When just the word “bath” can set off your dog, you know something is wrong. Mikkel Becker, CBCC-KA, KPA CTP, CDBC, CPDT-KA, CTC and Debbie Martin RVT, CPDT-KA, KPA CTP, VTS (Behavior) show you how you can make bath time a rewarding and Fear Free experience for your pet.
Mikkel Becker, CBCC-KA, KPA CTP, CDBC, CPDT-KA, CTC and Debbie Martin RVT, CPDT-KA, KPA CTP, VTS (Behavior) explain how Fear Free principles can be used to create a comfortable and safe nail trim experience for you and your pet.
Just the idea of medicating your pet can send both of you running for the hills. Mikkel Becker, CBCC-KA, KPA CTP, CDBC, CPDT-KA, CTC and Debbie Martin RVT, CPDT-KA, KPA CTP, VTS (Behavior) explain how you can make this stressful task rewarding and Fear Free for both you and your pet.
Creating a Fear Free Treat-Ment station can help you and your pet make needed procedures such as nail trims, injections, and grooming easier. Mikkel Becker, CBCC-KA, KPA CTP, CDBC, CPDT-KA, CTC, and Debbie Martin RVT, CPDT-KA, KPA CTP, VTS (Behavior), will show you how to put the “treat” in treatment!
You must be a Fear Free member to access this content.
Lisa Radosta, DVM, DACVB, shows how to examine a feline patient who is exhibiting mild to moderate FAS in a safe and controlled manner.
Debbie Martin, RVT, CPDT-KA, KPA CTP, VTS (Behavior), demonstrates how you can help coach your clients to get their dogs on the scale easily and without stress.
[wcm_restrict plans=”level-1-group-leader, certified-practice, groomer-certification, animal-trainer, student, sitter-certification-program, boarding-daycare-certification-program”]
Kristin Kirkby Shaw, DVM, MS, PhD, DACVS-SA, shows you how to perform a one-minute orthopedic exam on a dog utilizing Fear Free principles. For a more detailed exam, you can view an extended video here.
[/wcm_restrict]
[wcm_nonmember plans=”level-1-group-leader, certified-practice, groomer-certification, animal-trainer, student, sitter-certification-program, boarding-daycare-certification-program”]
[/wcm_nonmember]
Apprehension about transmission and preconceptions about how they can affect a cat’s quality of life or adoption potential often leads to routine euthanasia for shelter cats who test positive for either disease. And some veterinarians may recommend against adopting a cat with FeLV or FIV particularly if clients have other cats in the household.
Life-saving protocols and good guidelines for adopters make those concerns outmoded, however. Cats with FeLV or FIV can live normal lives without being a hazard to other cats. With preventive healthcare strategies and prompt identification and treatment of illness, both diseases can be managed effectively and their spread limited. Moreover, the Association of Shelter Veterinarians and the American Association of Feline Practitioners do not support euthanasia based solely on a cat’s infection status.
Approximately three to four percent of cats in the United States test positive each year for feline leukemia virus, according to the 2020 AAFP Feline Retrovirus Testing and Management Guidelines. The diagnosis affects an estimated 60,000 cats in animal shelters annually.
It’s important to know that the disease, which suppresses a cat’s immune system, does not run a straight course, says Julie Levy, DVM, PhD, DACVIM, DABVP (Shelter Medicine). It affects different cats in different ways and at different times. Levels may change over time depending on a cat’s immune status. Some cats live with the disease with little problem. It may flare up if the cat is stressed or has a comorbidity such as an upper respiratory infection and then subside. It’s not possible to run a test once and then expect the cat to remain the same throughout life.
More important, people are willing to adopt cats with FeLV and give them the care they need.
There is a high national demand for a lifesaving option for cats diagnosed with FeLV, and more and more shelters are working to place FeLV-positive cats in homes. Programs include Chicago’s Tree House Humane Society, Philadelphia Animal Welfare Society, Operation Kindness in Carrollton, Texas, and Austin Pets Alive!
A cat with FeLV can live for many years without illness and without spreading the disease to other cats if they are adopted into single-cat homes or with other FeLV+ cats. This has made a difference for cats in several ways. One is that recommended options for testing have been pared down to a small menu of the most accurate and cost-effective tests. A long-running study has allowed researchers to determine the most reliable tests as well as to evaluate how the status of cats with the disease changes over time. Using a new quantitative PCR test, shelters can now identify whether a tested cat is likely to be a long-term survivor or develop disease and mortality early.
The advisory panel of the AAFP recommends that kittens be vaccinated for FeLV starting as early as 8 weeks of age with two vaccines given three to four weeks apart and then boosted when they are a year old. Vaccination of cats for FeLV during kittenhood, followed by a single booster vaccination at one year of age, is the best way to prevent spread of the disease and reduce its incidence.
While it does not consider FeLV a core vaccine for adult cats, the AAFP recommends that adult cats should be vaccinated annually for FeLV if they are at risk. Risk factors include spending time outdoors, living with cats known to be infected with FeLV, or interacting with cats of unknown disease status.
Ask clients or adopters about the lifestyle and vaccination status of other cats in the home. While vaccination doesn’t help cats already infected with FeLV, it is important for uninfected cats who may have access to the outdoors or potential contact with infected cats. It’s not uncommon for indoor cats to accidentally get out of the house or to experience a change in lifestyle leading to time spent outdoors on a regular or full-time basis.
Elanco’s range of vaccines against FeLV are designed to give feline patients a more comfortable vaccine experience. The ½ mL vaccine—containing half the volume of traditional 1 mL vaccines decreases administration time, increasing the comfort of the vaccination. It is also highly purified, using PureFil technology, designed to reduce adverse reactions associated with extraneous proteins and cellular debris. The vaccine line is available in a variety of combinations, including the only 1/2mL FVRCP+FeLV vaccine, to reduce the number of injections that may be needed.
Along with FeLV, feline immunodeficiency virus is one of the most common causes of infectious disease in cats worldwide. Cats typically acquire FIV through bite wounds when they fight with FIV-infected cats. A cat’s FIV status should be determined at the time of adoption or if the cat later becomes ill or has any risk of exposure.
But an FIV-positive test does not make a cat unadoptable. While the possibility of transmission is there, exposure to an infected cat is not as risky to uninfected cats as previously thought. FIV-positive cats living amicably with disease-free cats do not appear to pass on the disease. Nor do FIV-positive queens pass on the disease to their kittens. Casual contact, such as allogrooming or sharing water bowls, has not been found to be a common or efficient route of transmission. And while FIV is contagious among cats, it’s not transmissible to humans.
FIV infection can have three phases: acute, asymptomatic, and progressive. In the acute phase, occurring one to three months after infection, cats may have mild signs or no signs. It is followed by an asymptomatic, or latent, phase, which can continue for months or years. They may or may not progress to symptomatic disease.
With good care, some infected cats can live for many years with good quality of life. Some cats show no signs at all, although they remain infectious. However, because FIV affects the immune system, cats with the disease can be more prone to respiratory, dental, eye, or skin infections. Other signs associated with FIV include fever, lethargy, chronic diarrhea, and weight loss.
Clients or adopters caring for cats with FIV should protect them from injuries or wounds that could lead to secondary bacterial infections, as well as from other viruses and parasites that could cause illness. Best management practice is for these cats to live indoors, where they are protected from exposure to potential injuries and infections and prevented from spreading the disease to other cats.
A vaccination for FIV is not commercially available in the U. S., nor is it recommended by any veterinary organizations or schools of veterinary medicine. Its use can complicate diagnosis of FIV infections. Vaccinated cats produce antibodies indistinguishable from antibodies induced by natural infection, making test results unclear if a cat’s vaccination history is unknown. Cats vaccinated for FIV should have a microchip or tag indicating their vaccination status.
The bottom line is that cats with FeLV or FIV are often young, healthy in the moment, enjoying life, and can make great companions. With good care protocols, they can live happy lives with people and other cats.
Click-thru URLS
Fear Free https://fearfreepets.com/
Blog https://fearfreepets.com/blog/
Elanco Animal Health https://www.elanco.us/
American Association of Feline Practitioners 2020 AAFP Feline Retrovirus Testing and Management Guidelines (sagepub.com)
This post is brought to you by our sponsor, Elanco, the maker of TruFel Ultra Vaccines.
TruFel, Ultra, Purefil, Elanco, and the diagonal bar logo are trademarks of Elanco or its affiliates.
©2022 Elanco or its affiliates. PM-US-22-1068
I have been doing nail trims and anal sac expressions in my neighborhood for the last three years. Recently, one of my neighbors had asked on our community Facebook page if someone in the veterinary field could answer a question. Her dog was limping, and she didn’t know what to do. One of the neighbors offered her some doggy aspirin she had bought at the pet store. I quickly advised against giving unprescribed medications to her pet.
The conversation turned into a bullying session. One of my neighbors told me I shouldn’t try to act like a veterinarian. I have never felt so disrespected in the 15 years I have been in this career.
I shut down.
The next thing I knew, I was in my closet, crying, repeating to myself, “I don’t care, I don’t care anymore. Why should I care about others’ pets if I am going to be treated like crap? I’m done.”
I may have been improving with burnout, but I had just hit a whole new level of compassion fatigue.
I had a full weekend’s worth of nail trims to do and was going to make a little more than $200 in five hours. I didn’t care about the extra money anymore and canceled all appointments for the foreseeable future.
In tears, I explained to my husband why I had given up making extra money on the side. It was clear he wanted to help but didn’t know what to say or do. I knew I needed professional help.
Now I’m in the process of finding a therapist I can connect with. Until then, my family and I have adopted the following tools to help reduce stress:
–Simple Habit, a meditation app. My son uses it to fall asleep and settle down. He will ask to meditate to go to sleep now.
–A “coming home” routine: The spouse who is home first allows the second spouse to “finish coming home.” This gives them some quiet transition time to put their bags down, change clothes, and relax. When they’re ready to engage with the other spouse to prepare for the evening, they come out of the bedroom or wherever they choose to decompress.
–Boundaries with kids: I explain to my son that I need time to talk with his dad and ask him to sit quietly and watch a short show or play ABCmouse, a reading app. I also set timers in the house called, “Time to get ready for bed,” “Time for bed,” and “Quiet time is over.”
–Communication: When I start to feel like I’m getting anxious, I communicate how I am feeling and what I need to be able to come back down to earth.
Most of all, we continue to remind each other to slow down, be present, engage, and take time to listen to one another. My husband and I are working to improve our communication with our 3-year-old son so we can help him become an emotionally intelligent person, something his dad and I still work on ourselves.
We make time to have difficult conversations, and when we get into arguments, we try to make it a conversation, being mindful of raised voices, body language, and facial expressions. When necessary, we call each other out in a respectful way, in the moment, to help the other become aware of what they are doing.
The Fear Free way of thinking has helped me in so many aspects of my life. I use the techniques with my own son when he has doctor appointments as well as in everyday life. I communicate with him, making sure he knows what is coming up next, where we are going, what the doctor will do next. He is better behaved and calmer when things are explained to him, in most settings. I think that most children would respond to situations in a calmer manner when a Fear Free or Considerate Approach is taken.
In a work setting, my current team is emotionally intelligent, and all know the battle that I am fighting, which helps. Openly discussing things with your team can not only help you to become stronger but also to be seen with more respect and empathy than if you suffer in silence to spare everyone else’s feelings. Maybe someone on your team is suffering as well and doesn’t have the courage to speak up. Sharing your battles may give them strength to seek help for theirs. I wish more practice managers and owners would spend a day, at least, in a Fear Free certified hospital.
The most important message I want to send is that the battle of burnout is ongoing, and it’s not one you can win on your own. It doesn’t fix itself overnight or with a couple of therapy sessions.
Here is a quote I read frequently from Rachel Ashwell’s book “Painted Stories”:
“There is a time for taking action and creating work, and there is also a time for rest and seeking new ideas. Learning when you need space will help you to build a more sustainable creative practice.”
Check out our Fear Free on the House page for resources on wellness, quick tips, and more!
This article was reviewed/edited by board-certified veterinary behaviorist Dr. Kenneth Martin and/or veterinary technician specialist in behavior Debbie Martin, LVT.