Habituating a Cat to the Veterinary Experiences

Caregivers can do a lot to help habituate their cat to some of the stimuli they are likely to be exposed to at the veterinary clinic and for carrying out home medications. Ideally this training should be carried out during a kitten’s socialisation period but is equally valuable for any life stage.

This training can be enhanced by carrying out Touch-Withdraw-Reward training (https://petcourses.co.uk/free-resources/touch-withdraw-reward-training).

Examples of experiences to habituate your cat to:

Touch the ears, gently fold back the earflaps and massage at the base to mimic an inspection and treatment.
Use an empty dropper bottle and briefly insert just inside the ear (taking care not to insert the nozzle too far down the ear canal).
Lift the upper lip on either side of their mouth to expose the gums and teeth.
Touch them all over by running a hand along their body.
Gently lift the top lid of each eye to prepare for an inspection or drops to be inserted.
Raise the tail to mimic a thermometer being inserted.
Raise the head by gently lifting under the chin to expose the jugular vein in preparation for blood samples.

Introducing Equipment

Habituate the cat to the sight of the equipment, linking it with something positive. For example, scatter tasty food treats around it and every time they are presented (and the cat is aware of them) provide a reward and continue rewarding throughout their presentation. Cease to provide rewards as soon as the equipment is removed.

Examples of equipment:

Nail clippers
Syringes (available from vet or pharmacy)
Stethoscope (a children’s toy one will suffice)
Hair clippers (electric toothbrushes, or moustache trimmers work well for recreating the sounds).
Spot on medication

Habituate the cat to the sight of the equipment.

Other Notes

Everything should be done briefly, gently and only when the cat is relaxed.
Proceed in bite sized stages.
A reward should be paired with each hand-on experience.
When the visual part of the training has been successfully accomplished – the same principles can be applied when introducing any sound or tactile sensation the equipment makes.
Muffling an item that emits a noise (clippers) in a towel can ensure the sound level isn’t too intense.