Today it seems like there is a national holiday to celebrate some of the craziest things in life. I think many of us think this is fantastic because it just gives us another reason to celebrate with friends or we get an excuse to post pictures of our pets on social media without looking crazy....

So here it goes, today is National Bring Your Cat to the Vet Day! Yup. It exists.

While this may seem like a silly day to celebrate, it’s also an important one. As an owner of both a cat and a dog, I know that sometimes my kitty doesn’t always take the spotlight. Over the past year, my dog has developed a ton of health issues and we see our vet so often with him. But just this past week, I stopped in for an appointment with my cat.

When I got there, they had no idea why I had booked a “first time client” appointment when they see me every other week with my dog. But this was the first time Bella, my kitty, was getting in for her check up. (In all fairness, I moved here a year ago so I’m just hitting the year mark for her regularly scheduled annual exam.) Anyway, I'm sad to say that the vet staff didn’t even know that I had a cat. (Bella was totally fine with this though and wished she remained a secret.)

Bella was going in for her annual exam and also to see if there was anything unusual going on because I noticed she was drinking and urinating more than usual. I wanted the clinic to run tests to make sure she too was not diabetic or having any other health problems (Bailey, my dog was recently diagnosed with diabetes). Luckily her tests came back normal! Now, I could be upset that I had to pay all that money for the tests when nothing was wrong, but honestly I would’ve done it again in a heartbeat to sleep knowing that she’s healthy. I didn’t realize that the small worry about her drinking habit change was putting so much stress on me until I felt the relief of hearing she was perfectly healthy.

Taking your cat to the vet is important for a number of reasons. It gets them in front of the vet for their thorough annual exam to make sure everything is as it should be. It also helps you to develop your relationship with your vet. Hopefully you don’t ever encounter any problems or emergencies, but if you do, your vet will be familiar with your cat and her medical history and will be able to help you make better decisions regarding her care.

Probably the most important reason to take your cat for her routine check up is that cats hide their illnesses very well. Often times if a cat is sick, their signs are so subtle that by the time you’re noticing them, things may be very wrong. Routine checkups can help prevent missing these subtle signs that your cat is ill.

Check back later for a post about what subtle signs to look for that may signal that your cat may be having some issues. Until then, call your vet and schedule that annual (or biannual) exam!

(Nope, I wasn’t paid by any vets to write this blog post. I’m just looking out for your cat’s best interest!)

Have any topics you'd like to see covered in next week's blog? Post them below in the comments!

Have a Waggly Tail Day!