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View Full Version : do your cats go to the vet every year for a checkup



kally
10-3-15, 4:22pm
and yearly shots or boosters? Is this necessary?

pinkytoe
10-3-15, 4:42pm
I have two mostly indoor cats. They go out in the backyard for supervised outside time. The last time they saw a vet for anything was probably 3-4 years ago.

kally
10-3-15, 4:55pm
okay my cats are indoor/outdoor girls.

Gardnr
10-3-15, 5:19pm
My cats do not exit the door at all so no, they do not have annual shots. My vet has agreed this is reasonable. I do watch them carefully for unusual behavior/cough/discharge and I have taken them in promptly with concerns.

Miss Cellane
10-3-15, 6:16pm
My cats go to the vet for a yearly check-up, but they don't always get shots. But they are 16 and 18 years old, so they are senior kitties and I'm hoping to catch any major health issues early. They do have to get a rabies booster every three years, but new recommendations for other vaccinations have really cut down on the number of shots cats need. Except for two UTI for the younger cat when she was much younger, they have never needed to see the vet during the year, so a "well kitty" checkup seems like a good idea. They are indoors only cats.

iris lilies
10-3-15, 6:50pm
No. We have two indoor cats and they go to the vet only when there is something observably wrong. The last visit was last month, when one of them was peeing on a rug and after a few days (when we figured out which one was doing it) I saw blood in the urine. It took two rounds of antibiotics to,fix this, but she is now ok. Before that she had not been to the vet for seven years.

Our other cat is 17 years old and hasn't been to the vet in years. Some years back,she scratched and scratched at her ears, and shook her head. This went on for a year. I kept looking into her ears fir mites, no sign., they wrere super clean. Then, she stopped the behavior. Now she howls. I think she's deaf and something was off with her hearing when she was head shaking.

rodeosweetheart
10-3-15, 8:25pm
OUr cat is indoor outdoor and we take her in once a year for exam. This year I took her early because she was getting very thin--she is 9. She was very hyperthyroid but they caught it before it created liver damage, so that is good. She's now on thyroid meds.

The shots seemed to be the least of the vet's concern, although I was concerned because she sneaks out doors and when we were in SC, rabies was rampant.

She eats a lot of mice--her current rabies shot is good for 3 years. But vet took one look at her and her behavior and said, thyroid.

Chicken lady
10-3-15, 10:50pm
Indoor/outdoor cat. Gets a 3 year rabies every three years and the occaisional wormer. They no longer require me to bring the cat to get the wormer, just his weight.

early morning
10-4-15, 11:18am
We have inside cats and outside cats, but currently no inside/outside cats. No one goes to the vet unless they look/act sick or injured - or if a new cat shows up and sticks around - then they are off to the feral vet clinic for spay/neuter. That's about it. I buy wormer and flea stuff online. Rabies is not common here. Vet says Feline leukemia, distemper, etc are not prevalent locally, and with clean food/water/shelter, the cats aren't prone to infectious hazards. Works for us.

kib
10-4-15, 11:59am
No, we only take them to the vet when they're sick. Our only indoor/outdoor cat is an old boy who basically skips around in our yard and then sleeps in the sun on the rocker on the patio. It's a little heartbreaking, he's got such a jaunty step when he first trots out but he's ready for a nap three minutes later. I realize he could still have interaction with a sick animal out there but I'm taking my chances since he's such a homebody and I never see animals in our yard.

Part of my reluctance is that we have four cats, and I haven't found an "old school vet" here in Tucson. I hate to say this but I'm old school myself when it comes to cats. Love them to pieces but when it's their time it's their time. I would treat an obvious illnesss or wound of course, but $100 per pet per year for this that and the other, or $200,000 in various "human" surgeries and heroic measures is not in my mindset for my cats any more than it is for myself.