Stress-Free Vet Visits for Cats Revealed!

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

Transcript

Dr. Tyler Sugerman: 0:00

Welcome back to another episode of Vetsplanation everyone. Today we have a treat for all the cat lovers out there. Joining us again is our favorite feline specialist, Dr. Černá. She has been busy with her new litter of kittens and we've been loving all the adorable photos she's been sharing. But more importantly, she's here to share some invaluable tips on how to make vet visits less stressful for our beloved cats. From preparing at home, to finding the right vet. We've got a perfectly packed episode for you ahead. So stay tuned because you won't want to miss a minute of this. Also, don't forget to like and subscribe. All right, welcome back to another episode of Vetsplanation, everybody. I'm really excited we have our Crazy Cat Vet back today. She's had some kittens that I've been seeing pictures of, which I absolutely love. But we're going to be talking about how we can best take our cats to the vet, and like how we can 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: 1:03

Hey, I'm actually doing really well. I just managed to vaccinate my six kittens at home on my own today. I know, right? And all distal right front limb. So I was actually pretty impressed.

Dr. Tyler Sugerman: 1:20

That is really impressive, actually, especially for kittens who wiggle a lot.

Dr. Petra Černá: 1:25

Yes, yes. No, they were, I fed them breakfast. They were all very hungry and pretty distracted. And yeah, it was, it was good. So they actually didn't have to go to the vet, but we're already starting to practice for when they move to their new homes, they are actually set up for success, right?

Dr. Tyler Sugerman: 1:42

Perfect. Perfect. Exactly. So when we decide we're going to actually go and take our pets to the vet, you had just mentioned how they're going to be going to a new home. How do you decide how to find a vet then before you even have your pet?

Dr. Petra Černá: 1:55

Yeah. I think that's very hard, right? Because my cats are very lucky since I'm a feline..

Dr. Tyler Sugerman: 2:01

Right?

Dr. Petra Černá: 2:01

I'm a crazy cat vet, so they are very lucky. However, I specialize in feline medicine, so I still need for some things a vet for my cats, right? Because I don't do surgeries, I don't do dentals and so on and so on. And I am very picky. So my cats actually have a personal cardiologist, they have a personal dentist, they have a personal surgeon and so on and so on. So I am very picky with how I choose vets for my personal cats as well. And I think it's really, really important that we actually are, because it is very important for the cats not to be stressed and try to find someone you trust and someone the cats feel comfortable with as well.

Dr. Tyler Sugerman: 2:44

What do you think about finding somebody through the fear free website or..

Dr. Petra Černá: 2:49

Yeah, absolutely. And I'm feel free certified, but I actually enjoy a little bit more the AAFP or ISFM actually feline friendly certifications because they are very much focused just on cats and being cat friendly. So the fear free is great. And I think it is definitely better than nothing. But it also, of course. Those people are trained also to be feel free with dogs because, even though I do not work with dogs, I think it's still very important that our canine patients get the best care that they can, and they can be stressed at work as, sorry, at work, at my work, so

Dr. Tyler Sugerman: 3:24

Yeah.

Dr. Petra Černá: 3:25

at the hospital. As well, but yes, so you can actually look online and go to the fear free website or ideally even to the AAFP, because there are actually a lot of crazy cat vets, that do not even see dogs. So if you actually go to that practice, there will be no dogs anywhere for the cats to smell, for the cats to hear. And that's really exciting, but of course it doesn't happen everywhere. But if you look at the fear free website or the AAFP the feline friendly professional website as well, you can actually find clinics in your area that are trained to work friendly with cats and they are interested to do their very best for the cats.

Dr. Tyler Sugerman: 4:09

So can you explain to me real quick, like fear free versus the AAFP?

Dr. Petra Černá: 4:15

Absolutely. So they are actually both great options. So what does it mean being fear free or the feline friendly kind of certified means that those vets, and usually it doesn't just go to the vets. Usually most of these places also have veterinary technicians that are trained, but also we'll have other professionals like receptionist and the support staff that have been trained to handle animals in a fear free or this feline friendly kind of way. So we are being very proactive because we more and more appreciate how pets get stressed when they come to the vets. And we of course want to do our very best. And I can tell you the vet visit already starts at home and there are so many things people can actually already do at home before they even come to the vet. And I always try to, because I actually give a lot of lectures on this topic too. And first slide of my lecture is like the vet visit starts at home. So we need to really do our best already at home. So we are setting up our cats and us too, right? Like I would hate, I hate seeing my patients, also my cats being stressed. So it brings absolutely to nobody joy when those patients are not enjoying the life.

Dr. Tyler Sugerman: 5:25

Absolutely. So what are some of the things that we can do to try to help our cats at home before we even decide on the vet visit?

Dr. Petra Černá: 5:32

Absolutely. So I think one great thing is actually trying to teach the cats to be used to the carrier, because of course, if the cat only sees the carrier twice a year to go to the vet, it's not going to work out great. So these days, they are actually selling these like soft carriers that are even, they can be made into beds. It's really actually fascinating. I work with this one rescue and they have these carriers at home. They are not cheap, I can tell you that. However. They are little beds at home. So they can sleep in them at home. They smell like them and they feel very comfortable with them. And they open, they completely close on the top. So what you do, like when the cat is sleeping in, you can just close it on the top and actually see, you know, how the cat would react when she's at home or he's at home. And then, then we actually bring them 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 the cats out. We don't have to wait for 30 minutes for the cat actually to come out. And it just, it just so much easier. So also getting a good carrier. I've actually had a lot of clients over the years when they came with these very old carriers that you couldn't even open it because the screws were gone So they actually had it

Dr. Tyler Sugerman: 6:48

Zip tied?

Dr. Petra Černá: 6:49

Yes. Exactly, and I literally after the 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: 6:59

They're so hard. Yeah.

Dr. Petra Černá: 7:01

I know, but it just, it was breaking my heart to see how stressed that cat was. It's sometimes when they also, get very anxious. It is not even safe for them or my staff or me to actually even, trying to get them out. And it gets to a point where it's breaking my heart. It's causing me stress. It's causing my support staff stress. It's causing the cat so much stress and then they go home. They pee themselves on the way back and everything. So really having good carriers, just like the best investment ever. So I actually provide, if my client show up with these carriers, I actually provide them with a list of carriers that I really like to work with and not all of them are crazy expensive, so it's really just to have something that is safe for the cats. Actually, the other day I had a client who brought her cat in, and it was see through on three sides. The cat came in and respiratory rate was 80 because the cat was seeing all the dogs, everything that was happening. And I was like, next time, please just put a blanket over him or over the carrier, because this is really stressing him so much, or... people are bringing these cats in these backpacks, right? There was the movie about it. So now everybody's buying these backpacks, these like windows. And I'm like, this is not..

Dr. Tyler Sugerman: 8:18

The big globe in it. Yep.

Dr. Petra Černá: 8:19

Because it was in a movie with a Scottish Fold. Like they actually came with a huge statement, how this movie should have never been even filmed in the first place because it's a promoting a diseased breed and also really not cat friendly at all. So I didn't even go to see it. I'm like, I cannot watch three hours or two hours of a movie where this, we are, we are seeing this. So I can't believe like Hollywood has like billions or millions of dollars and they can't find a consultant when the movie star in the movie is a cat. So I was like shocked. I was like, can you please hire someone to actually tell you all..

Dr. Tyler Sugerman: 8:56

You're like, I'll volunteer.

Dr. Petra Černá: 8:59

Exactly. I would like, I don't even want to get paid for this. Just please do not show this to people. But yeah, so I could actually probably talk about carriers for a very long time. And I've been through a lot of different carriers and stuff. And I think it's really the crucial and number one important things for these cats.

Dr. Tyler Sugerman: 9:16

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 soft versus hard carriers?

Dr. Petra Černá: 9:29

Yeah, I think that's a great question. I think hard carriers are definitely safer and easier to clean because of course especially if you have to drive for a while to the vet, cats can have accidents, right? You can have an accident in the car. The soft carriers are not always the safest carriers, unfortunately, because like sometimes they have these zips on the top and there's like a hole. So I've actually had cats escape from that as well. Cats are smart, right? Like they will figure things out. So they might be a little bit more comfortable for the cat. So what I usually do, I usually put like a better blanket in my hard carriers. So it's, it's more cozy and comfortable for the cats, but I think the hard carriers are a little bit safer when it comes going to the vet. But I actually have one type of a soft carrier that I go not to the vet because it doesn't open on the top, but it opens only from the side and from the front, but I, I take my cats to cat show there because, the cats I show they are very easy going, like I open it and they, they come out and so I know. Exactly. But I do not use it to go to the vet.

Dr. Tyler Sugerman: 10:34

I have seen ones that are really cool that it does open from the top and the sides, but it has like this like an extension to it. So it just makes it more roomy for them. So you can close the extension or you can open the extension up and it just gives them more room. I thought that was a really cool one as

Dr. Petra Černá: 10:48

Yeah, that's cool. Most of my Maine Coon clients actually 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, they have more space and they only close it up when they come to me and I have to like literally move them from the front to the back, and then we do it again when we get, get to the back. Yeah, I think three or four of my clients who have Maine Coons, they all have it.

Dr. Tyler Sugerman: 11:12

Nice. I will say one other thing with the soft carriers is I do also find that cats, when they get stressed, they also can roll the soft carriers which is very dangerous because they can roll off of a table. I've had that happen to my clients. Yeah.

Dr. Petra Černá: 11:27

Wow. Yeah. Actually, it's never happened to me. Most of the time, it's like, one time I actually had a cat who like threw up in it and stuff. And then I was like, we, we tried our very best to clean it, but it really needs to go to a washing machine at home. So it was, it was quite hard. So I definitely am pro like hard carriers with like soft bedding.

Dr. Tyler Sugerman: 11:48

Yeah, exactly. And then how long do you think the carrier should be left out for, at a minimum before deciding 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 because you 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 it at 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 think even having it there so they can go in and out and use it as a play. That's what I'm doing now with my kittens. It's definitely a good idea because my kittens now are at this phase, they're eight weeks this week and they just like love to explore. I'm like taking every advantage to even learn to explore the big litter boxes and stuff, you know? So I'm just like using this advantage and like teaching them a lot of kind of, cool things and tricks, like even the vaccines, right? We were doing the treats and I let them play with kind of the, the vials and the syringes and stuff. So they actually came to me when I was vaccinating them because they're just so curious at this stage. So I, now we have like carriers and like other things like out so they, they're getting used to it.

Dr. Tyler Sugerman: 12:59

Nice. Nice. So now that we've gotten them in the carrier, what can we do to make them less stressed in the car?

Dr. Petra Černá: 13:06

Yes. That's also a great, great, great question. So definitely try not making phone calls in the car that are loud, not being upset, not, not like honking and screaming at other drivers, not listening to very loud music. Like imagine cats have really got a very good sense of hearing. So imagine if you listened at loud music or if it's very loud outside, it can be very stressful. They actually sell CDs with classical 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 to pick that one out. And yes, I think that, so just trying to be cautious about what we are doing, trying not to drive too fast. If we are going into those turns, just, just try to be as gentle as possible. And I think some cats can definitely get car sick and we have medications to help with that as well, if that's the case. And I think one thing I really want to mention is talk to your vets about potentially starting already medications at home. So there are medications you can give to your cats at home, like gabapentin. Sometimes I even do combination of like gabapentin and trazodone at home if the kitties are very anxious and just giving it sometimes even the night before and then again the morning of or at least the morning before the visit. At least one to two hours before, so then when they are actually in the car they feel a little bit sleepy. It just makes the whole visit way less stressful for them as well.

Dr. Tyler Sugerman: 14:48

Yeah. And do you recommend having them in the car and just driving around for like short car rides or anything? When they're kittens and just help them to expose them to know that just because they're in the car 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 cats that are not getting car sick and, really like sick in the car, I think this would be one great way to do it. I now have a lot of clients who actually use these harnesses and they take their cats for walks and stuff. So I think that's definitely one way to do it as well, that the cats know that sometimes they are going to go somewhere fun and it's not always, car ride doesn't mean going the vet. But probably for those kitties that get really carsick that might not be like, it might be like stressful for them either way, just because that they get sick. So maybe doing like more medication treatments in those patients might be probably more helpful.

Dr. Tyler Sugerman: 15:40

Okay. And then when they get to the vet, is there anything that we can do to help make them more comfortable 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 good practice helps a lot because cats, again, they have great sense of smell, right? They have a great sense of hearing. So those barking dogs, or like I've had one time a client who we usually try to put a carrier at least, at like where we sit, but ideally even having at the vet practice where you go to. Having some shelves where people can put their carriers with cats safely. So they are not at the kind of floor level because cats don't feel safe on the floor, right? Because they are predators, but they also prey in nature. So they do not feel safe at all when they're on the floor. Then those dogs, I had one time client put a carrier on the bottom and then somebody else had 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 after that experience. I literally had to send them home and have them come back next week because it was already, he was done with this visit. So like my cats are not used to dogs. So then, some cats are completely fine with dogs, but it's maybe the dog they have at home and they don't want to be friends with some other dog who's now there barking and smelling differently. So even if your cat is friends with the dog at home, they might not want to be friends with the dogs that we see at the clinics. And, they start barking and it's just very stressful. So trying to find like a space that's as quiet as possible. We also provide towels that we spray with FELIWAY. So sometimes this FELIWAY sprays and owners can get them at home as well and just spray into the carrier as well, or really have a blanket that's over the carrier as well to try to prevent other smells coming in and the cat smelling other things as well. So there are actually so many things we can do to, to help them out rather than, Oh, here's a carrier. We are going to the vet and that's it. But are actually so many things we can do.

Dr. Tyler Sugerman: 17:53

One of the things with the FELIWAY, is I do usually tell people, don't spray it into the carrier while the cat is in it. Make sure you do it before. Yeah. Cause I've definitely had a cat that had an asthma attack when somebody did that.

Dr. Petra Černá: 18:06

Yeah, absolutely. And also like it makes noise when you spray it. So you, you definitely want to, I usually, what I do, I spray it and then I bring it and put it over the carrier.

Dr. Tyler Sugerman: 18:16

I also, so at our clinic, we also have a feline only area, so it's not like the waiting room is a feline only area, but we have a space in the back that's only for cats. It's closed. It has, it's very quiet. And I do, I will usually ask people to like, if we can keep their cat back there, so that way it's not with a lot of other barking dogs and stuff. Do you feel like there's a problem with taking them away from their pet parent to be able to keep them in a much more quiet environment?

Dr. Petra Černá: 18:44

Yeah, and actually a lot of feline friendly or feline only practices do that. They actually will take the cat immediately from the client and put it in a room where it's alone. I know it can be stressful for a lot 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 stressful for the cat. So we have definitely done that as well. And CSU is actually undergoing now, like big reconstruction. So I actually immediately be just like, when they arrive, we already are expecting them. And I even sometimes have clients when they have very stressed cats, wait in the car, just text me when you get here. And we will just get you in and immediately take you up because they are reconstructing the lobby, and it definitely has been pretty noisy on some days. So we are really working actively to try for these cats not to get too stressed.

Dr. Tyler Sugerman: 19:37

Nice. And then what about during the appointment? Is there anything during the appointment that one, the pet parents can do, and then two, some of the staff can do to help keep that cat as stress free as possible?

Dr. Petra Černá: 19:49

Yeah, absolutely. So many things again. So we, we always try to put, for example, towels on the tables, right? Because the tables can be cold. They can just might not be comfortable. And also sometimes people don't like, this is like an interesting thing, but not everybody lets their cats like roam around and be on the table. I just have now three of my cats like crossing the table here and 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 some people don't like cats on, on their tables or kitchen tables and stuff, and then suddenly we put them at tables in the hospital and it can be stressful for them, they can be stressed also from the hard surfaces, so we try to always put towels. We usually pre-spray them with the FELIWAY, and then just being very cautious and like watching these cats because cats have amazing body language. I have never been bitten in my life by a cat because I can look at a cat and say, this is going to go great. We need to do this or this is not going to work out today. So I, I really can tell because the way they put their ears, the way their eyes work, the way kind of their whiskers and muzzle shape as well. So there are just so many ways when we look at the cats to see how comfortable they are with us and how, how much extra caution we need to put into our work with them as well. We use Churu treats. So yesterday I had 2 patients and 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 was like, but it just, it just makes them happy. So we usually try to do things with like, when we need to draw blood and stuff. So we have one person like gently holding and I, from my experience, the less you restrain cats, the better. So we really, I sometimes even have them lay on the table and lick the churro and they are very happy and things really have been working out really well. And then we have a third person who is then like drawing the blood. So it's a, it's a three person job, but the Churu treats are just amazing. Cats are so food motivated and we really underestimate that I think often.

Dr. Tyler Sugerman: 22:05

Yeah. Some of the things that I also have talked to parents about have been keeping them inside their carrier, especially the ones that can open from the top or come out from the top. So that way they just feel like they're in this enclosed space. Not so scary for a lot stressed out ones. Yeah. Do you do that as well?

Dr. Petra Černá: 22:22

Yes, absolutely. All the time. I always say actually yesterday I had because we now have, I have a couple of our DVM students who are on summer break. So they are actually working with me through my clinical trials and they are very excited to see my patients, of course, as well. So we actually had one yesterday and one of the students was like, Oh, how do you like, like the cat to be for your ultrasound? And I'm like, however the cat wants to be because I always work around my cats. So whatever my patient wants, I work around them because, I, I can, do an ultrasound standing, laying, sitting, whatever works for the patient is always the best way for me to do it as well. So I was like, whatever he wants. And so he wanted to sit and eat the Churu. So that's we kind of did it. I very often actually, especially in these round carriers, they are just so soft and they just lay there and I can do my whole physical exam there. Sometimes you, of course, need to get them out if we need to draw blood or potentially do neurological or orthopedic exam. So sometimes we have to take them out of the carriers, but I've even have measured blood pressure 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 my patients. And probably one thing I also never do. Yeah, I was asked yesterday by the student as well. And she's Oh, do you like, cause I was like, do you want to take the temperature? And she was like, yeah. How are you, okay with like rectal temperature? I was like, no. Never ever. I don't do rectal temperatures in cats, always axillary. And she's, aren't you worried about like how accurate it is? And I'm like if I know this cat is here, pretty happy on the table. I'm not worried that the cat's hypothermic and has low temperature and is going to die. Then that would be like maybe one time if I have a very sick patient where I'm worried that their temperature is low. I probably want to go and get a rectal temperature, but those cats are very sick or when they're anesthetized, right? But otherwise, axillary temperatures are just so great in cats, and they usually don't mind when you do that, but when you do rectal temperature in a cat, they, they always mind.

Dr. Tyler Sugerman: 24:36

Yes. Yes. I unfortunately, am the opposite because 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 very recently, about once or twice a month in our urgent care. And yes, some of those that they come in, it is, they are very sick. And that's, of course, a different story, right?

Dr. Tyler Sugerman: 25:00

Yeah. But even then, like, when I have very, very stressed out cats I usually will ask people if we can give gabapentin to help calm them down. And then I just give them an hour to chill out in the room that's very quiet and then come back and reassess them after that.

Dr. Petra Černá: 25:15

Yeah. And I think that's also great. I always preferred the gabapentin at home. I feel like it kicks in a little bit better and works a little better, but yes, I really hate doing 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 with the cats and their visits?

Dr. Petra Černá: 25:33

Yeah, absolutely. I think for example, if you have a picky cat, I think it's completely fine to bring even treats from home for us to give. Or if your cat is on a special diet. Or, for example, if they have a favorite towel, or, like favorite something that they like to do, I think it's completely fine to bring it with them. I always tell clients, especially if patients need to get hospitalized, you might never 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 that they just bring a new blanket every day. And they're like, yeah, if we never 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, like temptations and like all of these treats, but there are some cats that they just love their one treat that they're used to at home. So definitely you can bring treats from home. And I think, really, I think I would really start with picking the good carrier and everything as well at home. And also trying to like schedule your appointment. And especially if you're going for the first time with your cat to the vet, just making sure, because sometimes I know everybody works, right? And, but sometimes my clients are in a rush and I'm like, it's, it's really hard to do what 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 just really being very thoughtful and proactive about even how you carry the carrier, right? So if you're carrying in your hand and it's like moving, that's not nice. Exactly. Swinging. It's not nice for those cats either. So maybe, I usually have either now it's these like trolleys that are becoming like very popular.

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 just carrying it so the carriers like supported from the bottom as well. It is very helpful I think for cats as well.

Dr. Tyler Sugerman: 27:27

Nice. What about the lighting in the room? Do you have dimming lights for your 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 the patients and sometimes we are looking for little things on the skin, or stuff, but we always dim them for like ultrasounds, of course. But yes, we actually have dimming lights. And if cats get very anxious, especially when we have to sedate them. I always dim the lights and make sure everybody's very quiet in that time so the cats can just relax and chill. We also use a lot of these hiding boxes at the hospital. So I actually have, either when we have patients staying with us for a couple of hours, for example, getting an ultrasound or something like that, I either keep them in their carriers in the cages that we have at work, or I am keeping them and giving them these kind of nice houses that we have. So hiding space is very important. And I think maybe one more thing. It's very also important. Like I mentioned, reading the body language, but, cats can do this flight, freeze, or fight reactions. And I think everybody always panics and that's whatever they can for these cats that they would fight back. But actually the cats that freeze, they can be as stressed as the ones that actually are getting to this kind of fight reactions, and we shouldn't underestimate how stressed those patients are as well. So the fact that the cat just sits there and does nothing doesn't mean that they are not stressed. So really watching the body language of these, of these cats 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't want people to get discouraged to take their cats to the vet because, we've covered that in the episode, like the last one and the one before. How important it is for the, especially the senior cats to really get the preventative care they need. So just trying to, you know, and talk to your vet, really go out there look for a feline friendly or the fear free clinic and talk to them. Most of these places will be very happy to talk to people about visits as well. The cat clinics usually even block more, more time for work with cats than they do for dogs. So those are really good as well. And just don't get discouraged because it is really important, especially with our senior cats that they really go and get their blood pressures checked and that they get the annual, at least blood work and all their exams done.

Dr. Tyler Sugerman: 29:59

Yeah, and it doesn't mean just because your cat was afraid before that we can't implement all these things and maybe it will be more comfortable afterwards.

Dr. Petra Černá: 30:06

Yes, exactly. And I think also when you come back at home, sometimes and these cats go in hiding and maybe just try to give them a treat when you come home and do something nice for them or, something they really enjoy or give them their favorite meal. Just to really try to motivate them and make them appreciate the visit. It's, oh, I went to the vet, but now I'm getting my favorite food. 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 for you. Do you name your kittens before you adopt them out?

Dr. Petra Černá: 30:40

Yes. They actually, because they are all pedigree kittens, so they actually, I've just had to submit their pedigree. So they all had names. So the boys in this litter are actually called, we have Kingdom of Heaven. We have King Arthur and King's Speech. So the boys are all, because it's a letter K too, so they all have to start with the K. And then the one girl, my favorite 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 example Mandrake because when you lift her up, she screams like the Mandrake..

Dr. Tyler Sugerman: 31:23

Like the Mantrake?

Dr. Petra Černá: 31:24

Yes, exactly. So she literally screams exactly the same way. Yeah, you should have heard her this morning when I was vaccinating her, but interestingly, she like didn't scream at all when I was actually vaccinating. It was literally just when I hold her. She like wants to run. She's like smaller than all the other kittens because she never stops. She like always runs around and never 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 pedigree names, but then the new, all the people always of course, give them 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, the Killing 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 or something?

Dr. Petra Černá: 32:13

Yeah, yeah. She's very sweet. So we need to, we still need to do 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 coming on always. And just all your wisdom that you have for cats. We love it.

Dr. Petra Černá: 32:40

Thank you so much. Yeah, it's been wonderful to be here 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 your pets happy, healthy, and safe. Thanks, guys. And that wraps up another episode of Vetsplanation. We hope that you found today's discussion with Dr. Černá as enlightening as we did. Preparing our cats for vet visits and finding the right care can make a world of difference for their health and happiness. Remember a little preparation goes a long way in keeping our furry friends stress free. Thank you so much Dr. Černá for sharing your expertise and those adorable kitten stories. We can't wait to have you back on soon. And to our listeners, thank you for tuning in. Don't forget to subscribe, leave us a review, and share this episode with a fellow cat lover to help make their trip to the vet easier as well. So thank you again to Shawn Hyberg for his editing and Kelly Dwyer for all of her work on our podcast. Don't forget to keep your pets happy, healthy, and safe. Until next time, we'll see you next week.