There’s been discussion lately about “air scratches” (when a cat/dog tries to scratch with their missing limb), and I wanted to add my two cents.
So I recently found a new vet establishment and vet. They are accredited by the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA), and also certified by the American Association of Feline Practitioners (AAFP) as a gold-level Cat Friendly Practice. Not only that, but my new vet Dr. Moodoyan has TWO tripawds! So definitely qualified.
I took Jet in last week to see her (well, he saw her, I didn’t – I had to sit in my car). I was concerned about his frequent air scratches, and tilting his head to his amp side. I was sure there was something in his left ear, or something wrong with it. She gave it a thorough examination, and said it looked clean, just the normal wax. She basically said that air scratches come with the territory. Her two tripawds (one she has had for 18 years) continue to do air scratches, and only thing you can do is go over and help them scratch the itch. But ultimately it’s no big deal, and nothing to be concerned about.
It was driving me crazy, because I looked in his ear with a flashlight many times, and just couldn’t see anything, but figured there HAD to be something in there. But turns out it’s just part of being a tripawd!
BTW, here is a link regarding AAHA:
https://tripawds.com/tag/aaha/
And a link regarding cat-friendly practices:
Purrkins New Cat Hospital/ Cat Friendly Practice -28 January 2021
