Spicy Cats
This body language cue often indicates a cat is becoming fearful or defensive.
What are flattened ears?
(Accept: dilated pupils, tail swishing, crouching, hissing.)
The most common reason dogs bite in the veterinary clinic is:
What is fear, anxiety, or pain?
Chemical restraint should be considered when it will improve this for both the patient and staff.
What is safety and welfare?
This acronym stands for Fear, Anxiety, and Stress.
What is FAS?
A dog repeatedly licks its lips during the physical exam. This is commonly interpreted as:
What is a stress signal?
A cat is growling, swatting, and lunging during an exam. The next best step is:
What is stop the exam and allow the cat to decompress?
(Accept: reduce restraint/use chemical restraint if needed.)
Instead of staring into a dog's eyes to show affection, Fear Free professionals avoid making this kind of contact to prevent the dog from feeling threatened.
What is direct eye contact?
This alpha-2 agonist provides sedation and analgesia and is commonly used in healthy dogs and cats.
What is dexmedetomidine?
The FAS scale ranges from this lowest level of complete relaxation to this highest level of severe, dangerous aggression.
What are 0 and 5? [1, 2]
A cat's tail begins rapidly twitching while you're auscultating its chest. This behavior suggests:
What is increasing agitation?
This sedative combination is commonly used for fractious cats needing diagnostics.
What is dexmedetomidine and an opioid (such as buprenorphine or butorphanol)?
When treating a dog in a veterinary setting, professionals prefer to give treats as a reward before, during, and after procedures. This training concept is known in animal behavior as what?
What is positive reinforcement?
This opioid reversal agent is used if excessive respiratory depression occurs.
What is naloxone?
A pet at this specific FAS level often exhibits a "fight, flight, or freeze" response, attempting to escape while refusing treats.
What is Level 4?
A dog suddenly becomes completely still ("freezes") while staring at you. This behavior should be interpreted as:
What is a warning sign before a potential bite?
A cat in respiratory distress becomes increasingly stressed during handling. The first priority is:
What is minimize handling and provide oxygen?
Experts in canine behavior identify these "four F's" of stress responses: Fight, Flight, Freeze, and this fourth F that describes a dog that is restless, fidgety, and unable to settle down.
What is Fidget?
This popular premedicant reduces anxiety but provides no analgesia and can cause vasodilation and temporary penile prolapse in stallions
What is Acepromazine?
This severe behavioral state is the hallmark of a Level 5 FAS score, often requiring sedation for safe handling.
What is aggression (growling, snapping, lunging)?
A dog repeatedly turns its head away and avoids eye contact during handling. This behavior is known as:
What is avoidance behavior?
When an animal reaches a FAS score of five, Fear Free protocols dictate that the veterinarian must make this immediate, compassionate decision regarding the preventive care visit.
Answer: What is to postpone the treatment? [1]
When cleaning exam tables to prevent a dog from picking up the scent of a previous, anxious patient, you should use products containing this type of ingredient rather than standard ammonia.
$600 Response:
What are enzymes (or enzymatic bacteria)?
he medical term for the initial cardiovascular response to Alpha-2 agonists that results in vasoconstriction and pale mucous membranes is this
What is Hypertension?
When assessing a patient's emotional health, the vet should refer to this comprehensive document that notes their specific triggers, preferences, and previous FAS scores.
What is the Emotional Medical Record (EMR)?
Name three signs that indicate a cat is becoming overstimulated during an exam.
What are dilated pupils, flattened ears, tail twitching, crouching, hissing, growling, or swatting?