TruthaboutPetFood.com

I would love for them include raw feeding as part of their nutrition.  I know it's asking a lot since they are sponsered by Hill's, but I would love to see it happen.

Annual exam nine years ago uncovered cancerous tumor in my cat's thyroid. Treatment saved a life.

Do you suppose annual wellness checks could include body mass index testing, foods eaten, and number of pet foods recalled by that pet food manufacturer so that pet owners could be more aware of what they're really buying? Or some medical evaluation of the pet foods chosen to promote owner awareness? I'm sure someone would have a better idea here.

One reason people are motivated to keep twice yearly dentist exams is that they're covered under Dental Plan Insurance.  It would be great if Pet Insurance Plans covered a yearly office exam as well.  Outside of complimentary coverage a yearly exam is an added expense.  So it would have to be demonstrated to an owner how much disease prevention (or proactive benefit) is the result of a yearly exam.  Which also depends on the age of the pet, pre-existing conditions, and breed suseptibilies.  A yearly exam could track these issues as a pet ages to alert an owner as early as possible for treatment.  As the article states another purpose of a yearly exam could be to provide consultation services, hopefully to prevent and monitor obesity and promote optimal, long term nutritional wellness.  And to make sure preventative treatments (fleas, parasites, etc.) are already in place before a condition gets out of hand.  An important service would be to monitor teeth care, including teaching owners how to brush using the right oral solutions.  And finally a yearly exam hopefully could help build a stronger relationship between owner and Vet, so the pet is better understood related to its health and behavior.   With a stronger relationship already in place, it might be easier to do more triage over the phone for less serious issues.  It can also help some (but not all) pets by going to the Vet routinely, where there is not always an invasive procedure.  My pet for example actually knows when the appointment is finished and looks for his cookie handed out by the office staff!

The problem with a yearly exam, if not done in conjunction with the right kind of Vet Practice, is over-selling products and services and using the opportunity to over vaccinate.   If a complimentary yearly exam could be built into every Pet Insurance Pan, then these costs (if required) could help to be offset.  And the pet would be kept on schedule for the right kinds of treatments.

My Vet includes an exam in the charge for all rabies vaccinations. Luckily, she is also open minded about holistic treatments. When I told her I didn't want to keep vaccinating beyond what I'm legally required to do, she didn't bat an eye. When I put my cancer stricken cat on holistic treatments, she took copies of what the holistic vet sent with the supplements and studied it. I have a pretty rad Vet. :)

The one thing that bothers me is that Vet's sell prescription foods that are of poor quality. I'd like to see that change.

What is the risk of microchipping?

Wellness exams are probably a good idea but for your audience it’s preaching to the choir.  Anyone who reads your emails or subscribes to your  Petsumer Reports already cares enough about their pet’s wellbeing.  The problem is  the huge number of pet owners who feed junk food and rarely, if ever, see the Vet.  Surely over vaccination is a problem, but because the general pet owning public is scared into yearly vaccinations other medical issues are often discovered.

I would like to see the use of antibiotics reduced.  So many times I have taken an animal in with a cut or an abrasion and he is given a precautionary dose of antibiotics by injection and then sent home with a bottle of capsules to take over the next week.  Golden salve for example is an effective, alternative natural topical antibiotic.  Definitely would like to see more research put into titer testing as an alternative to vaccinating unnecessarily so that there is less controversy and question about the use of titers in vet practice. 

While I think annual exams are good... most of the vets where I currently live just use it to pump products.  & I agree their exspensive food is crud.  I think they over vaccinate and advise uneeded procedures. 

I had a 10-11yr old cat die from cancer who'd always had annual exams. She died 3 months after the vet at her annaul exam said she's live to be 20. I'd been concerned about weight loss & lack of energy.... When I was given a fatal diagnosis by the reg vet 3months later I then rushed her to a cat specialist. She died 3hrs later.

The specialist did an autopsy and said that there's been cancer for over a year - possibly two or three. My little grey diva had no organs left - from the middle of her lungs down it was all black... if the vets cared about actually checking for stuff then she could possibly be alive today. 

I worry about my 13yr old angel now. She's gotten thin despite hand feeding, etc. I'm terrified she'd on her way out.  It's too soon but I know I'm lucky ot have been blessed by her as long as I have been. 

For what it's worth, I heard a TV commercial going on and on about the importance of these "Wellness Exams" this evening and it turned out to be an IAMS commercial.

PT Barnum wasn't exaggerating, was he.

I live in Ontario & I'm pretty skeptical about wellness exams. I also think the are used to push vaccinations, junk food & unnecessary procedures. You have to look really hard to find a vet who's concerned about the same things as educated pet parents. 

Vets are being taught more about how to market their services than they are about species-appropriate nutrition, animal health and welfare. Truthful vets will admit most of their education occurs after they graduate.

When I talked to my soon-to-be ex vet about feline nutrition, he referred me to his vet tech who's received extra "education", including trips, provided by Hills. Clients & customers who buy that food are paying for this.  It's really equivalent to a fast-food company setting up shop in your doctor's office. McPet Food anyone?

If vets want to save money, why don't they consolidate and share their facilities, offer extended hours so they can stay open 7 days a week?

I want vets to offer non-prescription weight loss and disease treatment plans, to sell suitable scales and food supplements. About 80% or more of diabetic cats could manage their disease without insulin if they followed Dr. Hodgkins' tight regulation feeding protocol, for example.  Cats with kidney disease can eat a high quality, high-protein non-prescription canned or homemade diet and lower their phosphorus levels with over-the-counter products.

I want my vet to be ethical and offer behaviour counselling and education, instead of surgical "quick-fixes". Our first cat was declawed because we weren't told before surgery that it meant the end of each toe would be amputated at the last knuckle! (Vets still aren't educating about this and not following vet association "Position Statements", which is very unethical.) Wellness exams might just give vets more of a chance to market unnecessary surgical procedures. They could probably make more money in the long run if they sold vinyl nail caps instead of mutilating cats' feet. Local pet supply stores here don't sell these claw covers so it would be a good way to increase clinic profits.

I think it's a great idea to get testing and blood-work done on a regular basis, especially for cats, but it doesn't help unless your vet knows how to interpret the results into a preventative treatment plan. This might not be possible unless you go to a cat vet. (Our oldest cat had testing done by two regular vets. When we finally took her to a cat vet, her untreated kidney disease resulted in multiple organ failure; she died withing a couple of weeks.)

The vet profession complains cat owners don't take cats in for regular checkups, but too many vets treat cats like small dogs & don't know enough about keeping cats healthy.

If I can find a vet who is truly concerned about the welfare of our pets, especially if he or she is willing to advocate for improved welfare of animals, I will be glad to take our pets in for yearly exams & tell other pet parents about their clinic. 

Sadly, there might only be two such vets where I live (population 400,000).