YOUR CAT WILL BITE YOU AT THE VET.
If you have a cat that is “spicy” at the vet give the staff space to work. This is our job, this is what we’re trained to do, this is what we do everyday multiple times a day.
The best way that you can help when your cat is snarling and snapping is to, unless otherwise and explicitly instructed, stand as far back as you can with your mouth shut and keep your hands to yourself.
Most of the time when a cat is fractious is because they’re scared, how they act in their own home has no bearing on how they act outside of their comfort zone. It doesn’t matter if he’s a lovebug at home who wants nothing more than to snooze on your lap and be combed, if he’s hissing and spitting and scratching in the office anything within range is fair game - that includes you!
Tangles was a grumpy gus and the first time I handled him Doc told me “I know you think he won’t bite you, but-“ and I answered “I have no doubts that he will bite me,” and wore the appropriate protective gear.
Today I was trying to get a fractious cat out of the carrier (please for the love of G-d if your cat is bad at the vet use a hard carrier) while his owner insisted on getting in the way and trying to handle him.
I had to swat her hand away as he took those pretty, healthy teeth and snapped at her barely missed thanks to my intervention. Then she tried to put her hand in their again, and I had to slam my (gloved) arm down to physically block her from sticking her fingers in actively snapping jaws.
My boss was finally able to get her away from the cat and let me handle him, while she snidely remarked that she could do it better. As he continued to be fractious - but handleable, with proper training and donning appropriate protective gear - she would yell at him to behave and we had to tell her to knock that off as well.
KEEP YOUR HANDS TO YOURSELF. KEEP YOUR COMMENTS TO YOURSELF. PLEASE LET US DO OUR JOB.
Cat bites are serious, they can easily land you in the hospital. Infection, tooth fragments left behind, soft tissue damage, fractures.
I had a Maine Coon puncture the meat of my thumb with a powerful bite through the kevlar lined gloves I was wearing and I went on antibiotics. It had already swollen up nicely before I took my first dose.
Could you imagine what that would have done to the owners bare hand, if he’d insisted getting in the way?
IT IS A LIABILITY FOR US IF YOU GET BIT. Trust me, it’s tempting to let some people get chomped on to prove a point - but unfortunately if their stupidity results in an injury it’s our problem.
If you don’t think you can refrain from throwing yourself into the fray to “help” or calling out reprimands from the sidelines than please wait outside the room.
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