Farm Cats Are Still Cats in 2024

Mo-Tuesday.
I have a routine, a set plan for my work week.
Mo-Tuesday messes all that up. Why am I doing surgery on a Monday? Oh, that’s right…it’s Mo-Tuesday.
Howevvvvver, tomorrow is Wednesday so that’s a bonus.
I’m on call this week so I should have a half day tomorrow.

So, my practice owner bought the clinic I work at about 6-ish years ago. We are a two clinic operation (yay women owned businesses) with our sister clinic about 30 miles north of us.
The dr that she bought my clinic from, Dr. John, was there for 30+ years. Everyone and their mother went to him. He was your typical small town vet. People could come in, tell him what was wrong with their dog/cat/cow/goat and he would just dispense medication, sight unseen. In fact, there’s people that get so upset because we don’t let them just go get their own medication. “Ugh! Well, Dr. John let us do it!.”
Weeeelll, Dr. John is retired and he did a lot of illegal stuff. Sorry, not sorry.
We have made some headway to get people to stop thinking in Dr. John mode. It’s hard, but needs to be done. We just explain why we do things the way we do and most of them understand.
Then you have people like the lady today.
I was sitting at the front desk when she came in.

Me: Hey! What can I do for ya?
Her: So I have this cat. She has a runny nose and goopy eyes.
Me: uh- huh.
(Tech brain tings letting me know we have a nice case of cat herpes on our hands.)
Her: Do I HAVE to bring her in or can I just get some medicine to give her?
Me: Unfortunately, yes, you have to bring her in so the doctor can look at her.
Her: Really?! I can’t just get some medicine over the counter for her?
Me: No, all of our antibiotics have to be prescribed.
Her: WELL, I will just go somewhere else then!!
Me: I’m sorry but we would be more than happy to see her.
She stops, holding the door halfway open, and turns around to look at me.
Her: Ugh, this is ridiculous! It’s just a runny nose and goopy eyes!
Me: I totally understand that. My Dr just wants to make sure she is medicating for the correct illness and the medication is fitting for her weight.
Her: Whatever!!! She is JUST a FARM CAT!! I’m not bringing a farm cat to the doctor!
She turns and leaves.

We get this all the time. “It’s just a farm cat / farm dog! They don’t matter.”

But…why? Why don’t they matter? They matter enough for you to be concerned about a runny nose. Do they stop mattering when you have to fork out money for them? Why get them if you aren’t going to take care of them?

Farm cats are STILL cats. The only difference between a farm cat and Albie? A door.

I don’t understand the farm animal mentality.
We had a dog in last week for a spay.
First of all, this dog was 7 and the owner just decided she had been bred enough so she wanted her spayed so she could go work with the other dogs.
Second, she was so dirty and matted we had to bathe her before we could do anything to her.
When the owner brought her in, she wouldn’t walk. She could walk, she just didn’t. The owner had to literally drag this poor creature into the clinic. She just pancaked to the floor.
“Oh, she doesn’t ride in the car much. She’s just a little scared.”
Mmmhmmm.
We did her procedure and I sat, with her head in my lap, while she woke up.
Throughout the day, I would go check on her and give her pets and loves. At the end of the day, when I went to walk her, she walked through the door and just plopped down on the grass. She just laid there, on her back, in the grass.
She looked SO happy! I sat there with her for a minute before we continued our potty walk.
She was such a sweet girl.
The next day, when the owner came to picker her up, I went to get her. I opened her kennel door and let her wander around the pharmacy while I got her meds together. She was WALKING around, wagging her massive tail (this dog is a 100+ pounds), while I talked to her.
I leashed her up and was walking her up front when she heard the owners voice. Yall, this poor dog! As soon as she heard her voice she pancaked on the floor. She isn’t scared of the car ride, she’s terrified of her owner! As horrible as this sounds (I don’t care) I can see that woman being a total bitch to her animals.
It broke my fricking heart.
This is why I need a house with a nice plot of land. I would have taken her in a heartbeat. She doesn’t deserve to live like that.
Sometimes this job is a lot harder than you would think. At least she is spayed now and that puppy mill is closed.
For now.