Don’t Be Afraid To Question Your Vet

​I want to advise you on something that may be uncomfortable: question your vet! Part of the reason I decided to start Whole Hearts and Paws, is because as a pet sitter, I’ve been encountering a lot of pets (mainly dogs and cats) who are on “special diets” and/or medications that are not ideal for the long term. As a company, we’ve been seeing middle aged and senior pets rapidly decline in health despite being seen regularly by their vet.

This got me thinking and investigating some things. Then our own cat developed some concerning problems with vomiting, diarrhea, and rapid weight loss. We took her to the vet and were told that there were three likely culprits: hyperthyroidism, Irritable Bowel Disease, and Small Cell Lymphoma. To make a certain determination, however, they had to run a gamut of multiple (expensive) tests. The question *we* had to ask ourselves, however, was “do we really *need* a certain determination?”

Once we ran a test that eliminated hyperthyroidism as a cause; that left us with two possibilities: IBD or Cancer. Based on our own discernment (given Lily’s great energy and appetite), we thought that cancer was unlikely but our vet wanted to run the tests anyway. We flat out said “NO!”.

We decided to proceed to treat the most likely cause (IBD) even if we didn’t have 100% conclusive proof. The vet recommended that, if we intended to proceed on that course, we would need to put Lilly on Prednisolone for the rest of her life.

Well, if anyone has ever been on Prednisolone themselves, then you know how bad of an idea this is! I was on a short round of prednisolone for 2 weeks in 2020 from a horrible eczema flare up. It did not make feel good; I was irritable, hungry all the time, and some heightened anxiety. My husband was on a short round a few months ago, and he felt similar side effects. Couple that with the very high possibility of her developing diabetes down the line from this strong steroid. We sought other options, we questioned our vet. We did put her on a short round of prednisolone to calm down the inflammation but weaned her off as soon as she stabilized.

Then came the hard work. Researching alternative and safer long-term solutions for her IBD. I found quite a bit of information on https://catinfo.org/ and even more info on https://catnutrition.org/ibd/. These sites are procured by experts, and neither of these sites stated that Prednisolone is a good solution for long term control of IBD. They all pointed to diet and supplements. It took a lot of trial and error, and we’ve done an elimination diet (she can’t tolerate beef, or fish of any kind), and we’ve added various supplements like The Honest Kitchen Powdered Goats Milk, The Honest Kitchen Perfect Form Herbal Digestive supplement and most recently Jackson Galaxy’s (aka The Cat Daddy) B12. She’s also on freeze dried raw food instead of kibble (more on kibble in another blog). Her wet food is extremely high quality with no fillers or nasties like peas, potatoes, corn, by-products, wheat or any gluten.

It’s so important to read the food labels, even if the vet recommends the food. Especially for your cat! They are obligate carnivores, meaning they MUST have meat in their diet to thrive. In pet sitting jobs, we have (reluctantly) fed cats “prescription food” that had ZERO meat in it. Chicken fat does not count as a viable source of meat protein for your cat. If your vet recommends something that has little to no actual meat in it, question your vet! Surprisingly, vets do not receive a lot of nutritional training. It’s like asking your physician for nutritional advice. They might be able to give you the basics, but only a registered nutritionist can point you fully in the right direction. And just like physicians who recommend one brand of prescription over another, so will vets with “prescription diets”. In fact the term “Prescription Diet” is simply a registered trademark, not a legal claim about there being medication in the food. This is fantastic article from The Dog Nutritionist about what really is in your pets “Prescription Diet”. The sad fact, there’s nothing magical (or really scientific) in “prescription” or “veterinary” diets. They are way expensive and often made of subpar ingredients. If you’re feeding your pet a special diet like this, read the label and compare it to a cheap brand of food at the pet store. You might be surprised at just how similar the ingredients are.    

The main takeaway here is that, as much as you want to trust someone with so much schooling; your vet does not know everything --no matter how long they’ve been practicing. And sadly, a lot of vet offices are now owned by corporate entities. If your vet is a VCA, they are ultimately owned by the Mars Corporation (Yup, the candy company). My best advice is to seek an independent, holistic vet. They don’t have to answer to corporate hierarchy, they can treat your pet as an individual. But again, don’t be afraid to question your holistic vet either. And any good vet will gladly offer a referral for a second opinion. Bottom line, no one knows your pet like you do. Even if your vet has seen them their whole life. You’re with you’re pet each and every day. Your vet sees them maybe 20 minutes once a year. Be an advocate for your pet. Their life depends on it.
 
Sources: https://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/calling-bullhit-prescription-diet-dog-food/
 https://www.thedognutritionist.com/prescriptio-dog-food-truth/
https://catinfo.org/
https://catnutrition.org/ibd/