Catalyst Council Addresses Cat Health Care
Thursday July 24, 2008
According to a Catalyst Council press release, although the number of pet cats in the U.S. exceeds pet dogs by 10 million, cats do not receive comparable veterinary care.
Feline health is a prominent concern in the animal health industry. The 2007 U.S. Pet Ownership & Demographics Sourcebook revealed an owned cat population of 81.7 million, almost 10 million more than domesticated dogs. In 2006, 36 percent of those 81.7 million cats did not visit a veterinarian compared to only 17 percent of dogs. Cats are twice as likely as dogs to not to see a veterinarian, leaving many undiagnosed and untreated for illness, disease, pain and discomfort.The Catalyst Council was formed as the result of the above information, along with a study published in the February 15, 2008 issue of Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, stating that cat owners do not bond with their cats the same way dog owners do, and therefore are more likely to ignore their health care needs, and to spend less time with them.
The council board of directors consists of representatives from various pet-related companies, veterinarianan group members, and Steve Dale, nationally syndicated pet columnist and radio show host. A Catalyst Council Summit was held in February of this year to address the above issues.
“At the CATalyst Summit, the entire feline industry came together and in one voice declared the current situation as unacceptable while painting a very optimistic path to making a positive difference. The CATalyst Council is simply the next step in putting these plans into action. I am very proud of the many companies, organizations and individuals who have been so proactive in their desire to make a difference, and we welcome everyone who has an interest in the outcome to join us in a broad-based initiative to raise the standard of care for all cats,” said Dan Kramer, senior marketing manager, Pfizer Animal Health, chair of the summit.For more information, see the CATalyst Council web site. Although I find the statistics troubling, I'm inclined to disagree with the premise that cat owners fall behind in bonding with their cats. What do you think?
Comments
I don’t know who they talked with to come to the conclusion cat parents don’t bond with their cats. Our cats are our babies, and we never hesitate to take them for vet care whenever it’s indicated (plus yearlies, of course), and more than one person has told us we treat them better than many people treat their kids. Whenever there’s a health issue with anyone’s cat or dog in my church choir, they are added to the choir prayer list. Last night, we and a friend went to my fiancee’s parents’ house to help care for a sick cat (after we went to the vet with them in case it was serious).
One of our friends paid more than $1500 to have a feral baby girl-cat treated for a flesh wound, then gave her and her brother to another family because she already had three cats she’d rescued and had treated for various health problems, plus there were three others she’d treated for URIs and given away (one was our Sophie).
I realize our friend is unusual (and an inspiration - we’ve taken over feeding her feral colony while she is away in the Air Force), but I’d hate to think those of us who just take good care of our own pets are an exception, too.
Wow, as a pet parent to 5 wonderful cats, I take extreme offense to the statement made regarding cat owners not bonding with their cats. Honestly, who funded that study the American Kennel Club? I think it’s pretty insulting. We cat parents adore out cats and as stated by Sue above, they are out babies.
I am often bothered by so much attention paid to issues of dogs and cats are basically ignored. I think it’s time equal time is given to our feline companions. I think a huge problem is so many myths about cats not being as loving. Anybody who makes a statement like that, doesn’t live with a cat.
Right you are, Nuria. Sophie, our little former feral baby, hissed at everyone all the time when she was rescued this spring. Now, she helps Sebastian groom and lets him groom her, follows her sisters around in hope of a play session and takes breaks from all her rambunctiousness to cuddle and purr with her daddy and me. Anyone who saw the way our cats behave toward us would know there’s a bond.
How absurd! My 4 cats are my family - my babies. They greet me when I get home at night, and I spend time talking to each one, playing with them, brushing them, feeding them, and then we have TV time together and lounging-on-the-bed time. If one of them isn’t quite up to snuff, I know immediately, and he/she sees the vet pronto! Minimally, they see their vet annually for vaccinations and a physical. And I’m still not over the death of my senior cat, Nilla, who passed unexpectedly in January of this year while being treated for hyperthyroidism. I plan to have his ashes buried with me when I pass. Whoever thinks cat owners don’t bond with their pets is totally bonkers!
I’m confused. What kind of study could be done to prove that cat owners don’t bond with their pets as much as dog owners do? How on earth could something like this be measured?
I’m very curious to see how this conclusion was determined and will go take a peek at it now.
I’d like to see the methodology.
I can understand that there are a significant percentage of cats who are standoffish, and it may be more difficult for owners to really feel bonded to them. Cats that don’t seek or actively avoid being petted, etc. I don’t know that similar behavior is found in dogs.
We take our dogs to the vet more than our cat (he’s 19 years old now!) simply because they go outside and he does not. As for bonding issues, I must confess my heart belongs to dog #1, then the cat, then dog #2 — based on their (and my) temperaments, not their species.
The whole thing seems absurd to me, too. Why would it matter what kind of pet you have? If any”body” you love needs care, wouldn’t you take him or her to get it? I’m a cat girl, and while my cats have always hated going to the vet, they went for their regular visits and whenever they needed to.
Maybe that’s why it seems cats don’t go as often…because they’re not eager to be in that environment. ?
I think Susan may have hit on a key issue with the point that indoor pets may not need to go to the vet as often as outdoor pets. My cats get annual physicals (thanks to the vet’s reminder cards - I can’t even remember when *I* am due for a physical!) and haven’t needed any other vet care since Cricket recovered from the eye infection she developed right after we first brought her home from the shelter.
But I’m the gal who rousted a vet on a Sunday to have all three cats get rabies boosters after a bat got into my home and one of them downed it. Then I drove miles and miles to a university veterinary school with a dead bat beside me in a cup of ice to get it tested. (It wasn’t rabid.) I swear I was more worried about the cats than about me.
(Did you know that a bat circling the ceiling makes a sound like a ratchet wrench?)
Interesting. We don’t have a dog, but our family’s bond with our cat is undeniable! I can’t imagine it being any stronger, no matter what type of animal he is.