Bizarre things the vet said

I was at a new-to-me vet yesterday. My regular vet was full and would
only take my cat if I would drop him off so they could look at him
between other patients and even then they were going to charge me for
an unscheduled office visit. I was peeved and went elsewhere. I liked
the new vet, an older guy, who, despite the fact that he was the only
vet at his office that day and there was not only a screeching ill
monkey (who has a life-threatening disease state) but a dog who had
just been hit by a car (he was expected to fully recover, nothing
broken, but his lungs were bruised) whose owners were very upset and
semi-hysterical, spent quite a bit of time with Marbles and me.

Anyway, he almost seemed like one of those old country vets even though
he's in a very urban area, almost downtown Phoenix. I was mentioning
that Marbles and my other 2 pre-existing cats do not get along even
after 7 months and he said things like this:

"Cats do not get along with other cats. They hate other cats. We all
keep thinking we'll get a companion for our cat and they'd really
rather be alone. Kittens like other kittens but cats don't like other
cats when they grow up. If you bottle feed a baby kitten it will
imprint on you and think you're its mom but as it gets older it will
think of you as another adult cat and will hate you, too."

"You can't have more than 3 cats who get along. If you look at people
who have 10 or 20 cats, you will see that the cats stay in groups of
not more than 3 and will either fight with the others or will avoid
them."

He also said he had 2 cats and recently brought in a third cat and said
that life had been wonderful before. The 2 cats had liked each other
but now that the 3rd is there, everything has changed for the worse.
He did say that he thought, at some undefined point, that life at my
house (and his) would not be so awful. They may never like each other
but they will sort it out to where there is not open hostility. He
said the very best thing in a situation like this would be to give the
3rd cat its own room forever, fill it with lots of toys, and never let
it see or be with the others. He said a cat can live perfectly happy
by itself in one little room with enough stimulation. I hope it
doesn't come to that but I suppose it's an option of sorts.

I was surpised by the cats hating other cats thing, though, and the
implied concept that when we get companions for our cats, we are doing
it for ourselves and not in the cats' best interest. I have had 4 cats
at one time before (Emily, Cory, Miles, and Scottie/then Cory, Miles,
Scottie, and Abbey) and there was never overt fighting...although, in
retrospect, Emily never cared much for the others and Miles was always
fairly aloof, not forming any feline allegiances. There was some
hissing and growling at times and a swat now and then but nothing that
required separation. Even when we were down to 3 with Cory, Scottie,
and Abbey, Cory didn't mind Scottie and Abbey but he never really
bonded with them. And now, with Scottie, Abbey, and Marbles, I have
open hostility.

What do you think, could this guy be right about cats hating other
cats?

Candace

See my cats:
http://photos.yahoo.com/maccandace

"One does not meet oneself until one catches the reflection from an eye
other
than human." (Loren Eisely)

"Candace" wrote in message
ups.com...
"You can't have more than 3 cats who get along. If you look at people
who have 10 or 20 cats, you will see that the cats stay in groups of
not more than 3 and will either fight with the others or will avoid
them."
snip
What do you think, could this guy be right about cats hating other
cats?

I think a lot of it has to do with how the cat was raised. My cat Dash(RB)
was an only cat for quite some time. She came to us as a 4 week old stray,
and never saw another cat until she was about 4 years old, when my brother
decided he wanted a kitten. Dash barely tolerated Worf, but he gave her
sh*t right back, so it kind of worked out. When I moved out and took Dash
with me, she was again an only for several years, until my husband wanted a
cat of his own, and we got the two kittens. She also just tolerated them.
The two kittens, now 5 years old, both like other cats, although Bartleby
can be bossy. Loki loves everyone. Antonio, who is semi-feral, loves the
company of other cats.
Sometimes almost all my cats (6 + one foster) will be in one area, like when
they are looking out the sliding glass door. Usually they do kind of hang
in groups of two or three.

--
-Kelly
kelly at farringtons dot net
"Wake up, and smell the cat food" -TMBG

On Sun 06 Feb 2005 04:54:11p, Candace wrote in
rec.pets.cats.health+behav (news:1107726851.534312.24480
@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com):


What do you think, could this guy be right about cats hating other
cats?


I think it is ridiculous. In some cases, yes, cats want to be "an
only cat" but I think its the exception and not the rule. But to put
that out as a blanket statement is just wrong!

For many years I had Marley as an only cat. I never wanted to take in
another because his reaction to just seeing another cat outside was
hostile. I took in Shadow because he'd been put out by my neighbor
and while they were never the best of friends, they had their
moments. There was no real fighting, thank goodness.

--
Cheryl

Candace wrote:

I was at a new-to-me vet yesterday. My regular vet was full and would
only take my cat if I would drop him off so they could look at him
between other patients and even then they were going to charge me for
an unscheduled office visit. I was peeved and went elsewhere. I liked
the new vet, an older guy, who, despite the fact that he was the only
vet at his office that day and there was not only a screeching ill
monkey (who has a life-threatening disease state) but a dog who had
just been hit by a car (he was expected to fully recover, nothing
broken, but his lungs were bruised) whose owners were very upset and
semi-hysterical, spent quite a bit of time with Marbles and me.

Anyway, he almost seemed like one of those old country vets even though
he's in a very urban area, almost downtown Phoenix. I was mentioning
that Marbles and my other 2 pre-existing cats do not get along even
after 7 months and he said things like this:

"Cats do not get along with other cats. They hate other cats. We all
keep thinking we'll get a companion for our cat and they'd really
rather be alone. Kittens like other kittens but cats don't like other
cats when they grow up. If you bottle feed a baby kitten it will
imprint on you and think you're its mom but as it gets older it will
think of you as another adult cat and will hate you, too."

"You can't have more than 3 cats who get along. If you look at people
who have 10 or 20 cats, you will see that the cats stay in groups of
not more than 3 and will either fight with the others or will avoid
them."

He also said he had 2 cats and recently brought in a third cat and said
that life had been wonderful before. The 2 cats had liked each other
but now that the 3rd is there, everything has changed for the worse.
He did say that he thought, at some undefined point, that life at my
house (and his) would not be so awful. They may never like each other
but they will sort it out to where there is not open hostility. He
said the very best thing in a situation like this would be to give the
3rd cat its own room forever, fill it with lots of toys, and never let
it see or be with the others. He said a cat can live perfectly happy
by itself in one little room with enough stimulation. I hope it
doesn't come to that but I suppose it's an option of sorts.

I was surpised by the cats hating other cats thing, though, and the
implied concept that when we get companions for our cats, we are doing
it for ourselves and not in the cats' best interest. I have had 4 cats
at one time before (Emily, Cory, Miles, and Scottie/then Cory, Miles,
Scottie, and Abbey) and there was never overt fighting...although, in
retrospect, Emily never cared much for the others and Miles was always
fairly aloof, not forming any feline allegiances. There was some
hissing and growling at times and a swat now and then but nothing that
required separation. Even when we were down to 3 with Cory, Scottie,
and Abbey, Cory didn't mind Scottie and Abbey but he never really
bonded with them. And now, with Scottie, Abbey, and Marbles, I have
open hostility.

What do you think, could this guy be right about cats hating other
cats?

Candace

See my cats:
http://photos.yahoo.com/maccandace

"One does not meet oneself until one catches the reflection from an eye
other
than human." (Loren Eisely)


I'd start watching for other signs of quackery from this vet.

"Candace" wrote in message
ups.com...
I was at a new-to-me vet yesterday. My regular vet was full and would
only take my cat if I would drop him off so they could look at him
between other patients and even then they were going to charge me for
an unscheduled office visit. I was peeved and went elsewhere.

snipped
This is normal practice at every vet clinic (unless you're an "insider" or
have been in lately for regular treatments on the same pet), and you don't
really have reason to be peeved. If an owner wants to see their regular vet
that badly, at least they are giving you the option of having your pet
looked at by it's regular vet. Of course they are still going to charge you
an "office visit". It's actually more appropriately called an
Examination/Consultation. The vet is still taking time to examine your cat,
and will certainly meet with you upon discharge. You are still required to
pay the vet for the time he/she takes to examine your cat. Nothing irks me
more than people who don't recognize the doctors time as valuabe.


What do you think, could this guy be right about cats hating other
cats?

He sounds a little kooky to me. I would be inclined to disagree. My three
cats love playing together. It's the same routine everyday. They chase
each other at 6am from one end of the house to the other, galloping up and
down the hardwood floor hallway.

Kelly

I'd start watching for other signs of quackery from this vet.

LOL, yeah, he was nice and very accommodating to see us but I'll
probably go back to my regular vet even though I'm ****ed at him. He
had a bit of the country "bumpkin" to him.

Candace

See my cats:
http://photos.yahoo.com/maccandace

"One does not meet oneself until one catches the reflection -from an
eye other=20
than human." =A0(Loren Eisely)

This vet is an idiot and if this his idea of cat behavior I'm afraid to
find out how he practices medicine. I would never go back.

Megan



"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do
nothing."

-Edmund Burke

Learn The TRUTH About Declawing
http://www.stopdeclaw.com

Zuzu's Cats Photo Album:
http://www.PictureTrail.com/zuzu22

"Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one
elementary truth the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and
splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then
providence moves too. A whole stream of events issues from the decision,
raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents, meetings and
material assistance, which no man could have dreamt would have come his
way."

- W.H. Murray

"Candace" wrote in message
ups.com...

What do you think, could this guy be right about cats hating other
cats?

Candace


Umm.. the fact that there are so many people with many cats who get along
fabulously together proves him wrong. But remember, cats, like humans, are
all different. some cats dont like other cats, just like some humans dont
like other humans, its silly to say all cats dont.

In article . com,
"Candace" wrote:

What do you think, could this guy be right about cats hating other
cats?

Uh, no. If they did, then the two feral sisters wouldn't have stayed
together, and the LH feral sister wouldn't have adopted a young tiger
boy cat, and the three of them wouldn't have formed a close family
group. All three are tolerant of the singleton ferals who come by and
of the outdoor pet cats who hang out or just drop in for a snack. There
is no, zero, zilch fighting out there. No hissing, no nothing. Inside
there's a little jockeying for social position and intergenerational
stuff going on, but I actually saw Benjie lick Sebbie's ear the other
day.

Nope. He's either caught up in worry about his own home tribe or he
doesn't know beans about cats or maybe -- did you smell his breath?

Priscilla

--
"It is very, very dangerous to treat any human, lowest
of the low even, with contempt and arrogant whatever.
The Lord takes this kind of treatment very, very personal."
- QBaal in newsgroup alt.religion.christian.episcopal

"Kelly" wrote in message
...
This is normal practice at every vet clinic (unless you're an "insider" or
have been in lately for regular treatments on the same pet), and you don't
really have reason to be peeved. If an owner wants to see their regular
vet that badly, at least they are giving you the option of having your pet
looked at by it's regular vet. Of course they are still going to charge
you an "office visit". It's actually more appropriately called an
Examination/Consultation. The vet is still taking time to examine your
cat, and will certainly meet with you upon discharge. You are still
required to pay the vet for the time he/she takes to examine your cat.
Nothing irks me more than people who don't recognize the doctors time as
valuabe.

I think what Candace was saying is that she was going to be charged an extra
fee for an "unscheduled" office visit. I don't think she was complaining
about being charged for a visit.

--
-Kelly
kelly at farringtons dot net
"Wake up, and smell the cat food" -TMBG