Fear of the vet originating in cats can be a problem when going to the vet with your pet, since this fear makes the cat behave inappropriately.
Normally cats are independent animals, which are hardly aggressive, but when fear of the vet appears, they will react aggressively, as a defense mechanism.
This fear of the vet in cats can appear for various reasons, such as bad experiences in the past or simply the mere fact that a stranger starts to grope them from top to bottom, with how independent cats are, that will surely make them must be very annoying.
The fear of going to the vet also occurs in other animals such as dogs, ferrets and even some birds. This is normal, as the cat’s brain may associate the vet with pain or a bad experience, as some things the vet does like giving shots or treating wounds are painful.
This phobia is similar to the one that some people have to go to the dentist or the doctor, who are afraid of going there because they have associated it with pain, something very common especially in young children.
Luckily, you can prevent the cat from being afraid of the vet, which will help you a lot so that the consultation is done without any unforeseen events, because if the cat is calmer, it will behave well and there will be no problem of aggressiveness or escapism.
If you don’t know what these ways are, don’t worry, I’m going to explain it to you step by step, so that you and your animal can calmly go to the vet without any kind of problem.
Instructions to avoid fear of the veterinarian in cats
- Avoid using the words veterinarian, vaccine and cure: Many people tend to underestimate the intelligence of animals, however, they are more intelligent than we can imagine. For example, cats usually have intelligence similar to that of a 3-year-old child. therefore, they are able to understand some human keywords, which they associate with an action or behavior. The cat has surely associated the words veterinarian, vaccine, cure, infection with going to the painful veterinarian and will run away in terror every time he hears them. The way to do this is to try not to use those words when you speak and go to him. Try to use synonymous words that are not used as we are going to see Mr. X (X is the name of the vet) and words like healing or repair instead of healing. Obviously you will have to use different words each time, so that the cat does not associate them again.
- Calm the cat in the waiting room: Once you have arrived with the cat in the waiting room, the animal is not an idiot and already knows where it is, therefore, panic will spread. What you should try to do to avoid panic is to try to calm the cat in the waiting room, something that can be easily done if you pet and give it affection, so that the cat believes that it is safe and that it is not. You have to worry about. Again, avoid using the forbidden words from step 1 and try to treat the cat as you would on the sofa at home, so that he associates the vet with good times with you, which will make him much calmer at the time. time to enter
- Talk to your cat and calm him down: If you’re one of the people who talks to your cat, it’s time to keep doing it, especially right now. You should try to keep the cat in a stable state by using words like still or quiet X(X instead of the cat’s name). You should do this especially while the vet is treating the cat, since in this way the cat will be somewhat calmer knowing that you are there so that nothing happens to it. If you are not one of the people who talks to the cat, you can replace it with something else, such as caresses or kisses, in short, make the cat feel comfortable, as if it were at home.
- Reward good behavior: Cats and dogs must be treated well so that they do what you want. There are studies that show that punishing behaviors do not work to educate them, since you only make them afraid and as soon as you are not aware they will reveal themselves. It is best to use the prize and reward method, making the cat associate behaving well with receiving prizes and behaving badly as not reporting anything, since there is nothing worse than indifference for a pet, no matter how independent it may be. Be. In the case of the veterinarian, you can prepare the cat’s favorite dish and offer it to him if he has behaved well in the consultation. Sooner or later, the cat will associate the favorite dish with not causing a scandal and since the benefit will be greater than the loss, the cat will definitely lose its fear of the vet.
