QUARTERLY BEAT / DECEMBER 2025
MIND MASSAGE Missed out on our webinars because life is too busy? As a VETgirl ELITE member, you can watch it on-demand whenever you want! Here are the top highlights you should have learned from some of the popular webinars this quarter!
September 8, 2025
September 4, 2025
Feline Folklore: Unraveling the Truth Behind Cat Behavior Myths by Tabitha Kucera, CCBC, RVT, KPA-CTP, VTS (Behavior)
• Cats don’t have an “attitude problem”—they’ve got an image problem generated by our misunderstanding of their social and developmental needs. • Myth buster: cats are not low-maintenance! (No, leaving out a food bowl for vacation isn’t ok). Thinking of cats as “independent” creatures is risky and can lead to unmet needs, weaker human bonds, and skipped vet visits. • Hanging by the food dish doesn’t always mean “feed me.” Sometimes it’s a cat’s way of saying “come hang out!” because they’ve learned this is one of the actions that will cause an interaction with you. • If you wouldn’t want an uninvited hug, why assume your cat should? • “House soiling” is not actually an “inappropriate urination” — it’s communication; there’s always a reason behind a cat going outside the litterbox. • Labeling your cat as “spiteful” or calling them “a bully” shifts focus to how you feel instead of what the cat is trying to tell you. Shift your mindset - if you wouldn’t want an uninvited hug, don’t assume your cat does either.
The Impact of Hidden Disease by Dr. Adam Rudinsky, DACVIM (SAIM)
• Healthy, aging cats often experience subtle physiologic changes that don’t negatively impact quality of life. Knowing what’s just normal aging versus start of early disease is key to the early detection and treatment. • Don’t be reassured by a “great appetite” alone. The real clues to hidden disease lie in tracking changes in body weight, muscle mass, BCS, and MCS overtime. • Cats over 7 years old tend to show predictable laboratory shifts: mild increases in ALT, ALP, BUN, creatinine, CK, glucose, and thyroid hormones, with decreases in RBCs, albumin, and lymphocytes. One isolated change isn’t necessarily alarming, but performing annual senior labwork helps us identify trends that matter. • By getting baseline labwork at the 7-10 year mark, we can reliably diagnose early kidney decline when USG’s are < 1.035 and start early intervention. • Remember, “doing fine” isn’t a diagnosis. Subtle changes can go unnoticed at home, so thoughtful, guided questioning remains a powerful diagnostic tool. • Empirical therapy for GI disease is often a reasonable first step — especially when diagnostics point to inflammation but not a clear etiology.
Veterinary Technician Webinar
Small Animal Webinar
24
VETGIRL BEAT EMAGAZINE | VETGIRLONTHERUN.COM
Made with FlippingBook - Online Brochure Maker