See the sweet little grey cat in the red bow tie pictured above? What you don’t see, however, is the wall-climbing, hissing and incredibly fearful cat that absolutely hates vet visits! Sound familiar?
One of our clinic members Kierrin adopted a 3.5 year female stray cat called Flea (no guesses where she got that name). Flea is a sweetheart, but she is highly anxious. Anytime she needed to come into the clinic for vaccinations or health checks, she would become a different cat. The staff would be unable to restrain her without being scratched, and she was having a terrible time.
We see a lot of anxious animals in the clinic. As much as we take precautions to minimise stress and pain, the clinic can be a daunting place for an animal. Bright lights, the sound of other animals, and a new environment without their owner all add up. At Pet Doctors St
Luke’s we prioritise fear free handling using aids like towel restraint, and we try to minimise noise and separate species as much as possible. However, sometimes that’s not enough. If an animal has a fearful experience, then each time it comes into the clinic, its fear response will often be quicker and more intense, as each experience stacks up on the previous one!
The zen protocol is something we introduced for anxious pets. Almost half of our patients are either on it or would benefit hugely from it. It involves giving a gentle sedative the night before and the morning of a vet visit, usually in some food so your pet doesn’t even notice. The right dose means they normally won’t have any side effects other than being a lot calmer. This makes it a much better experience for them, doesn’t exacerbate existing anxieties, and means we can more accurately and easily obtain diagnostics like bloodwork from them, so your pet gets treated quicker.
Flea loves the zen protocol. When she comes in for visits now, she always gets her calming medicine beforehand, and then we take things slow with her, and try to keep the lights low if we can. She’s able to be handled gently for blood draws and vaccinations and doesn’t leave the clinic with PTSD.
If your vet suggests the zen protocol, it’s something worth considering, for a better experience for everyone, even you!
