Cats are Taken to the Vet Less than Dogs

From a story in USA Weekend, entitled The Truth About Cats

The same rationale may be used, in part, to explain why cats don’t see a veterinarian nearly as often as dogs. Vet visits for pet cats have fallen 11% since 2001, according to a new survey from the American Veterinary Medical Association, with more than a third of all cats never visiting a veterinarian in 2006 (compared with 17% of dogs who didn’t see a vet). “Veterinarians can’t treat clients we don’t see,” adds veterinarian Jane Brunt, AAFP past president.

Vets also can’t treat what they don’t know about. In a seemingly self-perpetuating cycle, far more dollars are spent on dog health issues than on cats. In 2008, the Morris Animal Foundation, a nonprofit funder of pet and wildlife health studies, is spending nearly three times as much on canine health initiatives as on cat health research. Even the scientists seem more interested in studying dogs; in 2008, there were more than 119 proposals submitted to Morris for grants to study dog health, three times more than proposals to study cats.

Does this have to do with the basic way that we view cat health as dog health issues? As cats are seen as more independent and dogs more dependent, then the majority of people feel that cats can “take care of themselves”? Perhaps the best solution to this problem would be to increase awareness about cat health issues and care, and attempt to fundraise for more research into these areas.

Image from flickr user telethon