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:
Yay, for a gold cat-friendly hospital, I hope you & Jet saw a difference in the clinic even though you were in the dang parking lot.
I can’t wait until the day we can actually go in and check out our facility. Purrkins gives them 5 stars, so that’s all that counts.
Yep on the scratches, Purrkins gets those on his amputated side we come to the rescue to itch. It comes with the territory minus the limb. It is the least we can do right.;)
I’m glad you took Jet in; regardless, now you have peace of mind! Plus a new clinic! With cats, we never do know and need to be dang detectives. We need the experts to say all is ok.
Scratches to Jet & Jery, please.
Holly, Mark, Purrkins & Saxton💝💝💝
Brad this info is incredibly helpful, THANK YOU!
Dr. Moodoyan sounds like a total rock star, what a find. I’m so glad you were able to get clear on the air scratching. We went through the same thing with Wyatt. Those ears of his were so huge, we swore that he had something in them, and had them checked as well. But nope. Just a rear-leg amputee trying to scratch with the missing limb. We kept back scratchers handy in the RV.
Love love love this post but you forgot something: we want to see Jet! 😉
Glad things are good with you two! Say hello to your pawesome family from all of us.