All Things Cats with Dr. Andrew Bean
Friends and Felines,
Dr. Bean joined his former vet school classmate, BLVD Vet colleague, friend and cat connoisseur, Dr. Josie Horchak, on her podcast, "In The Vets Office with Dr. Josie Horchak."
They dig into all of your questions about cats below! Listen to the full podcast here.
Dr. Bean and Dr. Josie
Is Wet Food Really Best?
Dr. Bean prefers a mix of wet and dry - there are pros and cons for both.
Feeding wet only isn’t bad, but it’s just not his preference, unless they have special needs.
Plus, cats like their crunchies! However, they are more calorie dense, so wet food can help with weight loss.
Why do they pee outside their litter box?
One of the most common things we see! We find that it's usually stress related. This can be due to even the slightest changes in the home: having guests over, new scented candles or even moving their favorite chair a half inch to the left :) Your vet will run tests to insure it's not something medical.
What about bathing my cat?
Dr. Bean's cat is 13 and he has never bathed her. Cats usually do a great job on their own. If you have a long haired breed they may need to be professionally groomed.
Basically, if it’s not broken, don’t fix it.
Should I be worried about hairballs?
"Hate them," - Dr. Bean (and probably every cat owner ever)! Unfortunately, there is no peer review research to fix hairballs. We kind of just have to deal with them.
The goal is improvement.
What does making biscuits mean?
It warms your heart the first time a cat decides to make biscuits on you!
They have decided they love you. Kittens like to stimulate milk production in their mother, so this can be mimicking that behavior. They want to get a nice comfortable spot going.
Things I would never do as a vet
Be very mindful of scooping your cat’s litter if you are pregnant.
I would not declaw my cats. It negatively affects them long term.
I'd never skip my cat’s annual exam. This helps us catch illness in a species that is incredibly good at hiding it.
We hope you find these tips useful and that they help keep your cats happy and healthy. Reminder to check out the full podcast here.