TigerJack Posted January 19, 2010 Share Posted January 19, 2010 My vet has a cat called speedy who wanders freely through the reception area and into and out of the consult rooms if the door is ajar. I can see that some dogs would be hard to control in this situation so it might annoy some. He often is asleep in the consult room sink. Most of my dogs are tiny and don't know what a cat is, they might yap at him but have never tried to get him, he probably outweighs most of them 2 to one anyway. Of my bigger dogs the two sighthound crosses would love to get hold of him but they don't go nuts, just whine a bit and look at me pleading for me to let them have him. My kelpie is weird. She freezes completely immobile at the sight of him and its almost like she's pointing. You can wave your hand in front of her face and she doesn't blink or register that you are there. Eventually she starts to drool as she forgets to swallow. We actually use speedy if we need her to keep still for something. Bring in the cat and pop him in front of her and she freezes and stares at him and then you can stitch away with no problems. Very handy really. She is like that with my nephews bunny and pet mouse too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WoofnHoof Posted January 19, 2010 Share Posted January 19, 2010 Thankfully no cats at the vets I go to, my sibe goes straight into prey drive when he spots one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rubiton Posted January 19, 2010 Share Posted January 19, 2010 WOuld have thought it would be unsanitory to have a cat freely wander around. But then if we ever went anywhere that had a free roaming cat no one would be able to hear anything for about a week (forget the lunging - if you cant chase a cat may as well bark as loudly as possible at it). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stormie Posted January 19, 2010 Share Posted January 19, 2010 Would drive me mental having a resident cat to clean up after all the time! Waiting rooms get enough hair as it is just from patients, let alone from a cat walking around. I don't think it's the greatest idea for the cat or the patients either - owners would be coming in with their sick cats, patting the resident cat etc. Nope, no resident cat for us! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ruthless Posted January 19, 2010 Author Share Posted January 19, 2010 I don't have a cat myself and it gives me the albeit rare opportunity to let my dog get used to the idea of cats being around and him not having anything to do with it. I try to get him to ignore them, but once he sees them it's all over. Even with food I can't distract him. Yesterday I had him in a drop between two block seats so he couldn't see but he kept screaming and straining. My vet had a cage with 5 or 6 kittens in it (I assume for rehoming) out in the waiting room last week. That happened at another vets I went to. I didn't see it. It was beside the weighing scales. Ivan had a right lunge at them. Couldn't you just take your dog in the crate? He's 19kgs! I can barely lift him on his own let alone inside a crate up a set of stairs! My vet has a cat called speedy who wanders freely through the reception area and into and out of the consult rooms if the door is ajar. Your vets is one of my vets too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aramiss Posted January 19, 2010 Share Posted January 19, 2010 My vet has two cats, I thought it was pretty rare . My dogs don't have a problem with it, they get a little excited to see a new cat (we have one too), but other then a little gruff or whine, they are fine and settle down quickly. These cats tend to be pretty good though, they meander around but give the dogs room, and since our vet has rules that ask that all visiting cats be crated, and all dogs be on leads, it stays pretty calm. I can imagine for real cat haters it is stressful, and for their owners too , but I have never noticed it to be a problem. I guess for the dogs it is someplace neutral, it already smells of heaps of other animals, and we are present to keep them company, and settle them down so they are calmer then a strange cat usually makes them I actually kind of like it, I think it shows that the vet is kind enough to take care of some strays. As it was our cat came from our vet, he was re-homing Chade's litter because they had been dumped on the doorstep over night ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erny Posted January 19, 2010 Share Posted January 19, 2010 (edited) I try to get him to ignore them, but once he sees them it's all over. Even with food I can't distract him. Yesterday I had him in a drop between two block seats so he couldn't see but he kept screaming and straining. Yes - I know it's different from one dog to another. And can imagine how a cat reactive dog can make it awkward. What I think I hate worse, are the shiny floors. Pair a shiny floor with a dog flailing to get to something and it's an invite to injury. Hate seeing dogs ending up doing the splits because of this. I know the Vet clinics need the slippery floors so they can clean properly. Edited January 19, 2010 by Erny Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdierikx Posted January 19, 2010 Share Posted January 19, 2010 My preferred local vet doesn't have any cats wandering around - plenty of silly people coming in without them in a crate though... My girls are OK with other animals at the vets - but I'm allergic to cats, and it narks me when they are roaming around and dropping hair all over the place. I've been known to break out in hives from some cat hair... grr! T. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kissindra Posted January 19, 2010 Share Posted January 19, 2010 (edited) ours has 2 cats and a wolfhound cross, cats have a cat run, waiting room has a section you can close off too - I think it's lovely but then Boo doesn't react to them in the slightest - far too busy wiggling with excitement and joyously greeting the staff I'm more worried about other furry patients who may be snappy due to being out of sorts or scared. Edited January 19, 2010 by Kissindra Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teebs Posted January 19, 2010 Share Posted January 19, 2010 One of the vets here had a cat - not sure if they still do but at the kennels i worked at they had 4 office cats! OMG, they were inside cats, so we spent a lot of time trying to catch them after someone had let them out, they also had no fear and one would attack dogs, the amount of times they had almost gotten bitten was amazing! Or you would be on the computer doing paperwork, and they would knock everything down and make a huge mess - I love cats, but i can not stand them in a work place When i worked i would lock them out the back, but no one would keep them out there and they would end up in the office again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mirawee Posted January 19, 2010 Share Posted January 19, 2010 My vet has a cat and I have to admit I have never even thought about it since I haven't ever had one of my dogs react to her- but then I have only ever seen her up on the counter too high for the dogs to get or outside. They don't react to the cats that come in for appointments either. So if you have a really cat unfriendly dog what do you do about the cat patients that come in? They are generally closer to your dog than a resident cat even if they are in crates? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wagsalot Posted January 19, 2010 Share Posted January 19, 2010 (edited) So if you have a really cat unfriendly dog what do you do about the cat patients that come in? They are generally closer to your dog than a resident cat even if they are in crates? The "patient" cats should be in cages or secured some how. Theres a big difference between that and one roaming freely. A old vet we went to had a cat wandering reception. Riley gets on well with cats but it was still a pain in the butt as the cat would just torment all the dogs. It used to walk back and forwards just out of reach. Riley would be stressed because he couldn't play with it. I used to hate it. Edited for horrid spelling! Edited January 19, 2010 by wagsalot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MolassesLass Posted January 19, 2010 Share Posted January 19, 2010 So if you have a really cat unfriendly dog what do you do about the cat patients that come in? They are generally closer to your dog than a resident cat even if they are in crates? Sit at the far end and dream of a dog-only vet. As said though, a cat wandering freely is very different to cats in cages (most people at my vets cover the cage too, much less stressful for the cat and any dogs). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ruthless Posted January 19, 2010 Author Share Posted January 19, 2010 ^^^ What ML said Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teebs Posted January 19, 2010 Share Posted January 19, 2010 So if you have a really cat unfriendly dog what do you do about the cat patients that come in? They are generally closer to your dog than a resident cat even if they are in crates? It is no different to having a dog aggressive dog and having to sit in the same room as another dog. I either wait outside, or sit in the corner, as far away from other dogs, i spin her around so she is sitting, facing me, and wont allow her to turn her head around. Kaos LOVES cats, it is just dogs she hates Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greytmate Posted January 19, 2010 Share Posted January 19, 2010 Most cats know when an animal is in prey drive towards them. The ones that tend to survive long-term in vet clinics are much better judges than we are of what the dog is thinking and how to avoid heightening its drive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mirawee Posted January 19, 2010 Share Posted January 19, 2010 Maybe my vet's cat is just very well behaved As I said, she is less of an issue for any dogs than patient cats as they are a lot closer to the dog. Or maybe I am just lucky coz my dogs only care about cats if the cat is running I have to admit my dogs are kept as far away from other dogs as possible in the waiting room and they are friendly. But since I have no idea what the other dog is in for I don't want them getting up close and personal! My pet hate is people letting their dogs come up and say hello in the waiting room - particularly since they generally don't ask first! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teebs Posted January 19, 2010 Share Posted January 19, 2010 Most cats know when an animal is in prey drive towards them. The ones that tend to survive long-term in vet clinics are much better judges than we are of what the dog is thinking and how to avoid heightening its drive. My cat Bella would fail she is sooo dog friendly it is amazing! She has scared Shoeys dog Molly (by sniffing her paws.. Molly is a bit special) and she also didnt really worry about undecideds 4 month old bull terrier when he wanted to play with her I think she would last half a day before being eaten if she was around heaps of dogs like at the vets! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MolassesLass Posted January 19, 2010 Share Posted January 19, 2010 (edited) Agree mirawee, same reason I hate people sitting near me in doctors waiting rooms. Edited January 19, 2010 by molasseslass Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amika Posted January 19, 2010 Share Posted January 19, 2010 Our vet has several cats and I don't mind at all, my dogs don't have a cat at home to socialise with so I like it so that they learn to understand that they aren't for chasing. It's just another training session really and they soon learn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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