# Internet rumors that vets hate



## harv (Dec 24, 2011)

Vet complains about Internet rumors that make their jobs harder.

8 Internet Rumors That Really Annoy This Vet - Vetstreet


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## doodlebug (May 13, 2006)

On the flip side...they should give equal time to "Myths that Vets Perpetuate" like:



Dry food is good for teeth
Raw food is bad for your pet
Canned food is bad for your pet
Science Diet is great food
It's OK for CRF cats to eat prescription dry food
etc.


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## MowMow (Nov 6, 2010)

doodlebug said:


> On the flip side...they should give equal time to "Myths that Vets Perpetuate" like:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


/like


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## Jacq (May 17, 2012)

I'm torn. My dad's a dr. and my mom's a DNP, so I sympathize with the fact that people that don't have required background use unsubstantiated or substandard sources and consider themselves "expert" in a given field. 

On the flip side, I recognize that individuals have a more vested interest in themselves (and, by extension) their pets than drs, nurses, and vets do. So often serious illness masks as something dismiss-able, or it takes a long time for science to catch up to anecdote. Lobbying and bribing are rampant in both fields too.

Kudos to this vet for staying away from the stuff of flame-wars though. It seems unfair to take issue with her for something she (deliberately, I'll bet) didn't touch with a ten foot pole.


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## 3furbabies (Dec 7, 2011)

doodlebug said:


> On the flip side...they should give equal time to "Myths that Vets Perpetuate" like:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Don't forget about vaccinations

- your pet much have yearly boosters, vaccinations or it will get sick and die *eye roll*

And

- Anytime there's anything wrong put them on a crappy prescription diet and all will be fixed


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## Mitts & Tess (Sep 4, 2004)

Might I add "Oh it’s OK to declaw a cat because we use lasers"! 

How about "your cat tested positive for felv from a snap test. We need to euthanize your cat or kitten today". No information about doing another test to find out whether they truly have felv and are shedding the virus thus the positive result or if it is just a result from a vaccination.

I’m sorry but isn’t it a vets job to educate their clients so they can properly take care of their cats. Boo whooo people were on the web trying to find information. God Bless them for caring is how I feel. There are a lot of vets (which Ive dealt with) with use outdated information and are mainly dog vets and know little about cats. 

What annoys me is how I have to educate vets about feral cats or suggest alternative plans to treat a cat problem. Or the vets which don’t listen to what has already been done in the treatment and want you to do it yet again. Yes we did the entire round of antibiotic is there another type of antibiotic we could try?? Hissssssss

Think of all the people who came to this site and were helped when their vets didnt have a clue.


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## snowy (Aug 23, 2012)

doodlebug said:


> On the flip side...they should give equal time to "Myths that Vets Perpetuate" like:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Double, triple like!!!

The vet at my area will hospitalise all cats. For a mere diarrhea, a stay can cost S$700+, paw injury cost S$500+, flu + fungus cost S$400+. Can you imagine the no. of strays most cat feeders feed? Think we can go bankrupt esp when strays are exposed to the many nasty things out in the streets including cat fight. Beside paying for good quality food, we have to pay high exorbitant medical fee, neutering fee etc. If only vet can charge a little lesser for strays, otherwise cant help but to look for home remedy cure.


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## Jacq (May 17, 2012)

The article didn't say _anything_ about what you guys are complaining about.


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## JasonBond (Aug 25, 2012)

3furbabies said:


> Don't forget about vaccinations
> 
> - your pet much have yearly boosters, vaccinations or it will get sick and die *eye roll*
> 
> ...



Thats why I go to holistic vet for my guys!! We test their titers and only vaccinate when the titers are low enough for them to actually get sick.


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## LakotaWolf (Aug 10, 2012)

Jacq said:


> The article didn't say _anything_ about what you guys are complaining about.


This is the internet! We can complain about other things too! XD

Besides, I think we're rolling off of what Doodlebug brought up - that vets perpetuate plenty of myths of their own, no internet needed. ;}


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## Huge2 (Jan 28, 2008)

Good for the vet!

They didn't spend YEARS at vet school to be told they're wrong by an Internet Person who once heard of a friend of a friend of someone who knew a dog that died because it had a vaccination.


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## lovetimesfour (Dec 1, 2010)

doodlebug said:


> On the flip side...they should give equal time to "Myths that Vets Perpetuate" like:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


:thumb:thumb:thumb:thumb:thumb



3furbabies said:


> - Anytime there's anything wrong put them on a crappy prescription diet and all will be fixed


:thumb


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## doodlebug (May 13, 2006)

Huge said:


> Good for the vet!
> 
> They didn't spend YEARS at vet school to be told they're wrong by an Internet Person who once heard of a friend of a friend of someone who knew a dog that died because it had a vaccination.


On the other hand if I wasn't internet educated I would have never known that the vet prescribed a hyperthyroid medication dose for Maggie that was 6 times higher than the current recommendations. A dose that was 3 times higher than what she needed to stabilize and twice as high as the dose that pushed her into hypothyroid. A vet who doesn't take the time to keep themselves up to date on current thinking in the field is dangerous. A person who is worried about the toxicity of Swiffer and doesn't do further research is just foolish.


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## Dave_ph (Jul 7, 2009)

It takes years of training and a lot of proven intelectual ability to become a Vet.

To get on the internet, not so much.


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## Wannabe Catlady (Aug 6, 2012)

Dave, just because we aren't vets doesn't mean we don't have the capacity to do research. I think it would be foolish to just accept a vets word as law without question. They are people too, and believe it or not, there are people who barely scrape by in school, yet manage to open their own practice. Wanting the best for our cats and doing research about their health and wellness is never a bad thing. 

However, there are the morons out there who believe everything they read, like the vet in the article pointed out. 


Sent from my iPhone using PG Free


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## doodlebug (May 13, 2006)

Dave_ph said:


> It takes years of training and a lot of proven intelectual ability to become a Vet.
> 
> To get on the internet, not so much.


I have a degree in Biomedical Engineering, I'm pretty sure I have the intellectual capability to understand and correctly interpret what I read on the internet.


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## soonersseth (Aug 26, 2012)

So what food is best if nor science diet?


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## Jacq (May 17, 2012)

Cat forum: Where every thread ends in talking about diet.


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## MowMow (Nov 6, 2010)

Jacq said:


> Cat forum: Where every thread ends in talking about diet.


That's not true. It ends in talking about how raw and canned is better than dry.

Get it right, fool.


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## Mitts & Tess (Sep 4, 2004)

Theres lots of bad vets out there. As with human doctors. Its all about an educated guess on what will work, how too proceed, and keeping up on the latest information. My son who is a dentist said he wouldnt entrust his dental care to most of those who graduated with him. He weekly sees patients who have had poor dental care from older dentists in his area. Im sure its the same with vets. Having a degree doesnt hold much weight. We need to be our own advocate as well as our animals. That means researching the internet for information.

Food plays a part in an animals health. I guess why it seems to come up so often. What I object to is when its presented as the end all solution to everything going on in a cats health. People who juice, find religion, eat certain vitamins and act like this will solve everything is what turns people off.


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## lovetimesfour (Dec 1, 2010)

Jacq said:


> Cat forum: Where every thread ends in talking about diet.





MowMow said:


> That's not true. It ends in talking about how raw and canned is better than dry.
> 
> Get it right, fool.


That is a universal phenomenon. In every pet forum, no matter the subject of the thread, diet inevitable rears it's head. And there is a reason for that. Diet is the foundation of health and well being. You are what you eat. Same with cats. :smiles


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## Dave_ph (Jul 7, 2009)

doodlebug said:


> I have a degree in Biomedical Engineering, I'm pretty sure I have the intellectual capability to understand and correctly interpret what I read on the internet.


 
Well that's just not fair


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## marie73 (Jul 12, 2006)

MowMow said:


> That's not true. It ends in talking about how raw and canned is better than dry.
> 
> Get it right, fool.


 
Cat Forum. Where posts make me laugh out loud at the most inappropriate time.


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## Claiken (Dec 18, 2007)

i thought dry food was better for teeth?? The others i could see, except not surewhat CRF means...


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## lovetimesfour (Dec 1, 2010)

Claiken said:


> i thought dry food was better for teeth?? The others i could see, except not surewhat CRF means...


CRF= Chronic Renal Failure. The 'official' term is now CKD = Chronic Kidney Disease, they mean the same thing.

Dry food does not clean a cat's teeth. Some vets cannot seem to unlearn that fallacy.


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## MowMow (Nov 6, 2010)

Claiken said:


> i thought dry food was better for teeth?? The others i could see, except not surewhat CRF means...


That would be like saying saltines clean our teeth because they are crunchy.


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## Carmel (Nov 23, 2010)

Claiken said:


> i thought dry food was better for teeth??


When a cat crunches on kibble... it shatters. Well before it scrapes at the plaque on the upper part of a cat tooth. It doesn't magically act like a tooth brush, nothing is going to replace a tooth brush, or even come close to it. 

Cats fed kibble are still going to have teeth problems, and possibly other problems due to not being on a wet food diet, which hasfar more moisture in it, which a cat requires. Many cats do not have a strong thirst drive and are not drinking enough water when on a kibble based diet.


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## cinderflower (Apr 22, 2012)

lovetimesfour said:


> CRF= Chronic Renal Failure. The 'official' term is now CKD = Chronic Kidney Disease, they mean the same thing.
> 
> Dry food does not clean a cat's teeth. Some vets cannot seem to unlearn that fallacy.


CKD sounds like a cologne disease.

and i'm sure dry food might be *minimally* better for teeth even if it just shatters and they don't scrape of plaque with it. they just swallow it so it probably doesn't get all mooshed around their teeth, but i know my cats don't seem to be "savoring" their food very often so that might not even be true. dry food is just so nutritionally inferior that any dental benefit it could possibly have is outweighed. it's like saying, "here, feed your kid wax and potato chips instead of liver and onions. it's better for his teeth."


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## cinderflower (Apr 22, 2012)

Dave_ph said:


> Well that's just not fair


hey, stop kvetching. you could watch dr. oz or get a ph.d. from university of phoenix.


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## Jacq (May 17, 2012)

You guys are doing this on purpose, I know it.


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## doodlebug (May 13, 2006)

Jacq said:


> You guys are doing this on purpose, I know it.


Absolutely not. I never make a post here on purpose, it's always completely unintentional.


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## lovetimesfour (Dec 1, 2010)

cinderflower said:


> CKD sounds like a cologne disease.
> 
> *and i'm sure dry food might be minimally better for teeth even if it just shatters and they don't scrape of plaque with it.* they just swallow it so it probably doesn't get all mooshed around their teeth, but i know my cats don't seem to be "savoring" their food very often so that might not even be true. dry food is just so nutritionally inferior that any dental benefit it could possibly have is outweighed. it's like saying, "here, feed your kid wax and potato chips instead of liver and onions. it's better for his teeth."


No. When it shatters it makes crumbs. Those crumbs stick. They stick to teeth, between teeth and under the gum line. They stick and grow bacteria. The bacteria turns to plaque which turns to tartar which leads to gingivitis and periodontal disease.

If a piece does end up "scraping", it is more likely to wear off the enamel and cause root exposure, than it is to remove any plaque or tartar.

If anything, kibble, along with being bad in general for the reasons you stated plus the lack of moisture, can be considered even worse for teeth than any other diet.


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## cinderflower (Apr 22, 2012)

yeah, sometimes rumors just don't make any sense, and just get perpetuated for years.

it reminds me of my friend who would always bake a ham for easter. i was at her house when she was getting everything ready and she said, "now all i have to do is cut the ends off." i said, "why?" (i thought maybe there was something weird and toxic about the ends of a ham) so she said, "i don't know, i'll call my mom. that's how she showed me how to do it."

her mother didn't know either, so she called the grandmother to find out why because that's how she was taught. the grandmother was 82 and pretty funny, and she said, "you don't, you idiot. i always had to because the only big pan we had that was big enough, wasn't *quite* big enough and that was the only way i could get it to fit in the pan."

dry food is disgusting anyway, and i never saw any of the supposed dental "benefits". it was more of a practical/mechanical reason anyway, but i quit giving them dry.


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## cinderflower (Apr 22, 2012)

Jacq said:


> You guys are doing this on purpose, I know it.


how dare you cast asparagus in my hair.


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## Arianwen (Jun 3, 2012)

Having read the way this thread has gone, I think I'm pretty lucky in my vets. They suggest but don't order and accept realities like the fact that bringing my semi feral darling in for "routine" things isn't a practical option. They make house visits if necessary and while I'm not on the same song-sheet re feeding, it's never a problem between us.


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## Sinatra-Butters (Aug 9, 2010)

Jacq said:


> Cat forum: Where every thread ends in talking about diet.


Are you at all surprised this thread turned out this way?


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## Huge2 (Jan 28, 2008)

doodlebug said:


> I have a degree in Biomedical Engineering, I'm pretty sure I have the intellectual capability to understand and correctly interpret what I read on the internet.


So basically you've learnt how to clone people.

Well that's just great.


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## Jacq (May 17, 2012)

I liked the part where she talked about toxic gas in tennis balls. I've heard that one a few times, and always thought it was silly.

The radioactive cat litter rumour that was actually from a radioactive cat was pretty funny too. I imagined all these people in Haz-mats standing around a box with neon green glowing plutonium poos and some guy with a clip board being like, "Yep, it's the litter."

ps; I know that's not how the iodine therapy works.


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## Claiken (Dec 18, 2007)

cinderflower said:


> CKD sounds like a cologne disease.
> 
> and i'm sure dry food might be *minimally* better for teeth even if it just shatters and they don't scrape of plaque with it. they just swallow it so it probably doesn't get all mooshed around their teeth, but i know my cats don't seem to be "savoring" their food very often so that might not even be true. dry food is just so nutritionally inferior that any dental benefit it could possibly have is outweighed. it's like saying, "here, feed your kid wax and potato chips instead of liver and onions. it's better for his teeth."


So, being on a mixed wet and dry diet is no better or worse for the teeth then? 

I do mixed just because of not wanting to leave the wet out to grow bacteria while nobody is home during the day. But they get theri wet in the evenings and overnight!

Even overnight though, im up peeing enough ill go add some more water and make sure to avoid premium bacteria growth. They like it warmer like soup, i know its bad as it cools but the heat kills it off too. 

I guess besides being home and watching them whenever they eat you cant *truly* win. lol.


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## Huge2 (Jan 28, 2008)

There's now an advert for a £5 coupon for Hill's Science plan...


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## Straysmommy (Dec 23, 2010)

Cinderflower, that happened to me with my mom too, a lot. I'd do something her way for years, then I'd one day ask her why and I'd discover she had had to in her time, but I didn't need to in my time.


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## Korat (Jun 2, 2011)

Some of the 'myths' perpetuated by people who seem to believe that vets are corporate lackeys with no brain to think for themselves certainly don't sway me to the cause of the pro 'internet-educated' clan. 

Dry food is not killing pets outright ... but obesity is, and the sad fact is that the majority of pets these days are overweight, probably 2/3 of every animal I know, to include, cats/dogs/horses ... its across the board.

Vets can't even get the 'portion size' message across to most clients, how do you imagine the same clients would deal with preparing a proper diet from scratch (ie non commercial) in a way that is cost effective and convienient (because again, this matters when it comes to client compliance)

You do know that a massive topic of continued professional development for vets is 'client compliance' right?? 
Ie; getting people to do what is best for their pets .... this usually involves, making stuff really simple ... and if that means selling them something in a bag, which can be measured easily and is marginally better then being fed cooked scraps, rubbish, endless treats, cheese, and the crappiest commercially availible supermarket crap... then its better for pets.


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