Abstract
Simple SummaryCOVID-19 has impacted veterinary medicine and cat guardians in numerous ways. The purpose of this study was to better understand cat guardians’ fears and concerns pertaining to veterinary care and the ability to obtain pet care products and food during the initial months of the COVID pandemic. We distributed an anonymous online survey to cat guardians that included questions pertaining to guardians’ relationship with their cat and their veterinary related concerns and experiences as a result of the pandemic. The results, from 956 participants revealed that the increased amount of time guardians spent with their cat had a positive impact on their bond. Participants’ primary veterinary related concerns centered around the availability of their veterinarian for both emergency and non-emergency care. Other concerns they shared included fears about the ability to afford emergency veterinary care and obtain cat food and supplies. Awareness of these concerns can help veterinarians better meet the needs of cat guardians by directly communicating their continued availability and presence in the face of a pandemic as well as other challenging times. The onset of COVID has impacted the field of veterinary medicine and the lives of cat guardians in numerous ways, yet the subject remains largely unexplored. The purpose of this study was to better understand cat guardians’ fears and concerns pertaining to veterinary care and obtainment of pet care products and food during the initial lock down phase of the COVID pandemic to better address these concerns now and in the future. To this end, an anonymous online survey was distributed to cat guardians during the first two months of the pandemic. The survey included questions pertaining to guardians’ relationship with their cat and their veterinary related concerns and experiences as a result of the pandemic. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected from 956 participants. The results revealed that the increased amount of time guardians spent with their cat had a positive impact on their bond. Participants’ veterinary related concerns, particularly for participants between 18–29 years of age, centered around availability of their veterinarian for both emergency and non-emergency care. Other concerns included fears about the ability to afford emergency veterinary care and obtain cat food and supplies. Awareness of these concerns can help veterinarians better support cat guardians by directly communicating their continued availability and presence in the face of a pandemic as well as other challenging times.
Highlights
Introduction distributed under the terms andAn estimated 67% of US households have at least one pet, and 38% of these homes include at least one cat, leading to approximately 94.2 million companion cats in the US [1].These figures are comparable with Canada, where 37% of homes have a cat [2]
In order to maximize our understanding of the impact of COVID, cat guardians over the age of 18 from any country were encouraged to participate with the recognition that countries’ veterinary services might be impacted differently
The sudden mandated changes encompassed all areas of daily living including veterinary medicine and the ability to care for companion animals [15,16,17,18], creating concern among pet guardians across the world [28,29,30,31], and cat guardians in particular
Summary
Introduction distributed under the terms andAn estimated 67% of US households have at least one pet, and 38% of these homes include at least one cat, leading to approximately 94.2 million companion cats in the US [1].These figures are comparable with Canada, where 37% of homes have a cat [2]. An estimated 67% of US households have at least one pet, and 38% of these homes include at least one cat, leading to approximately 94.2 million companion cats in the US [1]. Regardless of geographical location, the majority of cat guardians reported feeling that their cat is a family member and that the positives of having a cat outweighed any negative aspects, with key benefits including love, affection, companionship, and the ability to make their guardians happy [3,4,6] With these benefits comes responsibility, not least of which is the provision of veterinary care [2,3]
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