Can we talk about how in zombie shows/movies/books they always find a veterinarian and not a surgeon? Are veterinarians deemed more likely to survive the apocalypse?
Yup.
- One of our professional skills is ‘not being bitten by patients’
- We actually have a good broad knowledge base for both surgical, medical, and GP things
- We’re used to improvising equipment because a lot of stuff is just not made for animals
- Meat safety is part of our training
- Our cars are often full of equipment, especially in mixed practice
- We probably weren’t in the human hospital at the initial outbreak
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Cat owner tip.
If you have to regularly give your cat meds or otherwise interfere with them and you find they are avoiding you even for friendly contact, establish a password.
The goal is to use the word/sound to signal “no bad thing,” so they don’t panic and try to run away/hide.
For instance, Etrigan hates being medicated and will hide under the bed for hours to avoid it, and become evasive if approached, even though he is normally a VERY friendly cat.
I established “I’m gonna gitcha gitcha gitcha!” as something that means “I will be touching you but not in a bad way.”
This works.
Start by using the sound every time you love on your cat. Use it many times per interaction, not just once. Use treats to reinforce it at first if you need to, and practice often (as often as you love on your cat which is hopefully often).
Do not ever ever ever use it to fake them out. Respect it, respect the cat, always keep the interactions positive.
This is a virtually effortless thing to teach your cat (and yourself) and can make a huge quality of life difference for a cat who deeply resents pilling (or other necessary cat maintenance tasks).
It actually makes giving them meds easier sometimes because they aren’t ALWAYS expecting to be grabbed and pilled. They don’t have to be vigilant and wary of every single interaction.
Reblog to reduce kitty anxiety!
Good luck!
I’ve watched Etrigan do an immediate about-face on multiple occasions. I approach, he thinks I am going to do THE BAD MOUTH STUFF and starts to run away. I use the signal and he turns right around and lets me approach. This tactic can be super-duper effective.
I’ve found telling mine beforehand that I need to give them meds or cut their nails also works, since while they don’t generally run away, they aren’t happy about it. It’s just a way to let them know this Thing™ is going to happen and not think the Thing™ can happen anywhere or whenever. I mean, just think about what you would prefer: Someone telling you something is going to happen before it happens or it happening randomly whenever they’re around?
It also helps if they’re sleeping and you have to wake them up. “I need to give you your meds” lets them know there’s a reason you woke them up and separates it from the times you may accidentally wake them up by petting them or making a loud noise or moving them off your lap when your bladder is about to bust while your foot has fallen asleep.
I also use the phrase “Just need to do one more” (or some variation, but “one more” is always part of it) when doing their nails and they’re fidgeting. I don’t like letting them go when they start struggling because they learn quickly how that gets them out of getting their nails trimmed, but I don’t like forcing anyone – human or animal – to remain visibly okay in a situation they don’t like.
So I tell them I need to do one more nail then they can go. The reaction? They stop struggling and I can do one more nail then let them go. It’s a bit inconvenient for me when they have to be done in multiple sittings, but it’s a way to build and keep trust. One of my current cats was extremely skittish when it came to being held or having his nails done, and by never pushing him into his panic zone but asking him to hold on for 5 seconds longer after 11 years I can do all his front nails in one go and he’ll happily purr on my lap for as long as I let him after.
This from the cat where for years I would have to do his nails when he was sleeping because he’d panic if he was held. (He was feral up until 6 weeks old or so, maybe even more).
Cats are smart. If you communicate with them your intentions, they will start to figure things out. Their brains are actually similar to a human’s, and most cats value dignity and personal agency. They lose both if you need to give them meds or do their nails or anything else they deem unpleasant. But give them a phrase or word to connect to it and respect them the rest of the time, and they’ll come around.
Because cats largely do want to be social and trust their main human. I can’t speak as to how cats perceive the world, but as someone with loads of anxiety, there’s a world of difference between someone who gives you a heads up about things and someone who gives no indication what’s going to happen when. Even if both are lovely people, I’m going to gravitate to the former because I can trust them more and know they’ll reliably communicate things.
I can’t stand when a friend shows up unannounced wanting to do something, how do you think I’d feel if a friend suddenly grabbed me and shoved a pill down my throat, you know?
Goddamn, this is some first-rate advice. Thank you. I’m going to start teaching them to understand about clipping their claws.
