Understanding and Sympathy: A reader's story

One reader recalls her first ever cat, when she was seven years old. She adopted the tortoise shell tabby when her parents deemed it time for her to accept some responsibility. Honestly, we have to admit that this is never a successful endeavour as we, as parents, always end up looking after the pet no matter how we try to convince ourselves, or our children, to brush, feed and play with the animal.
Thus when considering adoption, it is always best to be aware that the responsibility is one that will most likely fall on you.
The little girl in our tale named the kitten Tinks, after Tinkerbelle in Peter Pan and she enthusiastically took to the cat and did her best to look after the little feline. Unfortunately, Tinks was a week little thing and caught cat flu while quite young. She was taken to the local vet and diagnosed, and while there passed away. This is a truly upsetting experience, as we all know, for the loss of your first pet is very often the hardest to bear, as comprehending that loss at such a young aged is quite difficult.
The vet was very sympathetic towards our reader and as they too, felt that Tinks was a special kitten, they planted a rose bush in her honour and buried the kitten at the base of the bush. They also gave our reader a little card that explained that they were sorry for the kittens loss and that the kitten is now in kitty heaven.
Such special treatment from vets is almost unheard of, as they are usually overcrowded with patients and sport jaded personnel. It is an exception to find a place that shows such a personal concern for their clients. But this little touch of humanity truly made a huge difference to our readers’ view of veterinary care, as instead of seeing it as a place where animals go to die, it is viewed as a place where animals go to heal.

Your pet vet

We all know that a vet is our animal’s version of a general doctor but just what exactly can we expect of our pet’s vet and when is the best and necessary time to take our cats or dog to go see a vet?


Vets are their to take care of your pet’s health in every aspect that you cannot – that means that you can take care of your dog or cat’s health at home in terms of making sure that they get the right amount of exercise, ensuring that they are eating the right foods in the correct amounts, and as a pet owner it is also your responsibility to make sure that your animal is kept safe from harm.


How you do all of this is with some helpful vet advice on the do-s and don’t-s of what to feed your pet, how much exercise to give them, etc. but there are times when you need a vet’s professional hand to help keep your pet in tip top condition. This starts from the age of 6 weeks when your cat or dog needs their first round of inoculations. From there on out for the rest of their lives you pet will need vet check ups, booster inoculations and may even need a vet in an emergency situation.


Ideally your pet’s vet should be close to your home, and it is very helpful to keep a record of what your pet’s health history in case you ever move or change vets.

Remember your vet in times of need

Taking care of an older dog is something that needs some extra special attention. When you notice that your beloved dog is starting to age you can make their ageing process as comfortable as possible by speaking to your vet and by making just a few changes to their everyday lifestyle. As your dog approaches their senior years they will start to change in their usual habits and so you will need to keep a watchful on eye on them and make sure that their changes are made as easy as possible. Older dogs may still be as playful and loving at heart as they were when they were younger but physically they will start to be less active than they were in their youth. A lot of dogs can also develop some niggles as they enter their golden years consulting your dogs vet can pin point what these may be. Niggles can range from touches of arthritis to hearing and sight difficulties but with the right nutrition and health regiments these ailments can be controlled and kept to a minimum. So if you notice that your dog is starting to react more slowly to things or does not seem to be responding to your calls as quickly as they used to it is not a cause for alarm it just means that you need to pay some extra attention to their aging and to their health needs.

The Vet: your extended family doctor

Your animal’s doctor knows just how to take good care of your animal’s health. They can identify any potential health hazards, spot any irregularities in your cat or dog and can even give you good practical advice on taking care of your cat or dog. And when your pet is ill or injured there is no one better to take care of their health than a qualified and understanding vet. But the one draw back of this reliability is the potential costs of medical treatment.

There are certain veterinary visits that you can be financially prepared for – such as your cat or dog’s annual shots and other routine check ups, but for those unexpected visits to the vet it is good to know that you and your pet can be covered by Medipet health insurance. Having a partner in taking care of your pet’s health can make the job a lot easier.

Medipet offers you nationwide coverage and the use of any vet countrywide. Cover is up to R25 00 per year and with no specified limits you can be assured that no matter what your emergency or need is to see your pet’s doctor, your pet is covered by general and reliable medical insurance.