📩 17/06/2023 13:14
The social awareness campaign “Take Your Cat to the Veterinarian” organized by Royal Canin Turkey is being implemented between 16 June and 14 July this year. Only half of cat owners today have their cats regularly checked out. For cats, which by nature can deftly conceal their disease symptoms, this comes with serious health consequences. The "Take Your Cat to the Veterinarian" campaign, organized by Royal Canin every year in cooperation with industry associations and veterinarians, to raise awareness on the subject, makes a strong call to cat owners to take action for health checkups.
Only 10 out of 4 cats in the world undergo regular health checks. While cat owners state that they only take their cats to the veterinary clinic when they are sick or injured, a similar situation is unfortunately the case for cat owners in Turkey. According to research carried out by Royal Canin, 3 out of every 1 cat owners today states that they do not have their cats checked for health even though their cats show symptoms of illness. The belief that the symptoms will go away on their own if left untreated and the veterinary clinic visit process is stressful for cats and their owners are the main factors behind delaying regular health checks.
A national awareness campaign in cooperation with sectoral associations
Program of Istanbul Chamber of Veterinarians (IVHO), Feline Veterinarians Association (KEDVET), Feline Medical Association (KHEDI), Clinician Veterinarians Association (KLIVET), Small Animal Veterinary Medicine Association (KHVHD) and Emergency Veterinary Medicine Association (TuVECCA) The campaign, of which he is a partner, aims to raise awareness of the importance of preventive medicine practices and improve health services for cats, while encouraging pet owners to schedule regular health checkups for their cats.
Speaking about the campaign, Royal Canin Turkey Country Manager Aslı Çelikkol said, “With our campaign, which we have been running for eight years, within the scope of our vision for a Better World for Animals, we touch the lives of thousands of animal owners and their cats every year. Playing a key role in animal health, happiness and welfare, our veterinarians are at the center of the world of value we create for animals and their owners. In this project, we are accompanied by important professional organizations and associations with their knowledge and experience. Supporting pet owners with information is our priority. With this social awareness campaign we have implemented, we encourage cats to start regular veterinary clinic visits from their kittens onwards.” used the phrase.
Health checks are a must for cats who can hide their diseases skillfully!
Underlining that there are common misconceptions among the public behind the fact that cats do not undergo regular health checks, Royal Canin Corporate Relations Director Çağla Çavuşoğlu said, “It is only a myth that cats have nine lives. Due to their free nature and relatively resistant nature, cat owners may have the wrong idea that when their cats develop symptoms of illness, they can "get over it on their own". When we see the first symptom in cats, which can skillfully mask the signs of disease, we should be able to act immediately and initiate the diagnosis and treatment process through veterinarians. Otherwise, when their diseases reach a visible point, their diseases may have progressed and even reached the point of no return. That's why we say that early detection saves lives in cats, as in humans."
10 out of 8 cat owners find the visit to the clinic stressful
According to the research results; The most difficult issue for cat owners during the veterinary clinic visit is the stress experienced by their cats, and therefore by themselves, before and during the examination. 10 out of 7 cat owners state that they would have their cats checked more frequently if it was easier.
“However, it is possible to manage this process correctly with small steps that cat owners can take and additional measures they can take,” said Royal Canin Turkey Brand and Digital Marketing Director, Koray Ramis, and continued as follows: “Our website www.royalcanin.com and YouTube In our account, we bring together all kinds of information and care suggestions that may be needed in a digital library and bring them to the attention of animal owners. This year, we are proceeding with a communication strategy that will arouse interest and curiosity, strengthened by scientific data, in order to raise awareness of our campaign to wider audiences. We bring our campaign together with animal owners and encourage responsible cat ownership at metro stations with heavy traffic, located on the Anatolian and European sides of Istanbul. “Reducing behavior change in cat owners and understanding the importance of regular health checkups is critical to our vision of creating a better world for animals.”
Within the scope of the "Take Your Cat to the Veterinarian" campaign, Royal Canin commits to donate 1 kg of food to stray animals under the care of Göktürk Animal Lovers Association in return for every health check post to be made on social media with the hashtag #kedimklinikte.