Going to the Vet

The way to the vet is an unpleasant topic for both human and animal. The most important thing is to find the "right" doctor in whom the animal owner can place his full trust and who is capable of dealing with all animals. We luckily found a kind and competent vet in our home town Wiesbaden in whom we have total confidence.

What do you have to observe when your cat has to go to the vet ? Very important is the transport in a sufficently large and lockable basket or container. It is a great strain for human and animal if you try to carry the cat in your arms the whole way, because the animal will instinctivly sense what's going on and will, of course, get nervous. The next advice is not to feed the cat before visiting the vet as most of the cats will bring up their food during the transport and besides that an empty stomach is sometimes necessary for certain examinations. You should also be sure that your cat went to the litter box before starting the "journey", if not something very unpleasant could happen on the way (we have experienced all of this). Please don't leave your cat alone during the examination, talk to it in a low and loving voice to calm it down.


In case you have several cats we recommend taking all cats together to the vet, although only one of them has to be examined or is ill. If you don't do this, it can happen that the cat(s) that stayed at home will no longer accept the cat coming from the vet. Sometimes it may happen that this cat is attacked or even ignored for a longer period only due to the strange smell it has from the vet's surgery. We already made such bad experiences and we learnt a lot from them. Things went better when all cats were touched by the vet and when he pretended to examine all of them and not only the sick cat.

If one day, it becomes necessary to give an anaesthetic to your cat due to a forthcoming operation or a difficult examination, please ensure that the cat is kept in the basket or transport container for the next hours on returning home. The best is to put it into a quiet corner of your apartment where no human or animal will disturb it until it has fully woken up. Cats that feel really bad and ill prefer to be left alone and often hide in a corner, behind the couch or under a cupboard where nobody can reach or touch them. As soon as they feel better or have recovered from their illness the cat will come out of the hiding-place to its humans and kitty friends. All healthy cats will instinctively recognize this special situation and will only "visit" the sick cat to see that "everything is in order".

Of course, all the above information is only a small part of our experience and a "real" catlover will already know most of it. But we hope that we could give some helpful hints for those who are just starting out as cat-parents. We would be grateful if you write us about your experience in this field. Do you have any special questions on this topic ? Like for example when a tomcat must be castrated or which vaccinations are obligatory for cats and which are not absolutely necessary. Please do not hesitate to ask us questions. We are of the opinion that it will be boring for you if we write too much detail about one single topic.(Comment from Andrea: I feel as if I were writing a complete novel). Upon your request we would be pleased to add one or the other topic about cats on this homepage.