Hi, I’m Dr. Karyn! Read my introduction to learn more about me and meet my five funny cats: Clutch, Cyril, Alex, Zelda, and Zazzles.
“Every day is a school day”
This is something that seems more true as I get older. When I first graduated from vet school, I was terrified. Yesterday I was a student, today I am expected to diagnose, treat, and operate on any creature that walks (or is brought) through the door. In reality, most new graduate vets are allowed to paddle in the shallows for the first few months, but I know many who were initially thrown in at the end, their bosses were happy to hand over their night duties to their eyes wide open. new employee.
A few years later, I felt more confident – perhaps too confident – to have the bragging rights of an experienced vet who had seen it all, which of course, I had not. Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t some pompous, cocky clinician, but I did reach a point in my career where I felt like I could handle almost everything that came to the veterinary hospital; specialist cases are the exception.
In recent years, I’ve reached a point where I’m comfortable enough with my experience to accept that I can’t possibly ‘know it all’, and that there’s always more to learn.
Company Control
Interestingly, since I began to step back from clinical practice and into a role where I provide information to a wider audience on a large range of topics, I have realized how much diagnostics, treatment, and my patient management. options are guided or influenced from afar by the corporate giants that control much of the pet care industry. And this influence started back in vet school.
While I did not feel that this resulted in poor outcomes or suboptimal patient care, I became more aware of how large companies began to subtly lead the direction of certain aspects of veterinary care.
Lectures, training courses, and scientific studies sponsored by pet food companies, pharmaceuticals, and diagnostic tests, are common features of both veterinary education and practice, and it is hard to believe that there was a complete lack of bias in the information they provided.
Does this product/drug/food/test/equipment give good results?
Are there other products/drugs/foods/tests/tools that give the same or better results?
- Maybe, but we haven’t tried those. We only included products in our study that we know we do better.
I’m not really being led astray, just… led on.
My Changing Perspective on Food
So far, the aspect of cat care that I have changed my opinion on, is food. Even though the basics of cat nutrition are relatively unchanged, I realize that I have allowed most of my nutritional decisions to be led by pet food companies.
For almost every life stage, breed, size, weight, coat type, and health condition, there is a vet-approved cat food designed specifically for it. Don’t get me wrong, these are quality foods, they just aren’t the best and only option out there.
Although I hate to use the term ‘brainwashed’, I can’t help but feel that my food decisions are dictated to me from above, and heaven forbid I should entertain the idea of a *gasp* raw food in food
For almost a decade, my cats were exclusively fed a Royal Canin dry food for indoor cats prone to hairballs – a premium food by all accounts. My cats are healthy, their litter boxes smell like a litter box, and I have no reason to consider any alternatives. But now I realize there are better, more natural ways to go beyond meeting their needs, if I just take off the blinders I’ve been wearing since our vet school welcome day BBQ sponsored by Hills Pet Food.
While I am still wary of the potential health risks of raw feeding, I can fully appreciate how our cats can benefit from a diet made up of whole, unadulterated animal ingredients. When stored correctly, and formulated to meet nutritional needs, there are several key benefits to raw feeding. And if raw isn’t your thing, fresh-frozen diets, which combine the benefits of raw food, the safety of gentle cooking, and the confidence of feeding a balanced diet, are a great, albeit expensive, option. Of course, the cynic in me suspects that it’s only a matter of time before these independent companies are swallowed up by super-conglomerates like Mars, which already control a large portion of the pet food industry.
Alternative Treatments
Holistic therapy and Traditional Chinese Medicine are increasing in popularity in mainstream human medicine, and the veterinary industry is not far behind. A few years ago I underwent veterinary acupuncture training and was delighted with the results for my patients and my own pets. I’m not suggesting we abandon modern medicine in favor of alternative therapies, but we are becoming increasingly aware of the real and measurable benefits certain therapies can have on our pets’ lives when used in conjunction with proven methods and medications .
The goal of holistic therapy is to achieve greater results by assessing and treating the whole body and lifestyle, rather than just the problem. The benefit is often a reduction in the required dose of the drug and longer lasting results; great for patient health, but not so great for profit margins. Not surprisingly, large corporations are rarely seen endorsing holistic practices.
Never Stop Learning
If there’s one thing I’ve learned over the past few years of my veterinary career, it’s that when we think we know it all, we deprive ourselves – and our patients – of the opportunities and benefits of exploring different options. There is rarely a single solution to a veterinary problem, so it pays to be open to new ideas. I do not want to give the impression that everything we are taught is tainted with corporate sponsorship; that is not the case. But I encourage fellow vets and pet owners to check for bias before incorporating new ideas and dismiss anything else.
This article is part of a series by Dr. Karyn with her five funny cats.