The U.S. is predominantly made up of animal lovers. We keep all sorts of pets, occasionally those we probably shouldn’t. By far and away, cats and dogs are our favorite animals to live with, and they can almost be considered our unofficial national animals. Some living in America would sure like them to be.
Consider that there are upwards of 350 million people living in America today. Around 46 million of us own dogs, and a slightly smaller section of individuals own cats (38.9 million households). That shows exactly how common these animals are in our lives.
Still, U.S. clinics say they’re not seeing our cats enough, potentially leaving them open to health risks. It also affects a clinic’s ability to purchase and maintain the latest and most advanced veterinarian equipment available.
In fact, our apparent habit of not taking our pet cats into the vet as often as our dogs is having a noticeable effect on the veterinary healthcare industry. A study conducted by Dr. Karen Felsted (of the American Veterinary Medical Association) revealed that cats statistically represent about 80% of American veterinary growth potential.
In other words, out of all the potential methods of growing their businesses and providing equal levels of care proportionate to the number of animals we’re keeping in America, veterinary offices overwhelmingly view providing more healthcare for cats as a way to reach their goal.
The reason for this trend is that even though Americans own more cats than dogs, felines spend less time on veterinary exam tables than dogs. Cat owners also spend less on veterinary care than dog owners, which is just a function of how much each treatment costs.
Consequently, the cost of examining a cat with the same veterinarian equipment used for a dog would essentially be higher.
If people were to bring their feline friends into the vet’s office more regularly, experts estimate that small clinics would be able to afford the best in used veterinary equipment. Increasing a veterinary office’s ability to buy used medical equipment only increases the level of quality in the care our animals receive.
In a sense, bringing our cats into the vet more often can help all of our animals.