Indoor cat vet visits

[feedindy]

I have an indoor cat (never ever goes outside).
He got his vaccinations as a kitten and has been fixed.

Since then he has never been to the vet (he is 13 years old).

I know they say go for yearly check ups, but I don't go to the doctor unless I am ill, so I follow the same for the cat.

So honestly, do you go to the vet for general checkups for a cat?

 

[ahcigar1]

Our indoor cat gets her yearly shots and that is all. Just for the in case scenario that she did get out at some point we want her to be protected.

 

[scoobydrlp]

I'm biased, since I work in the veterinary field, but I have 3 cats and they all get vaccines annually. I also get heavily discounted veterinary care...so I can't promise that I would be so loyal if I were paying full price.

 

[KittenCoco]

I go every year for vaccinations... I'm actually due to go with them now - just have been so busy recently so got pushed to the back of the list! I'll go aswell if they are sick but that only ever happens very occassionally.

 

[DaretoDream]

i see you are in pa hun- i'm in md. i know the vaccine stuff because i used to work at a clinic for 5 years.

You need to read up on your RABIES laws. Because, you should at least have that. If for some reason your cat ever bit someone- or someone just SAID they got bit (seriously some people are freaking nasty) they could take your cat away from you.

It's a 10 day quarantine for cat that HAS their shots. Its 6 months of a double caged cell for a cat without their shots. And the health dept gets VERY involved. Now that's here in md- but, i'm pretty sure pa is a bit worse than us. I remember we got some pa clients because they didn't like the strictness of some of their vets. We had one that the cat bit the owner and then they took him to the vet and they took the freaking cat away and locked him up there and quarantined him.

So be very very careful. i don't like that they get so involved with your pet but for HIS safety, he really should get his rabies shot- there is a 3 year one too! the first one is a year, and all after that are good for 3 years (just make sure you specify so they don't try to push the yearly one on you).

I get the 3yr distemper vaccine (for respiratory illnesses) and also the 3yr rabies. I hope this helps you some.

OH i had gotten bit by my cat once and they were threatening to take him- til they found out he had his shots and i quarantined him at home.

 

[nugget80]

my cats were house cats and never went to vet... i wish now had taken them both for yearly checks as both developed heart disease and were put down due to blood clots caused by this! if they had been checked yearly it would have been caught sooner. one puss had congenital heart condition and other puss had underlying kidney disease and was half siamese so high risk...

 

[ZoeyKaspian]

My two cats now are indoor cats, but that doesn't mean they can't get ill. I still would take them to vet visits when I was at home and my mom still does!

 

[DebbieF]

My boys are both strictly indoor cats. We do take them to the vet for a checkup and their shots every year. I really think the rabies shots are unnecessary though. How in the world will they get rabies if they never go outside?

 

[scoobydrlp]

My boys are both strictly indoor cats. We do take them to the vet for a checkup and their shots every year. I really think the rabies shots are unnecessary though. How in the world will they get rabies if they never go outside?

As unlikely as it is that an indoor cat would get rabies, there are always those weird situations that happen to 1 in a million. I work at an animal hospital and one of the doctors there uses the example of something that really did happen: a family with an indoor only cat had a rabid fox actually run into their home and attack the cat. Also bats carry rabies and end up in peoples houses, and lots of cats would hunt a bat. And of course there is the possibility of the cat getting out somehow and being exposed to a rabid animal. Yes these are all very unlikely examples, but they happen. And since rabies is deadly and can be transmitted to humans, an outbreak would be devastating. Rabies is required by law not so much to protect the cats, but to protect the humans.

 

[tasha41]

Gina goes to the vet every year for vaccines and a check up. Mostly because she gets out often and we need to take that precaution with her.

She's caught and killed: countless mice and birds, 1 squirrel, 1 bat

 

[Belle25]

My kitty is an indoor cat too-no other pets.
Our friends own a vets, so we take her there if/when she needs it, but only if something's wrong or she needs a booster etc.
Xx

 

[Kiwiberry]

Of course you take your cat to the vet. Regardless of whether they are inside or not. I mean would you not take your child to doctors even if they stayed inside? Pets should be treated just like they are your own child. God only knows what you can drag in the house for them to catch.

Anyone who does not take their pets to the vet is a horrible pet parent and should not have pets at all. They need to be taken care of just like humans do.

There are so many people out there who have pets and have no clue how to take care of them. Do not be a part of this statistic. Learn how to take care of your pets!!