Transforming Your Cat’s Life: The Power of Hands-On Holistic Care | The Feline Wellness Summit With Dr. Paola Zanibelli Davies

 Welcome to the cat dad show. My name is Scott Colby and I'm going to share with you a clip of my interview with Dr. Zanabelli Davies, where we talked all about cooperative care and how it can transform your cat's life. So Dr. Paola is a doctor in psychology and is trained in advanced feline behavior, management, nutrition, and holistic.

care. And specifically in this clip, I asked her what is cooperative care. And I asked her also why she believes it has a power to truly transform a cat's life and their relationship with their human. Dr. Paola was a special guest for my feline wellness summit. If you would like to watch the entire interview or listen to the entire interview as well as interviews with 20 other feline wellness experts.

You can get a free ticket to our summit. Just go to felinewellnesssummit. com. But for now, enjoy this clip.

Sure. Okay. Now this is a topic that is really, really close to my heart. And um, cooperative care is, um, the, the, the definition of cooperative care is a training method that teaches animals to, um, to an extent to willingly participate in medical procedures or other handling processes.

And, uh, it is based on positive reinforcement and, uh, it can be used to train your cats to actually accept supplements, drugs, or therapies that you might do at home with them without trauma. So, And it's important to say that it's good to avoid trauma in cats, but also in you as the cat parents, because, uh, when people struggle to get these supplements or these therapies, uh, into their cats and, uh, onto their cats, then, uh, they get really traumatized.

And PTSD is real. They actually dread having to try that again. And they come to me. Uh, desperate because they want to do something for their cats, and they can't actually get the practical skills to actually get it in the cat. I mean, I'm sure you have seen the memes out there with people with the, um, with the armor and, uh, the bodily armor and, you know, and they're all ready to go because they have to peel the cat.

So I, I laugh at the memes, but, uh, and I understand that. When you start with this process, it seems, um, maybe unattainable and it seems daunting and, um, you know, um, definitely, um, it's something that It's, it's a fear that people have to put their hands in their cat's mouth, the teeth are sharp, they are also very sensitive animals, and they tend to, um, sort of keep a grudge with us if we do something that they don't like us to do, so we don't want to ruin our relationship with them.

So people really feel that this is a struggle, and it's a, it's a The reason why it's so important is that this is the, the roadblock that they face and the, the, the hurdle that they face when they have to give the cat, um, their cat, the care that they deserve and they can't. So I address this to help them get in there.

Yeah, so important. Uh, and I remember my, um, you use the word trauma. My sister had a cat several years ago. She, the cat lived to 19, uh, but this was about 10, 11 years ago. The cat had kidney disease the last couple years and my sister was supposed to give the cat fluids. And it was very, very difficult for her to give her cat fluids.

And she told me that She ended up, you know, she would put the cat in the bathtub, so it, you know, didn't escape, I guess, and closed the bathroom door. And she actually used the word, it was traumatic for the cat, and it was traumatic for my sister, because I guess the cat was probably putting up a fight.

Practical Applications of Cooperative Care

Um, so In practice, what does cooperative care actually looks look like?

Okay. So, um, yeah, what you just said now is very relevant to this because there are times when you need to give a drug very quickly and very briefly because you just need to give the cats a course of antibiotics or when there is a confirmed infection, for example, or a course of a different medicine.

That is sometimes when we need the drugs and for certain things, traditional medicine is appropriate. And for other things we do much better with holistic medicine. But, uh, when the time is short, people don't really worry too much. And even if they struggle, they know it's going to be a week and they think Once I pass this week, I go past this week is fine.

However, when you look at the lifespan of a cat and they get old and bodies break down and things happen and to maintain that longevity and the quality of life, it's better if we actually succeed when we need to give them the support that they need, whether it is fluids or even doing an enema for your cat.

That is one of the most advanced practices that I teach. But, or for example, if your cat has gone off food completely and they are not a good candidate for a feeding tube, um, syringe feeding is an option. There are Some veterinarians that don't like syringe feeding, for example, because they say that it causes food aversion.

However, to be honest, food aversion can be caused by you putting food down in a plate and the cat associating that food with the fact that they're feeling nauseous. So they're not going to eat that food again, whether it is given by a syringe or not. And to be honest, sometimes syringe feeding can save the life of your cat because cats cannot stay without eating for.

Over a number of hours. So yes, we we can see how sometimes we need to give things for a longer time and things like fluids. You want to keep it up. And if your cat obviously doesn't want to be part of it, it's going to be a real struggle. And this is unpleasant for all the parties involved and very stressful.

So the traditional approach is basically to build a positive association before giving your cat, uh, medication or practicing anything regarding handling of any kind. And uh, this approach consistent, um, choosing a Usually the traditional approach chooses a work area that your cat likes and you start using this work area to train your cat to come and associate this with a something good.

It can be a particular toy that they love or a really, really high value treat. And then you start associating the equipment with this toy and you can use a clicker or I find that because we are handling maybe equipment and we are, um, maybe we need to stroke a cat because sometimes it's petting that is the reward.

Some cats really like to be strokes under the chin where the pheromone area is and they, they, they, um. They have every cat is unique and they have their own rewards. So because you're busy and it's sometimes it's difficult to use a clicker, you can use a sound that is always the same as much as possible.

Any sound that you produce, um, by clicking your tongue or something like that, you can even say yes, as long as you do it in a way that is. consistent. And also because it has to come straight away. You have, you have about two seconds to give that click and give the reward. So after you have created this positive association with this area and with the actions that you're doing without giving any medication, then you introduce, for example, giving the cat something.

So for example, a liquid, uh, water or tuna water. Or a creamy treat which you know has been a godsend for everyone because it's a great training device and um, and yes, so you you go very gradually and eventually Um, they will associate also receiving the medication with the treat now I don't necessarily choose a work area for this because I feel that Cats sometimes that are laying already in their favorite area, it can be a bed, it can be a particular blanket and sometimes having to get them to come to the area disturbs them and disrupts the process.

And sometimes you make such a big deal out of this. So I Sometimes I just approach them where they are and with the best attitude I can, I just deliver the medication or the supplement and then I praise them really, uh, widely and, uh, and then we move on. I don't make a big deal out of it and we move on.

Of course, the skills are there to know how to touch them and what technique works for them. But this is pretty much what happens in, uh, in this training.