisstage.
So I, now we have like carriersand like other things like out
so they, they're getting used toit.
Dr. Tyler Sugerman (12:59):
Nice.
Nice.
So now that we've gotten them inthe carrier, what can we do to
make them less stressed in thecar?
Dr. Petra Černá (13:06):
Yes.
That's also a great, great,great question.
So definitely try not makingphone calls in the car that are
loud, not being upset, not, notlike honking and screaming at
other drivers, not listening tovery loud music.
Like imagine cats have reallygot a very good sense of
hearing.
So imagine if you listened atloud music or if it's very loud
(13:28):
outside, it can be verystressful.
They actually sell CDs withclassical music for cats that's
relaxing.
So it might be one way to do,right?
So..
Dr. Tyler Sugerman (13:38):
I think there's also a Spotify playlist,
if I remember correctly.
Dr. Petra Černá (13:43):
Oh, really?
Dr. Tyler Sugerman (13:44):
Yeah, for cats.
Dr. Petra Černá (13:45):
Oh, wonderful.
Okay.
I'm mostly playing it from a CD,but if it's actually now, I have
a Spotify, so I'm definitely topick that one out.
And yes, I think that, so justtrying to be cautious about what
we are doing, trying not todrive too fast.
If we are going into thoseturns, just, just try to be as
gentle as possible.
And I think some cats candefinitely get car sick and we
(14:07):
have medications to help withthat as well, if that's the
case.
And I think one thing I reallywant to mention is talk to your
vets about potentially startingalready medications at home.
So there are medications you cangive to your cats at home, like
gabapentin.
Sometimes I even do combinationof like gabapentin and trazodone
(14:27):
at home if the kitties are veryanxious and just giving it
sometimes even the night beforeand then again the morning of or
at least the morning before thevisit.
At least one to two hoursbefore, so then when they are
actually in the car they feel alittle bit sleepy.
It just makes the whole visitway less stressful for them as
well.
Dr. Tyler Sugerman (14:48):
Yeah.
And do you recommend having themin the car and just driving
around for like short car ridesor anything?
When they're kittens and justhelp them to expose them to know
that just because they're in thecar doesn't always mean they're
going to the vet.
Dr. Petra Černá (15:00):
Yeah, I think that's a very, very good
thought.
And I think potentially for catsthat are not getting car sick
and, really like sick in thecar, I think this would be one
great way to do it.
I now have a lot of clients whoactually use these harnesses and
they take their cats for walksand stuff.
So I think that's definitely oneway to do it as well, that the
cats know that sometimes theyare going to go somewhere fun
(15:21):
and it's not always, car ridedoesn't mean going the vet.
But probably for those kittiesthat get really carsick that
might not be like, it might belike stressful for them either
way, just because that they getsick.
So maybe doing like moremedication treatments in those
patients might be probably morehelpful.
Dr. Tyler Sugerman (15:40):
Okay.
And then when they get to thevet, is there anything that we
can do to help make them morecomfortable while we're waiting?
Dr. Petra Černá (15:45):
Yes.
That is also a great question.
I love all of these actually.
And yes, we should definitely,and this is where really looking
for a good vet and a goodpractice helps a lot because
cats, again, they have greatsense of smell, right?
They have a great sense ofhearing.
So those barking dogs, or likeI've had one time a client who
(16:08):
we usually try to put a carrierat least, at like where we sit,
but ideally even having at thevet practice where you go to.
Having some shelves where peoplecan put their carriers with cats
safely.
So they are not at the kind offloor level because cats don't
feel safe on the floor, right?
Because they are predators, butthey also prey in nature.
(16:29):
So they do not feel safe at allwhen they're on the floor.
Then those dogs, I had one timeclient put a carrier on the
bottom and then somebody elsehad a dog that went in, wanted
to smell the carrier.
And oh my God, like I just, we,we could not even open the
carrier.
The cat was so anxious afterthat experience.
(16:50):
I literally had to send themhome and have them come back
next week because it wasalready, he was done with this
visit.
So like my cats are not used todogs.
So then, some cats arecompletely fine with dogs, but
it's maybe the dog they have athome and they don't want to be
friends with some other dogwho's now there barking and
smelling differently.
So even if your cat is friendswith the dog at home, they might
(17:13):
not want to be friends with thedogs that we see at the clinics.
And, they start barking and it'sjust very stressful.
So trying to find like a spacethat's as quiet as possible.
We also provide towels that wespray with FELIWAY.
So sometimes this FELIWAY spraysand owners can get them at home
as well and just spray into thecarrier as well, or really have
(17:35):
a blanket that's over thecarrier as well to try to
prevent other smells coming inand the cat smelling other
things as well.
So there are actually so manythings we can do to, to help
them out rather than, Oh, here'sa carrier.
We are going to the vet andthat's it.
But are actually so many thingswe can do.
Dr. Tyler Sugerman (17:53):
One of the things with the FELIWAY, is I do
usually tell people, don't sprayit into the carrier while the
cat is in it.
Make sure you do it before.
Yeah.
Cause I've definitely had a catthat had an asthma attack when
somebody did that.
Dr. Petra Černá (18:06):
Yeah, absolutely.
And also like it makes noisewhen you spray it.
So you, you definitely want to,I usually, what I do, I spray it
and then I bring it and put itover the carrier.
Dr. Tyler Sugerman (18:16):
I also, so at our clinic, we also have a
feline only area, so it's notlike the waiting room is a
feline only area, but we have aspace in the back that's only
for cats.
It's closed.
It has, it's very quiet.
And I do, I will usually askpeople to like, if we can keep
their cat back there, so thatway it's not with a lot of other
barking dogs and stuff.
(18:37):
Do you feel like there's aproblem with taking them away
from their pet parent to be ableto keep them in a much more
quiet environment?
Dr. Petra Černá (18:44):
Yeah, and actually a lot of feline
friendly or feline onlypractices do that.
They actually will take the catimmediately from the client and
put it in a room where it'salone.
I know it can be stressful for alot of clients to be without
their cat, but sometimes,especially if there are like
barking dogs in the area,probably this way is way less
(19:06):
stressful for the cat.
So we have definitely done thatas well.
And CSU is actually undergoingnow, like big reconstruction.
So I actually immediately bejust like, when they arrive, we
already are expecting them.
And I even sometimes haveclients when they have very
stressed cats, wait in the car,just text me when you get here.
And we will just get you in andimmediately take you up because
(19:27):
they are reconstructing thelobby, and it definitely has
been pretty noisy on some days.
So we are really workingactively to try for these cats
not to get too stressed.
Dr. Tyler Sugerman (19:37):
Nice.
And then what about during theappointment?
Is there anything during theappointment that one, the pet
parents can do, and then two,some of the staff can do to help
keep that cat as stress free aspossible?
Dr. Petra Černá (19:49):
Yeah, absolutely.
So many things again.
So we, we always try to put, forexample, towels on the tables,
right?
Because the tables can be cold.
They can just might not becomfortable.
And also sometimes people don'tlike, this is like an
interesting thing, but noteverybody lets their cats like
roam around and be on the table.
I just have now three of my catslike crossing the table here and
(20:11):
they're like..
In my household the cats have,they set the rules, I do not
even try, you cannot do this.
That, they..
Dr. Tyler Sugerman (20:18):
You live in their house.
Dr. Petra Černá (20:20):
Exactly.
They train me well, but somepeople don't like cats on, on
their tables or kitchen tablesand stuff, and then suddenly we
put them at tables in thehospital and it can be stressful
for them, they can be stressedalso from the hard surfaces, so
we try to always put towels.
We usually pre-spray them withthe FELIWAY, and then just being
(20:42):
very cautious and like watchingthese cats because cats have
amazing body language.
I have never been bitten in mylife by a cat because I can look
at a cat and say, this is goingto go great.
We need to do this or this isnot going to work out today.
So I, I really can tell becausethe way they put their ears, the
way their eyes work, the waykind of their whiskers and
(21:04):
muzzle shape as well.
So there are just so many wayswhen we look at the cats to see
how comfortable they are with usand how, how much extra caution
we need to put into our workwith them as well.
We use Churu treats.
So yesterday I had 2 patientsand each of them run through 4
to 5 Churu of these..
Dr. Tyler Sugerman (21:24):
Oh my gosh.
Yeah.
Dr. Petra Černá (21:26):
So yeah, one even at the end was like a
little bit burping because I waslike, but it just, it just makes
them happy.
So we usually try to do thingswith like, when we need to draw
blood and stuff.
So we have one person likegently holding and I, from my
experience, the less yourestrain cats, the better.
So we really, I sometimes evenhave them lay on the table and
(21:46):
lick the churro and they arevery happy and things really
have been working out reallywell.
And then we have a third personwho is then like drawing the
blood.
So it's a, it's a three personjob, but the Churu treats are
just amazing.
Cats are so food motivated andwe really underestimate that I
think often.
Dr. Tyler Sugerman (22:05):
Yeah.
Some of the things that I alsohave talked to parents about
have been keeping them insidetheir carrier, especially the
ones that can open from the topor come out from the top.
So that way they just feel likethey're in this enclosed space.
Not so scary for a lot stressedout ones.
Yeah.
Do you do that as well?
Dr. Petra Černá (22:22):
Yes, absolutely.
All the time.
I always say actually yesterdayI had because we now have, I
have a couple of our DVMstudents who are on summer
break.
So they are actually workingwith me through my clinical
trials and they are very excitedto see my patients, of course,
as well.
So we actually had one yesterdayand one of the students was
like, Oh, how do you like, likethe cat to be for your
(22:45):
ultrasound?
And I'm like, however the catwants to be because I always
work around my cats.
So whatever my patient wants, Iwork around them because, I, I
can, do an ultrasound standing,laying, sitting, whatever works
for the patient is always thebest way for me to do it as
well.
So I was like, whatever hewants.
(23:06):
And so he wanted to sit and eatthe Churu.
So that's we kind of did it.
I very often actually,especially in these round
carriers, they are just so softand they just lay there and I
can do my whole physical examthere.
Sometimes you, of course, needto get them out if we need to
draw blood or potentially doneurological or orthopedic exam.
(23:26):
So sometimes we have to takethem out of the carriers, but
I've even have measured bloodpressure and tapped a chest and
abdomen in this carrier.
So I've definitely..
Dr. Tyler Sugerman (23:35):
Nice.
Dr. Petra Černá (23:36):
I've really done that and really try to work
as much as I can around mypatients.
And probably one thing I alsonever do.
Yeah, I was asked yesterday bythe student as well.
And she's Oh, do you like, causeI was like, do you want to take
the temperature?
And she was like, yeah.
How are you, okay with likerectal temperature?
I was like, no.
Never ever.
(23:56):
I don't do rectal temperaturesin cats, always axillary.
And she's, aren't you worriedabout like how accurate it is?
And I'm like if I know this catis here, pretty happy on the
table.
I'm not worried that the cat'shypothermic and has low
temperature and is going to die.
Then that would be like maybeone time if I have a very sick
patient where I'm worried thattheir temperature is low.
(24:19):
I probably want to go and get arectal temperature, but those
cats are very sick or whenthey're anesthetized, right?
But otherwise, axillarytemperatures are just so great
in cats, and they usually don'tmind when you do that, but when
you do rectal temperature in acat, they, they always mind.
Dr. Tyler Sugerman (24:36):
Yes.
Yes.
I unfortunately, am the oppositebecause most of my cats that I
see are very, very sick.
Dr. Petra Černá (24:42):
Yes, yes, you are.
You have a hard job.
I don't think I can.
I used to work until veryrecently, about once or twice a
month in our urgent care.
And yes, some of those that theycome in, it is, they are very
sick.
And that's, of course, adifferent story, right?
Dr. Tyler Sugerman (25:00):
Yeah.
But even then, like, when I havevery, very stressed out cats I
usually will ask people if wecan give gabapentin to help calm
them down.
And then I just give them anhour to chill out in the room
that's very quiet and then comeback and reassess them after
that.
Dr. Petra Černá (25:15):
Yeah.
And I think that's also great.
I always preferred thegabapentin at home.
I feel like it kicks in a littlebit better and works a little
better, but yes, I really hatedoing anything that stresses the
cats out at work.
So..
Dr. Tyler Sugerman (25:28):
Do you have any other tips or tricks for us
to be able to like, help withthe cats and their visits?
Dr. Petra Černá (25:33):
Yeah, absolutely.
I think for example, if you havea picky cat, I think it's
completely fine to bring eventreats from home for us to give.
Or if your cat is on a specialdiet.
Or, for example, if they have afavorite towel, or, like
favorite something that theylike to do, I think it's
completely fine to bring it withthem.
I always tell clients,especially if patients need to
(25:55):
get hospitalized, you mightnever see this blanket ever..
Dr. Tyler Sugerman (25:57):
Oh, yes.
Yes.
That's what I tell people too.
Dr. Petra Černá (26:00):
Clean things and everything.
But yeah, so I've had some thatthey just bring a new blanket
every day.
And they're like, yeah, if wenever see this again, it's okay
for us.
But yeah, especially the treats.
If they, because we have the,like the Churu treats, we have
some of the harder, liketemptations and like all of
these treats, but there are somecats that they just love their
one treat that they're used toat home.
(26:21):
So definitely you can bringtreats from home.
And I think, really, I think Iwould really start with picking
the good carrier and everythingas well at home.
And also trying to like scheduleyour appointment.
And especially if you're goingfor the first time with your cat
to the vet, just making sure,because sometimes I know
everybody works, right?
(26:42):
And, but sometimes my clientsare in a rush and I'm like,
it's, it's really hard to dowhat is best for the patients if
I am like in, in a lot of rush.
Dr. Tyler Sugerman (26:51):
Yeah.
Dr. Petra Černá (26:52):
Yeah.
And then sometimes if like justreally being very thoughtful and
proactive about even how youcarry the carrier, right?
So if you're carrying in yourhand and it's like moving,
that's not nice.
Exactly.
Swinging.
It's not nice for those catseither.
So maybe, I usually have eithernow it's these like trolleys
(27:12):
that are becoming like verypopular.
Dr. Tyler Sugerman (27:13):
Oh yeah.
They are really cool.
Yeah.
Dr. Petra Černá (27:15):
They are becoming very popular.
So those are pretty good.
Or some of these, like justcarrying it so the carriers like
supported from the bottom aswell.
It is very helpful I think forcats as well.
Dr. Tyler Sugerman (27:27):
Nice.
What about the lighting in theroom?
Do you have dimming lights foryour exam rooms?
Dr. Petra Černá (27:33):
Yes, we absolutely do.
So we usually try to work with,of course, brighter lights
because we need to see thepatients and sometimes we are
looking for little things on theskin, or stuff, but we always
dim them for like ultrasounds,of course.
But yes, we actually havedimming lights.
And if cats get very anxious,especially when we have to
sedate them.
(27:53):
I always dim the lights and makesure everybody's very quiet in
that time so the cats can justrelax and chill.
We also use a lot of thesehiding boxes at the hospital.
So I actually have, either whenwe have patients staying with us
for a couple of hours, forexample, getting an ultrasound
or something like that, I eitherkeep them in their carriers in
(28:14):
the cages that we have at work,or I am keeping them and giving
them these kind of nice housesthat we have.
So hiding space is veryimportant.
And I think maybe one morething.
It's very also important.
Like I mentioned, reading thebody language, but, cats can do
this flight, freeze, or fightreactions.
And I think everybody alwayspanics and that's whatever they
(28:38):
can for these cats that theywould fight back.
But actually the cats thatfreeze, they can be as stressed
as the ones that actually aregetting to this kind of fight
reactions, and we shouldn'tunderestimate how stressed those
patients are as well.
So the fact that the cat justsits there and does nothing
doesn't mean that they are notstressed.
So really watching the bodylanguage of these, of these cats
(29:00):
is very important.
Dr. Tyler Sugerman (29:01):
Yeah, absolutely.
Great.
Anything else you want to add?
Dr. Petra Černá (29:05):
I think, no, I just would also, maybe a last
thing.
Yeah, sorry.
One thing just, I want don'twant people to get discouraged
to take their cats to the vetbecause, we've covered that in
the episode, like the last oneand the one before.
How important it is for the,especially the senior cats to
really get the preventative carethey need.
(29:26):
So just trying to, you know, andtalk to your vet, really go out
there look for a feline friendlyor the fear free clinic and talk
to them.
Most of these places will bevery happy to talk to people
about visits as well.
The cat clinics usually evenblock more, more time for work
with cats than they do for dogs.
So those are really good aswell.
(29:46):
And just don't get discouragedbecause it is really important,
especially with our senior catsthat they really go and get
their blood pressures checkedand that they get the annual, at
least blood work and all theirexams done.
Dr. Tyler Sugerman (29:59):
Yeah, and it doesn't mean just because your
cat was afraid before that wecan't implement all these things
and maybe it will be morecomfortable afterwards.
Dr. Petra Černá (30:06):
Yes, exactly.
And I think also when you comeback at home, sometimes and
these cats go in hiding andmaybe just try to give them a
treat when you come home and dosomething nice for them or,
something they really enjoy orgive them their favorite meal.
Just to really try to motivatethem and make them appreciate
the visit.
It's, oh, I went to the vet, butnow I'm getting my favorite
food.
(30:27):
So maybe it's not as bad.
Dr. Tyler Sugerman (30:28):
Or play with their favorite toy or something.
Dr. Petra Černá (30:30):
Yes, exactly.
Dr. Tyler Sugerman (30:32):
Yeah.
Nice.
So I have a random question foryou.
Do you name your kittens beforeyou adopt them out?
Dr. Petra Černá (30:40):
Yes.
They actually, because they areall pedigree kittens, so they
actually, I've just had tosubmit their pedigree.
So they all had names.
So the boys in this litter areactually called, we have Kingdom
of Heaven.
We have King Arthur and King'sSpeech.
So the boys are all, becauseit's a letter K too, so they all
(31:01):
have to start with the K.
And then the one girl, myfavorite that I'm keeping, her
name is Killing Me Softly.
And, uh..
Dr. Tyler Sugerman (31:09):
I love it.
Dr. Petra Černá (31:10):
We have Kiss Me and Keep Smiling.
Dr. Tyler Sugerman (31:13):
Cute.
Dr. Petra Černá (31:14):
But most of them actually have their pet
names.
So Keep Smiling is for exampleMandrake because when you lift
her up, she screams like theMandrake..
Dr. Tyler Sugerman (31:23):
Like the Mantrake?
Dr. Petra Černá (31:24):
Yes, exactly.
So she literally screams exactlythe same way.
Yeah, you should have heard herthis morning when I was
vaccinating her, butinterestingly, she like didn't
scream at all when I wasactually vaccinating.
It was literally just when Ihold her.
She like wants to run.
She's like smaller than all theother kittens because she never
stops.
(31:44):
She like always runs around andnever wants to, like the second
you like stop her.
She gets, I'm not doing this.
I'm gonna run again.
Yeah, so they all..
Yes, they all got their pedigreenames, but then the new, all the
people always of course, givethem like some pet names and
stuff.
Dr. Tyler Sugerman (32:02):
What are you going to be calling your one
you're going to keep, theKilling Me Softly?
Dr. Petra Černá (32:06):
I need to think about it, right now she's Miss
Blue.
Dr. Tyler Sugerman (32:10):
Okay, I was gonna say, are you just gonna
short it to Kill Me orsomething?
Dr. Petra Černá (32:13):
Yeah, yeah.
She's very sweet.
So we need to, we still need todo like a proper pet name, but
now she's, she's Miss Blue now.
So she might just be Blue.
We'll see.
Dr. Tyler Sugerman (32:22):
We, we have a cat who his name is Little
Red.
So..
Dr. Petra Černá (32:25):
Oh, okay.
Dr. Tyler Sugerman (32:26):
You could do that.
Dr. Petra Černá (32:28):
So she might just, she might just be Blue,
but we'll see.
We'll see.
Dr. Tyler Sugerman (32:32):
Nice.
All right.
Perfect.
Thank you so much, Dr.
Černá.
We really appreciate you comingon always.
And just all your wisdom thatyou have for cats.
We love it.
Dr. Petra Černá (32:40):
Thank you so much.
Yeah, it's been wonderful to behere and I look forward to next
time.
Dr. Tyler Sugerman (32:45):
All right.
Sounds good.
We'll see you then.
All right.
Thank you, everybody.
Make sure to always keep yourpets happy, healthy, and safe.
Thanks, guys.
And that wraps up anotherepisode of Vetsplanation.
We hope that you found today'sdiscussion with Dr.
Černá as enlightening as we did.
Preparing our cats for vetvisits and finding the right
care can make a world ofdifference for their health and
(33:05):
happiness.
Remember a little preparationgoes a long way in keeping our
furry friends stress free.
Thank you so much Dr.
Černá for sharing your expertiseand those adorable kitten
stories.
We can't wait to have you backon soon.
And to our listeners, thank youfor tuning in.
Don't forget to subscribe, leaveus a review, and share this
episode with a fellow cat loverto help make their trip to the
(33:28):
vet easier as well.
So thank you again to ShawnHyberg for his editing and Kelly
Dwyer for all of her work on ourpodcast.
Don't forget to keep your petshappy, healthy, and safe.
Until next time, we'll see younext week.
Welcome back to another episode of
Vetsplanation everyone.
Today we have a treat for allthe cat lovers out there.
Joining us again is our favoritefeline specialist, Dr.
Černá.
She has been busy with her newlitter of kittens and we've been
loving all the adorable photosshe's been sharing.
But more importantly, she's hereto share some invaluable tips on
how to make vet visits lessstressful for our beloved cats.
(00:25):
From preparing at home, tofinding the right vet.
We've got a perfectly packedepisode for you ahead.
So stay tuned because you won'twant to miss a minute of this.
Also, don't forget to like andsubscribe.
All right, welcome back toanother episode of
Vetsplanation, everybody.
I'm really excited we have ourCrazy Cat Vet back today.
She's had some kittens that I'vebeen seeing pictures of, which I
(00:47):
absolutely love.
But we're going to be talkingabout how we can best take our
cats to the vet, and like how wecan like really prepare cats at
home before we even get there,and how to prepare them to just
see the vet in general.
How are you doing, Dr.
I'm Černá?
Dr. Petra Černá (01:03):
Hey, I'm actually doing really well.
I just managed to vaccinate mysix kittens at home on my own
today.
I know, right?
And all distal right front limb.
So I was actually prettyimpressed.
Dr. Tyler Sugerman (01:20):
That is really impressive, actually,
especially for kittens whowiggle a lot.
Dr. Petra Černá (01:25):
Yes, yes.
No, they were, I fed thembreakfast.
They were all very hungry andpretty distracted.
And yeah, it was, it was good.
So they actually didn't have togo to the vet, but we're already
starting to practice for whenthey move to their new homes,
they are actually set up forsuccess, right?
Dr. Tyler Sugerman (01:42):
Perfect.
Perfect.
Exactly.
So when we decide we're going toactually go and take our pets to
the vet, you had just mentionedhow they're going to be going to
a new home.
How do you decide how to find avet then before you even have
your pet?
Dr. Petra Černá (01:55):
Yeah.
I think that's very hard, right?
Because my cats are very luckysince I'm a feline..
Dr. Tyler Sugerman (02:01):
Right?
Dr. Petra Černá (02:01):
I'm a crazy cat vet, so they are very lucky.
However, I specialize in felinemedicine, so I still need for
some things a vet for my cats,right?
Because I don't do surgeries, Idon't do dentals and so on and
so on.
And I am very picky.
So my cats actually have apersonal cardiologist, they have
a personal dentist, they have apersonal surgeon and so on and
(02:25):
so on.
So I am very picky with how Ichoose vets for my personal cats
as well.
And I think it's really, reallyimportant that we actually are,
because it is very important forthe cats not to be stressed and
try to find someone you trustand someone the cats feel
comfortable with as well.
Dr. Tyler Sugerman (02:44):
What do you think about finding somebody
through the fear free websiteor..
Dr. Petra Černá (02:49):
Yeah, absolutely.
And I'm feel free certified, butI actually enjoy a little bit
more the AAFP or ISFM actuallyfeline friendly certifications
because they are very muchfocused just on cats and being
cat friendly.
So the fear free is great.
And I think it is definitelybetter than nothing.
(03:09):
But it also, of course.
Those people are trained also tobe feel free with dogs because,
even though I do not work withdogs, I think it's still very
important that our caninepatients get the best care that
they can, and they can bestressed at work as, sorry, at
work, at my work, so
Dr. Tyler Sugerman (03:24):
Yeah.
Dr. Petra Černá (03:25):
at the hospital.
As well, but yes, so you canactually look online and go to
the fear free website or ideallyeven to the AAFP, because there
are actually a lot of crazy catvets, that do not even see dogs.
So if you actually go to thatpractice, there will be no dogs
anywhere for the cats to smell,for the cats to hear.
(03:46):
And that's really exciting, butof course it doesn't happen
everywhere.
But if you look at the fear freewebsite or the AAFP the feline
friendly professional website aswell, you can actually find
clinics in your area that aretrained to work friendly with
cats and they are interested todo their very best for the cats.
Dr. Tyler Sugerman (04:09):
So can you explain to me real quick, like
fear free versus the AAFP?
Dr. Petra Černá (04:15):
Absolutely.
So they are actually both greatoptions.
So what does it mean being fearfree or the feline friendly kind
of certified means that thosevets, and usually it doesn't
just go to the vets.
Usually most of these placesalso have veterinary technicians
that are trained, but also we'llhave other professionals like
receptionist and the supportstaff that have been trained to
(04:37):
handle animals in a fear free orthis feline friendly kind of
way.
So we are being very proactivebecause we more and more
appreciate how pets get stressedwhen they come to the vets.
And we of course want to do ourvery best.
And I can tell you the vet visitalready starts at home and there
are so many things people canactually already do at home
(04:59):
before they even come to thevet.
And I always try to, because Iactually give a lot of lectures
on this topic too.
And first slide of my lecture islike the vet visit starts at
home.
So we need to really do our bestalready at home.
So we are setting up our catsand us too, right?
Like I would hate, I hate seeingmy patients, also my cats being
stressed.
So it brings absolutely tonobody joy when those patients
(05:23):
are not enjoying the life.
Dr. Tyler Sugerman (05:25):
Absolutely.
So what are some of the thingsthat we can do to try to help
our cats at home before we evendecide on the vet visit?
Dr. Petra Černá (05:32):
Absolutely.
So I think one great thing isactually trying to teach the
cats to be used to the carrier,because of course, if the cat
only sees the carrier twice ayear to go to the vet, it's not
going to work out great.
So these days, they are actuallyselling these like soft carriers
that are even, they can be madeinto beds.
(05:52):
It's really actuallyfascinating.
I work with this one rescue andthey have these carriers at
home.
They are not cheap, I can tellyou that.
However.
They are little beds at home.
So they can sleep in them athome.
They smell like them and theyfeel very comfortable with them.
And they open, they completelyclose on the top.
So what you do, like when thecat is sleeping in, you can just
(06:14):
close it on the top and actuallysee, you know, how the cat would
react when she's at home or he'sat home.
And then, then we actually bringthem to the vets.
It's super easy for us too,because we can open these
carriers on the top.
So we don't have to drag thecats out.
We don't have to wait for 30minutes for the cat actually to
come out.
And it just, it just so mucheasier.
(06:35):
So also getting a good carrier.
I've actually had a lot ofclients over the years when they
came with these very oldcarriers that you couldn't even
open it because the screws weregone So they actually had it
Dr. Tyler Sugerman (06:48):
Zip tied?
Dr. Petra Černá (06:49):
Yes.
Exactly, and I literally afterthe first visit told them if you
show up with this carrier again,I am NOT seeing you and your
cat.
And I'm like..
Dr. Tyler Sugerman (06:59):
They're so hard.
Yeah.
Dr. Petra Černá (07:01):
I know, but it just, it was breaking my heart
to see how stressed that catwas.
It's sometimes when they also,get very anxious.
It is not even safe for them ormy staff or me to actually even,
trying to get them out.
And it gets to a point whereit's breaking my heart.
It's causing me stress.
It's causing my support staffstress.
(07:21):
It's causing the cat so muchstress and then they go home.
They pee themselves on the wayback and everything.
So really having good carriers,just like the best investment
ever.
So I actually provide, if myclient show up with these
carriers, I actually providethem with a list of carriers
that I really like to work withand not all of them are crazy
(07:42):
expensive, so it's really justto have something that is safe
for the cats.
Actually, the other day I had aclient who brought her cat in,
and it was see through on threesides.
The cat came in and respiratoryrate was 80 because the cat was
seeing all the dogs, everythingthat was happening.
And I was like, next time,please just put a blanket over
(08:03):
him or over the carrier, becausethis is really stressing him so
much, or...
people are bringing these catsin these backpacks, right?
There was the movie about it.
So now everybody's buying thesebackpacks, these like windows.
And I'm like, this is not..
Dr. Tyler Sugerman (08:18):
The big globe in it.
Yep.
Dr. Petra Černá (08:19):
Because it was in a movie with a Scottish Fold.
Like they actually came with ahuge statement, how this movie
should have never been evenfilmed in the first place
because it's a promoting adiseased breed and also really
not cat friendly at all.
So I didn't even go to see it.
I'm like, I cannot watch threehours or two hours of a movie
(08:39):
where this, we are, we areseeing this.
So I can't believe likeHollywood has like billions or
millions of dollars and theycan't find a consultant when the
movie star in the movie is acat.
So I was like shocked.
I was like, can you please hiresomeone to actually tell you
all..
Dr. Tyler Sugerman (08:56):
You're like, I'll volunteer.
Dr. Petra Černá (08:59):
Exactly.
I would like, I don't even wantto get paid for this.
Just please do not show this topeople.
But yeah, so I could actuallyprobably talk about carriers for
a very long time.
And I've been through a lot ofdifferent carriers and stuff.
And I think it's really thecrucial and number one important
things for these cats.
Dr. Tyler Sugerman (09:16):
So it sounds like, so our ideal carrier
should be opens from the top.
It's something that you can,they don't see through, or at
least can put a towel over.
What do you think about softversus hard carriers?
Dr. Petra Černá (09:29):
Yeah, I think that's a great question.
I think hard carriers aredefinitely safer and easier to
clean because of courseespecially if you have to drive
for a while to the vet, cats canhave accidents, right?
You can have an accident in thecar.
The soft carriers are not alwaysthe safest carriers,
unfortunately, because likesometimes they have these zips
(09:51):
on the top and there's like ahole.
So I've actually had cats escapefrom that as well.
Cats are smart, right?
Like they will figure thingsout.
So they might be a little bitmore comfortable for the cat.
So what I usually do, I usuallyput like a better blanket in my
hard carriers.
So it's, it's more cozy andcomfortable for the cats, but I
think the hard carriers are alittle bit safer when it comes
(10:13):
going to the vet.
But I actually have one type ofa soft carrier that I go not to
the vet because it doesn't openon the top, but it opens only
from the side and from thefront, but I, I take my cats to
cat show there because, the catsI show they are very easy going,
like I open it and they, theycome out and so I know.
Exactly.
But I do not use it to go to thevet.
Dr. Tyler Sugerman (10:34):
I have seen ones that are really cool that
it does open from the top andthe sides, but it has like this
like an extension to it.
So it just makes it more roomyfor them.
So you can close the extensionor you can open the extension up
and it just gives them moreroom.
I thought that was a really coolone as
Dr. Petra Černá (10:48):
Yeah, that's cool.
Most of my Maine Coon clientsactually have those because, the
Maine Coon cats are really big.
Dr. Tyler Sugerman (10:54):
Exactly.
Dr. Petra Černá (10:54):
They actually have those that open up so when
they're like in the car, theyhave more space and they only
close it up when they come to meand I have to like literally
move them from the front to theback, and then we do it again
when we get, get to the back.
Yeah, I think three or four ofmy clients who have Maine Coons,
they all have it.
Dr. Tyler Sugerman (11:12):
Nice.
I will say one other thing withthe soft carriers is I do also
find that cats, when they getstressed, they also can roll the
soft carriers which is verydangerous because they can roll
off of a table.
I've had that happen to myclients.
Yeah.
Dr. Petra Černá (11:27):
Wow.
Yeah.
Actually, it's never happened tome.
Most of the time, it's like, onetime I actually had a cat who
like threw up in it and stuff.
And then I was like, we, wetried our very best to clean it,
but it really needs to go to awashing machine at home.
So it was, it was quite hard.
So I definitely am pro like hardcarriers with like soft bedding.
Dr. Tyler Sugerman (11:48):
Yeah, exactly.
And then how long do you thinkthe carrier should be left out
for, at a minimum beforedeciding to go to the vet?
Dr. Petra Černá (11:55):
Yeah, I can tell you from my experience, do
not do it the morning of becauseyou will not see your cats that
day.
Dr. Tyler Sugerman (12:01):
Right?
Dr. Petra Černá (12:03):
So it has happened to me a couple of
times.
So now I usually try to put itat least a day before we have to
go to the vet.
And ideally, like sometimes,especially when you're teaching
young kittens and stuff, I thinkeven having it there so they can
go in and out and use it as aplay.
That's what I'm doing now withmy kittens.
It's definitely a good ideabecause my kittens now are at
this phase, they're eight weeksthis week and they just like
(12:26):
love to explore.
I'm like taking every advantageto even learn to explore the big
litter boxes and stuff, youknow?
So I'm just like using thisadvantage and like teaching them
a lot of kind of, cool thingsand tricks, like even the
vaccines, right?
We were doing the treats and Ilet them play with kind of the,
the vials and the syringes andstuff.
(12:47):
So they actually came to me whenI was vaccinating them because
they're just so curious at thisstage.
So I, now we have like carriersand like other things like out
so they, they're getting used toit.
Dr. Tyler Sugerman (12:59):
Nice.
Nice.
So now that we've gotten them inthe carrier, what can we do to
make them less stressed in thecar?
Dr. Petra Černá (13:06):
Yes.
That's also a great, great,great question.
So definitely try not makingphone calls in the car that are
loud, not being upset, not, notlike honking and screaming at
other drivers, not listening tovery loud music.
Like imagine cats have reallygot a very good sense of
hearing.
So imagine if you listened atloud music or if it's very loud
(13:28):
outside, it can be verystressful.
They actually sell CDs withclassical music for cats that's
relaxing.
So it might be one way to do,right?
So..
Dr. Tyler Sugerman (13:38):
I think there's also a Spotify playlist,
if I remember correctly.
Dr. Petra Černá (13:43):
Oh, really?
Dr. Tyler Sugerman (13:44):
Yeah, for cats.
Dr. Petra Černá (13:45):
Oh, wonderful.
Okay.
I'm mostly playing it from a CD,but if it's actually now, I have
a Spotify, so I'm definitely topick that one out.
And yes, I think that, so justtrying to be cautious about what
we are doing, trying not todrive too fast.
If we are going into thoseturns, just, just try to be as
gentle as possible.
And I think some cats candefinitely get car sick and we
(14:07):
have medications to help withthat as well, if that's the
case.
And I think one thing I reallywant to mention is talk to your
vets about potentially startingalready medications at home.
So there are medications you cangive to your cats at home, like
gabapentin.
Sometimes I even do combinationof like gabapentin and trazodone
(14:27):
at home if the kitties are veryanxious and just giving it
sometimes even the night beforeand then again the morning of or
at least the morning before thevisit.
At least one to two hoursbefore, so then when they are
actually in the car they feel alittle bit sleepy.
It just makes the whole visitway less stressful for them as
well.
Dr. Tyler Sugerman (14:48):
Yeah.
And do you recommend having themin the car and just driving
around for like short car ridesor anything?
When they're kittens and justhelp them to expose them to know
that just because they're in thecar doesn't always mean they're
going to the vet.
Dr. Petra Černá (15:00):
Yeah, I think that's a very, very good
thought.
And I think potentially for catsthat are not getting car sick
and, really like sick in thecar, I think this would be one
great way to do it.
I now have a lot of clients whoactually use these harnesses and
they take their cats for walksand stuff.
So I think that's definitely oneway to do it as well, that the
cats know that sometimes theyare going to go somewhere fun
(15:21):
and it's not always, car ridedoesn't mean going the vet.
But probably for those kittiesthat get really carsick that
might not be like, it might belike stressful for them either
way, just because that they getsick.
So maybe doing like moremedication treatments in those
patients might be probably morehelpful.
Dr. Tyler Sugerman (15:40):
Okay.
And then when they get to thevet, is there anything that we
can do to help make them morecomfortable while we're waiting?
Dr. Petra Černá (15:45):
Yes.
That is also a great question.
I love all of these actually.
And yes, we should definitely,and this is where really looking
for a good vet and a goodpractice helps a lot because
cats, again, they have greatsense of smell, right?
They have a great sense ofhearing.
So those barking dogs, or likeI've had one time a client who
(16:08):
we usually try to put a carrierat least, at like where we sit,
but ideally even having at thevet practice where you go to.
Having some shelves where peoplecan put their carriers with cats
safely.
So they are not at the kind offloor level because cats don't
feel safe on the floor, right?
Because they are predators, butthey also prey in nature.
(16:29):
So they do not feel safe at allwhen they're on the floor.
Then those dogs, I had one timeclient put a carrier on the
bottom and then somebody elsehad a dog that went in, wanted
to smell the carrier.
And oh my God, like I just, we,we could not even open the
carrier.
The cat was so anxious afterthat experience.
(16:50):
I literally had to send themhome and have them come back
next week because it wasalready, he was done with this
visit.
So like my cats are not used todogs.
So then, some cats arecompletely fine with dogs, but
it's maybe the dog they have athome and they don't want to be
friends with some other dogwho's now there barking and
smelling differently.
So even if your cat is friendswith the dog at home, they might
(17:13):
not want to be friends with thedogs that we see at the clinics.
And, they start barking and it'sjust very stressful.
So trying to find like a spacethat's as quiet as possible.
We also provide towels that wespray with FELIWAY.
So sometimes this FELIWAY spraysand owners can get them at home
as well and just spray into thecarrier as well, or really have
(17:35):
a blanket that's over thecarrier as well to try to
prevent other smells coming inand the cat smelling other
things as well.
So there are actually so manythings we can do to, to help
them out rather than, Oh, here'sa carrier.
We are going to the vet andthat's it.
But are actually so many thingswe can do.
Dr. Tyler Sugerman (17:53):
One of the things with the FELIWAY, is I do
usually tell people, don't sprayit into the carrier while the
cat is in it.
Make sure you do it before.
Yeah.
Cause I've definitely had a catthat had an asthma attack when
somebody did that.
Dr. Petra Černá (18:06):
Yeah, absolutely.
And also like it makes noisewhen you spray it.
So you, you definitely want to,I usually, what I do, I spray it
and then I bring it and put itover the carrier.
Dr. Tyler Sugerman (18:16):
I also, so at our clinic, we also have a
feline only area, so it's notlike the waiting room is a
feline only area, but we have aspace in the back that's only
for cats.
It's closed.
It has, it's very quiet.
And I do, I will usually askpeople to like, if we can keep
their cat back there, so thatway it's not with a lot of other
barking dogs and stuff.
(18:37):
Do you feel like there's aproblem with taking them away
from their pet parent to be ableto keep them in a much more
quiet environment?
Dr. Petra Černá (18:44):
Yeah, and actually a lot of feline
friendly or feline onlypractices do that.
They actually will take the catimmediately from the client and
put it in a room where it'salone.
I know it can be stressful for alot of clients to be without
their cat, but sometimes,especially if there are like
barking dogs in the area,probably this way is way less
(19:06):
stressful for the cat.
So we have definitely done thatas well.
And CSU is actually undergoingnow, like big reconstruction.
So I actually immediately bejust like, when they arrive, we
already are expecting them.
And I even sometimes haveclients when they have very
stressed cats, wait in the car,just text me when you get here.
And we will just get you in andimmediately take you up because
(19:27):
they are reconstructing thelobby, and it definitely has
been pretty noisy on some days.
So we are really workingactively to try for these cats
not to get too stressed.
Dr. Tyler Sugerman (19:37):
Nice.
And then what about during theappointment?
Is there anything during theappointment that one, the pet
parents can do, and then two,some of the staff can do to help
keep that cat as stress free aspossible?
Dr. Petra Černá (19:49):
Yeah, absolutely.
So many things again.
So we, we always try to put, forexample, towels on the tables,
right?
Because the tables can be cold.
They can just might not becomfortable.
And also sometimes people don'tlike, this is like an
interesting thing, but noteverybody lets their cats like
roam around and be on the table.
I just have now three of my catslike crossing the table here and
(20:11):
they're like..
In my household the cats have,they set the rules, I do not
even try, you cannot do this.
That, they..
Dr. Tyler Sugerman (20:18):
You live in their house.
Dr. Petra Černá (20:20):
Exactly.
They train me well, but somepeople don't like cats on, on
their tables or kitchen tablesand stuff, and then suddenly we
put them at tables in thehospital and it can be stressful
for them, they can be stressedalso from the hard surfaces, so
we try to always put towels.
We usually pre-spray them withthe FELIWAY, and then just being
(20:42):
very cautious and like watchingthese cats because cats have
amazing body language.
I have never been bitten in mylife by a cat because I can look
at a cat and say, this is goingto go great.
We need to do this or this isnot going to work out today.
So I, I really can tell becausethe way they put their ears, the
way their eyes work, the waykind of their whiskers and
(21:04):
muzzle shape as well.
So there are just so many wayswhen we look at the cats to see
how comfortable they are with usand how, how much extra caution
we need to put into our workwith them as well.
We use Churu treats.
So yesterday I had 2 patientsand each of them run through 4
to 5 Churu of these..
Dr. Tyler Sugerman (21:24):
Oh my gosh.
Yeah.
Dr. Petra Černá (21:26):
So yeah, one even at the end was like a
little bit burping because I waslike, but it just, it just makes
them happy.
So we usually try to do thingswith like, when we need to draw
blood and stuff.
So we have one person likegently holding and I, from my
experience, the less yourestrain cats, the better.
So we really, I sometimes evenhave them lay on the table and
(21:46):
lick the churro and they arevery happy and things really
have been working out reallywell.
And then we have a third personwho is then like drawing the
blood.
So it's a, it's a three personjob, but the Churu treats are
just amazing.
Cats are so food motivated andwe really underestimate that I
think often.
Dr. Tyler Sugerman (22:05):
Yeah.
Some of the things that I alsohave talked to parents about
have been keeping them insidetheir carrier, especially the
ones that can open from the topor come out from the top.
So that way they just feel likethey're in this enclosed space.
Not so scary for a lot stressedout ones.
Yeah.
Do you do that as well?
Dr. Petra Černá (22:22):
Yes, absolutely.
All the time.
I always say actually yesterdayI had because we now have, I
have a couple of our DVMstudents who are on summer
break.
So they are actually workingwith me through my clinical
trials and they are very excitedto see my patients, of course,
as well.
So we actually had one yesterdayand one of the students was
like, Oh, how do you like, likethe cat to be for your
(22:45):
ultrasound?
And I'm like, however the catwants to be because I always
work around my cats.
So whatever my patient wants, Iwork around them because, I, I
can, do an ultrasound standing,laying, sitting, whatever works
for the patient is always thebest way for me to do it as
well.
So I was like, whatever hewants.
(23:06):
And so he wanted to sit and eatthe Churu.
So that's we kind of did it.
I very often actually,especially in these round
carriers, they are just so softand they just lay there and I
can do my whole physical examthere.
Sometimes you, of course, needto get them out if we need to
draw blood or potentially doneurological or orthopedic exam.
(23:26):
So sometimes we have to takethem out of the carriers, but
I've even have measured bloodpressure and tapped a chest and
abdomen in this carrier.
So I've definitely..
Dr. Tyler Sugerman (23:35):
Nice.
Dr. Petra Černá (23:36):
I've really done that and really try to work
as much as I can around mypatients.
And probably one thing I alsonever do.
Yeah, I was asked yesterday bythe student as well.
And she's Oh, do you like, causeI was like, do you want to take
the temperature?
And she was like, yeah.
How are you, okay with likerectal temperature?
I was like, no.
Never ever.
(23:56):
I don't do rectal temperaturesin cats, always axillary.
And she's, aren't you worriedabout like how accurate it is?
And I'm like if I know this catis here, pretty happy on the
table.
I'm not worried that the cat'shypothermic and has low
temperature and is going to die.
Then that would be like maybeone time if I have a very sick
patient where I'm worried thattheir temperature is low.
(24:19):
I probably want to go and get arectal temperature, but those
cats are very sick or whenthey're anesthetized, right?
But otherwise, axillarytemperatures are just so great
in cats, and they usually don'tmind when you do that, but when
you do rectal temperature in acat, they, they always mind.
Dr. Tyler Sugerman (24:36):
Yes.
Yes.
I unfortunately, am the oppositebecause most of my cats that I
see are very, very sick.
Dr. Petra Černá (24:42):
Yes, yes, you are.
You have a hard job.
I don't think I can.
I used to work until veryrecently, about once or twice a
month in our urgent care.
And yes, some of those that theycome in, it is, they are very
sick.
And that's, of course, adifferent story, right?
Dr. Tyler Sugerman (25:00):
Yeah.
But even then, like, when I havevery, very stressed out cats I
usually will ask people if wecan give gabapentin to help calm
them down.
And then I just give them anhour to chill out in the room
that's very quiet and then comeback and reassess them after
that.
Dr. Petra Černá (25:15):
Yeah.
And I think that's also great.
I always preferred thegabapentin at home.
I feel like it kicks in a littlebit better and works a little
better, but yes, I really hatedoing anything that stresses the
cats out at work.
So..
Dr. Tyler Sugerman (25:28):
Do you have any other tips or tricks for us
to be able to like, help withthe cats and their visits?
Dr. Petra Černá (25:33):
Yeah, absolutely.
I think for example, if you havea picky cat, I think it's
completely fine to bring eventreats from home for us to give.
Or if your cat is on a specialdiet.
Or, for example, if they have afavorite towel, or, like
favorite something that theylike to do, I think it's
completely fine to bring it withthem.
I always tell clients,especially if patients need to
(25:55):
get hospitalized, you mightnever see this blanket ever..
Dr. Tyler Sugerman (25:57):
Oh, yes.
Yes.
That's what I tell people too.
Dr. Petra Černá (26:00):
Clean things and everything.
But yeah, so I've had some thatthey just bring a new blanket
every day.
And they're like, yeah, if wenever see this again, it's okay
for us.
But yeah, especially the treats.
If they, because we have the,like the Churu treats, we have
some of the harder, liketemptations and like all of
these treats, but there are somecats that they just love their
one treat that they're used toat home.
(26:21):
So definitely you can bringtreats from home.
And I think, really, I think Iwould really start with picking
the good carrier and everythingas well at home.
And also trying to like scheduleyour appointment.
And especially if you're goingfor the first time with your cat
to the vet, just making sure,because sometimes I know
everybody works, right?
(26:42):
And, but sometimes my clientsare in a rush and I'm like,
it's, it's really hard to dowhat is best for the patients if
I am like in, in a lot of rush.
Dr. Tyler Sugerman (26:51):
Yeah.
Dr. Petra Černá (26:52):
Yeah.
And then sometimes if like justreally being very thoughtful and
proactive about even how youcarry the carrier, right?
So if you're carrying in yourhand and it's like moving,
that's not nice.
Exactly.
Swinging.
It's not nice for those catseither.
So maybe, I usually have eithernow it's these like trolleys
(27:12):
that are becoming like verypopular.
Dr. Tyler Sugerman (27:13):
Oh yeah.
They are really cool.
Yeah.
Dr. Petra Černá (27:15):
They are becoming very popular.
So those are pretty good.
Or some of these, like justcarrying it so the carriers like
supported from the bottom aswell.
It is very helpful I think forcats as well.
Dr. Tyler Sugerman (27:27):
Nice.
What about the lighting in theroom?
Do you have dimming lights foryour exam rooms?
Dr. Petra Černá (27:33):
Yes, we absolutely do.
So we usually try to work with,of course, brighter lights
because we need to see thepatients and sometimes we are
looking for little things on theskin, or stuff, but we always
dim them for like ultrasounds,of course.
But yes, we actually havedimming lights.
And if cats get very anxious,especially when we have to
sedate them.
(27:53):
I always dim the lights and makesure everybody's very quiet in
that time so the cats can justrelax and chill.
We also use a lot of thesehiding boxes at the hospital.
So I actually have, either whenwe have patients staying with us
for a couple of hours, forexample, getting an ultrasound
or something like that, I eitherkeep them in their carriers in
(28:14):
the cages that we have at work,or I am keeping them and giving
them these kind of nice housesthat we have.
So hiding space is veryimportant.
And I think maybe one morething.
It's very also important.
Like I mentioned, reading thebody language, but, cats can do
this flight, freeze, or fightreactions.
And I think everybody alwayspanics and that's whatever they
(28:38):
can for these cats that theywould fight back.
But actually the cats thatfreeze, they can be as stressed
as the ones that actually aregetting to this kind of fight
reactions, and we shouldn'tunderestimate how stressed those
patients are as well.
So the fact that the cat justsits there and does nothing
doesn't mean that they are notstressed.
So really watching the bodylanguage of these, of these cats
(29:00):
is very important.
Dr. Tyler Sugerman (29:01):
Yeah, absolutely.
Great.
Anything else you want to add?
Dr. Petra Černá (29:05):
I think, no, I just would also, maybe a last
thing.
Yeah, sorry.
One thing just, I want don'twant people to get discouraged
to take their cats to the vetbecause, we've covered that in
the episode, like the last oneand the one before.
How important it is for the,especially the senior cats to
really get the preventative carethey need.
(29:26):
So just trying to, you know, andtalk to your vet, really go out
there look for a feline friendlyor the fear free clinic and talk
to them.
Most of these places will bevery happy to talk to people
about visits as well.
The cat clinics usually evenblock more, more time for work
with cats than they do for dogs.
So those are really good aswell.
(29:46):
And just don't get discouragedbecause it is really important,
especially with our senior catsthat they really go and get
their blood pressures checkedand that they get the annual, at
least blood work and all theirexams done.
Dr. Tyler Sugerman (29:59):
Yeah, and it doesn't mean just because your
cat was afraid before that wecan't implement all these things
and maybe it will be morecomfortable afterwards.
Dr. Petra Černá (30:06):
Yes, exactly.
And I think also when you comeback at home, sometimes and
these cats go in hiding andmaybe just try to give them a
treat when you come home and dosomething nice for them or,
something they really enjoy orgive them their favorite meal.
Just to really try to motivatethem and make them appreciate
the visit.
It's, oh, I went to the vet, butnow I'm getting my favorite
food.
(30:27):
So maybe it's not as bad.
Dr. Tyler Sugerman (30:28):
Or play with their favorite toy or something.
Dr. Petra Černá (30:30):
Yes, exactly.
Dr. Tyler Sugerman (30:32):
Yeah.
Nice.
So I have a random question foryou.
Do you name your kittens beforeyou adopt them out?
Dr. Petra Černá (30:40):
Yes.
They actually, because they areall pedigree kittens, so they
actually, I've just had tosubmit their pedigree.
So they all had names.
So the boys in this litter areactually called, we have Kingdom
of Heaven.
We have King Arthur and King'sSpeech.
So the boys are all, becauseit's a letter K too, so they all
(31:01):
have to start with the K.
And then the one girl, myfavorite that I'm keeping, her
name is Killing Me Softly.
And, uh..
Dr. Tyler Sugerman (31:09):
I love it.
Dr. Petra Černá (31:10):
We have Kiss Me and Keep Smiling.
Dr. Tyler Sugerman (31:13):
Cute.
Dr. Petra Černá (31:14):
But most of them actually have their pet
names.
So Keep Smiling is for exampleMandrake because when you lift
her up, she screams like theMandrake..
Dr. Tyler Sugerman (31:23):
Like the Mantrake?
Dr. Petra Černá (31:24):
Yes, exactly.
So she literally screams exactlythe same way.
Yeah, you should have heard herthis morning when I was
vaccinating her, butinterestingly, she like didn't
scream at all when I wasactually vaccinating.
It was literally just when Ihold her.
She like wants to run.
She's like smaller than all theother kittens because she never
stops.
(31:44):
She like always runs around andnever wants to, like the second
you like stop her.
She gets, I'm not doing this.
I'm gonna run again.
Yeah, so they all..
Yes, they all got their pedigreenames, but then the new, all the
people always of course, givethem like some pet names and
stuff.
Dr. Tyler Sugerman (32:02):
What are you going to be calling your one
you're going to keep, theKilling Me Softly?
Dr. Petra Černá (32:06):
I need to think about it, right now she's Miss
Blue.
Dr. Tyler Sugerman (32:10):
Okay, I was gonna say, are you just gonna
short it to Kill Me orsomething?
Dr. Petra Černá (32:13):
Yeah, yeah.
She's very sweet.
So we need to, we still need todo like a proper pet name, but
now she's, she's Miss Blue now.
So she might just be Blue.
We'll see.
Dr. Tyler Sugerman (32:22):
We, we have a cat who his name is Little
Red.
So..
Dr. Petra Černá (32:25):
Oh, okay.
Dr. Tyler Sugerman (32:26):
You could do that.
Dr. Petra Černá (32:28):
So she might just, she might just be Blue,
but we'll see.
We'll see.
Dr. Tyler Sugerman (32:32):
Nice.
All right.
Perfect.
Thank you so much, Dr.
Černá.
We really appreciate you comingon always.
And just all your wisdom thatyou have for cats.
We love it.
Dr. Petra Černá (32:40):
Thank you so much.
Yeah, it's been wonderful to behere and I look forward to next
time.
Dr. Tyler Sugerman (32:45):
All right.
Sounds good.
We'll see you then.
All right.
Thank you, everybody.
Make sure to always keep yourpets happy, healthy, and safe.
Thanks, guys.
And that wraps up anotherepisode of Vetsplanation.
We hope that you found today'sdiscussion with Dr.
Černá as enlightening as we did.
Preparing our cats for vetvisits and finding the right
care can make a world ofdifference for their health and
(33:05):
happiness.
Remember a little preparationgoes a long way in keeping our
furry friends stress free.
Thank you so much Dr.
Černá for sharing your expertiseand those adorable kitten
stories.
We can't wait to have you backon soon.
And to our listeners, thank youfor tuning in.
Don't forget to subscribe, leaveus a review, and share this
episode with a fellow cat loverto help make their trip to the
(33:28):
vet easier as well.
So thank you again to ShawnHyberg for his editing and Kelly
Dwyer for all of her work on ourpodcast.
Don't forget to keep your petshappy, healthy, and safe.
Until next time, we'll see younext week.
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