How Often Should Your Cat Actually See the Vet?

Your cat seems fine. She's eating, using the litter box, sleeping in her usual spot. It's easy to decide the exam can wait another year, or a few.

Dr. Reed Hall answers this exact question in the video above, and the short version is: your cat almost certainly needs that visit more than she looks like she does.

How often does a healthy cat need to see the vet?

Once a year for most adult cats. Twice a year once your cat is around seven, since that's roughly when age related conditions start showing up more often, and catching them early makes a real difference in how they're treated.

None of that changes just because your cat looks normal at home. Most of what a wellness exam finds does not show up in everyday behavior until it has been building for a while.

Why go in if nothing seems wrong?

Cats are very good at hiding pain. It's an old survival habit: in the wild, a cat that looks sick gets noticed by something bigger, so cats learned not to look sick. Your cat did not lose that instinct just because she lives on your couch.

That is the whole case for going in before something looks off. Kidney disease, thyroid problems and dental pain routinely turn up in bloodwork months before they turn up in how a cat acts. By the time you notice something, it has usually been going on for a while already.

What actually happens at the visit, and what should I tell you?

A wellness exam is a full physical, front to back: eyes, ears, teeth and mouth, then heart, lungs, joints and belly. Bloodwork checks the liver, kidneys and blood sugar along with a red and white cell count, and a stool sample checks for parasites.

The other half of the visit is what you tell us. Small changes are worth mentioning even when they don't feel like much: drinking more water than usual, a litter box habit that shifted, a little more sleeping, a little less interest in food. You know your cat's normal better than a twenty minute exam can measure, so that conversation carries as much weight as the bloodwork does.

What makes the visit easier on your cat, and on you?

For a lot of pet parents the exam is not the hard part. The carrier and the car ride are. If that's true for your cat, tell us when you book. We can send something home ahead of time to take the edge off, and a calmer arrival makes for a better exam anyway.

Town and Country is Fear Free Certified at the practice level, which means the whole building works this way, not one room or one person. Quieter spaces, non slip surfaces, treats used as a working tool, and handling that moves at your cat's pace rather than the clock's. Every appointment here is a Fear Free Appointment for exactly that reason.

Frequently Asked Questions

How often should an adult cat see the vet?
Once a year for most healthy adult cats, and twice a year starting around age seven.

My cat hates the carrier. Should we just skip the exam?
No. Tell us ahead of time instead. We can prescribe something to take the edge off, and Fear Free handling takes care of the rest once you're here.

Do indoor cats really need a yearly exam?
Yes. Indoor cats get the same dental disease, kidney disease and thyroid conditions as cats that go outside. They're just better at hiding them, and there's no outdoor mishap to force an earlier visit.

What does a wellness plan cover?
Every Town and Country wellness plan includes the exam itself along with vaccines and prevention. Ask us which plan fits your cat when you book.

Booking

September is Happy Cat Month, which is as good a reason as any to get that exam on the calendar even if your cat looks perfectly fine.

Book a Fear Free Appointment at townandcountryanimalh.com/schedule-appointment, or call us at (703) 273-2110. We are at 9836 Fairfax Blvd, Fairfax, VA 22030.

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