I gotta have faith… or do I?
Faith in veterinarians, that is. Something foremost in my mind again, because of a couple of comments/emails lately. One from a woman inquiring about raw diet and feline hyperthyroidism who said something to the effect of “I feel like I learn everything from an [internet forum] and you guys, and then have to turn around and teach my vet!”
I’ve sometimes felt the same. For years, I just blindly followed the vet’s advice. They went to school for years to learn just how to care for my cat, right? Well, that was pretty naive of me. First of all, we all know professionals in every industry imaginable that just aren’t that good at what they do. Ergo, there must be veterinarians who aren’t the best as well – and how do we, the lay people, know whether our vet is the best or the worst or just somewhere in the middle? If we’re not proactive and do some of our own research, we’re relying entirely on their “bedside manner”.
Secondly, vets generally get a four-year Bachelor’s degree in biology, then attend four years of veterinary school. Do we really think they can learn absolutely everything about every animal species in four years? Really? As I often say, I’m sure I have less than 5% of the knowledge of most vets – I know next-to-nothing about any animals other than cats. (Cows are the ones that say “moo”, right?) I know little about feline parasites and next-to-nothing about surgeries and probably can’t name more than one or two bones in their little furry bodies and struggle with most terms, and have to think (hard) to remember which end is proximal versus distal.
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Life of the Lintee Bean 