I don't know Jamie, I've been asked many times why it seems "my" cats are sicker than anyone else's, and I've thought along the same lines as you.
Sometimes I think what you're saying is true, but on the other hand. I think the cats that DON'T get the care 'our' guys get probably do have the same amount of cancer, kidney disease, IBD, etc... IF they live long enough to develop it. I mean we hear about these cats who didn't have the care that lived long lives. We don't hear about all the ones lost along the way to disease, dogs, hit by cars, etc... People that don't take care of their cats tend to 'usually' lose them young by some other means.
Also, I've had vets tell me before that they don't even go into treatments for many of these diseases with their typical 'rarely if ever see them' patients. The cat gets sick, MAYBE it is brought to the vet. The person is told the care and cost involved in treatment and the people have it put to sleep. So again, how many cancer cats, etc... are there in that group?
As far as felv and fiv... it seems like a lot to us, because we keep them.... Most shelters euthanize them to begin with if they know. Most owners euthanize them as soon as they find out. And most people get free kittens and never know if it has felv or fiv or not... they just know it died for some reason.
So I don't know that you can really say that our cats who are treated like royalty really have more illnesses than cats who don't get care.
Plus there's always the "God Factor" or fate, or whatever you may believe. But I really believe the sick ones are sent to me for a reason....
It's hard to know.
tonya
[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
Carla,
I know you said the vet was holistic so I had no doubt it wasn't he/she who was over vaccinating, but like you said, most of these patients came to the holistic vet as a last resort. Unfortunately, that is usually the case. So that means for most of their lives they were probably seeing regular vet w/ the old fashion vaccination schedule. So holistic vets DO deal with over vaccinated animals, even if it is not their own doing. I didn't mean to "bash" this vet, I'm just saying we need to be careful about relying too much on statitistics. For the record, I DO agree that the high rate of cancer in our pets in general, particularly cats, has a good deal to do with over vaccinating. I think it also has a lot to do with all the IBD, allergies, kidney disease, etc. that so many cats seem to develop. Without a doubt, the healthiest pets I ever had growing up were the ones earlier in! my childhood when my parents didn't make such a big deal over vet care. They did s/n, one ful!
l cycle of shots for kittens/puppies, worming, and that was it. No one went back unless they were sick or injured. Later on in life, my mom became much more astute about the need to provide regular veterinary checkups. That meant lots of shots. These are the animals that have had health problems. Now I won't put a hard statitistic on it, but I do see a coorelation! :)
Jamie
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