Kindred Biosciences Inc. is helping to take the guesswork out of deciding whether a cat needs urgent veterinary care.
The biopharmaceutical company has launched the website PickyOrSick.com, which invites cat owners to answer five questions related to changes in the animal’s eating and drinking behavior. If the condition is deemed worthy of a veterinary visit, owners are urged to contact their practitioner or search for one through an American Association of Feline Practitioners webpage, CatFriendly.com.
The free service is designed to steer cat owners away from Dr. Google.
“The best resource will always be the veterinarian. Yet, the society we live in today is technologically capable of providing answers at the stroke of a keyboard,” said Christina Fernandez, DVM, DACVECC, senior manager of veterinary affairs at KindredBio. “What’s not often mentioned online is that cats do not tolerate even short periods of inadequate nutrition. It can be critical to seek veterinary care immediately if an adult cat refuses food for even just a day.”
PickyOrSick.com uses research-backed information when making a recommendation about changes in a cat’s behavior.
“There’s a perception that cats are picky eaters, but cats should have regular eating patterns,” Dr. Fernandez said. “Sudden changes in eating behavior can be a sign of a serious underlying illness or disease.”