Whisker Wellness Center

02/14/2025

Rhun grew as much in a week as most kittens grow in a month!

02/13/2025

Life-changing news for some cats with heart disease: a new drug is in clinical trials and expected to receive FDA approval soon. So far, studies have seen it halting and reversing heart muscle thickening for cats with Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM)! If your kitty has HCM, they may be able to enroll in this clinical trial. You must be willing to travel to Everett for periodic appointments. Click the link for more details.

Learn more about The HALT Feline HCM Study! Find out more about the study, its locations and pre-register here

02/11/2025

Lesson learned: keep your cat’s wand toys out of reach! Kevin ate nearly the entire length of fabric from his toy before his mom discovered what he happened. He became very sick and vomited and defecated out the string. Most cats are not so luckily and require emergency surgery to remove string and ribbons from the digestive tract, which costs thousands of dollars. Fortunately, Kevin made a full recovery within a few days of his mishap.

If you don’t have pet insurance for your kitty, now is an excellent time to get a policy! Pet insurance can save you thousands of dollars when you’re faced with emergency vet bills. Policies are typically less than $50/month (my cats’ policies are $20/month) and such a great help for unforeseen medical expenses like Kevin had.

Hooray for Kevin and his gut of steel! He’s going to only have supervised wand time from now on.

02/10/2025

This is the face of Feline Infectious Peritonitis (FIP). Bash visited us a couple months ago to solve the problem of his chronic digestive problems and weight loss. When we first met, he was emaciated and close to death. Now he is thriving!

For years, there was no treatment for FIP. Then there was only treatment through some black market drugs that US veterinarians could not legally prescribe. Now we can legally prescribe treatment from legitimate pharmacies and save lives.

Nash is almost done with this treatment and should go on to live a happy, healthy life ❤️

Cat-exclusive veterinary hospital in Gig Harbor helping cats live extraordinary lives.

02/06/2025

Which is your cat’s style?

02/04/2025

February is Pet dental health month! Routine dental care helps cats enjoy healthy, happy, and pain-free lives with their families.

Call us to schedule your kitty’s checkup and we’ll discuss both preventative care done at home as well as any dental work your cat may need.

02/04/2025

Brrr it’s cold! If you care for a cat who lives outside, make sure to help them stay warm:

* Provide an insulated shelter (straw works great, blankets do not)
* Offer plenty of water - heated bowls won’t freeze over. If you don’t have heated bowls, refresh the bowl regularly
* If you use a heated bed, make sure it’s designed for pets and outdoor use

Pictured here is BK, a community cat I doted on for 8 years before he finally decided to come inside and join the family and be pampered 🥰

01/31/2025

We love Walter! Feisty Felines rescued him off the street a year ago when he was on death’s door. Dr. Hicks helped restore his health and now he’s thriving in his foster home at Washington State Department of Corrections in Gig Harbor. CatLuminati featured him in a recent video tour! Today Walter came in for a checkup and we fawned over him as always. In typical Walter fashion, he calmly accepted our affection and tolerated the tests we performed. Here’s to more happiness and health for years to come!

01/30/2025

It’s a Maine C**n Monday!

01/29/2025

It’s such a kitten thing to snuggle and purr in the vet’s arms, give her sweet Bambi eyes…and then slap her in the face

01/27/2025

We are so happy to provide veterinary care to the kitties of Feisty Felines and be involved with the program at Washington State Department of Corrections in Gig Harbor!

01/24/2025

Tigger has a blast when he visits us! It helps that he gets a toy and treat at every appointment. We want our patients to not feel afraid to come to the vet so we do our best to teach them from an early age that they can feel safe with us ❤️

01/23/2025

What’s your kitty type?

01/21/2025

Shackleton thinks we’re pretty cool thanks to Churu treats, but Cousteau isn’t buying it. Can you see the glee on Dr Hicks’ face to be surrounded by giants?

We have same-day availability most days so if your kitties need some TLC, call us today! 564-225-0450

01/20/2025

One of the best parts about my job is knowing kitties from kittenhood to old age. I fostered Bingo and Rooney from the age of one week until they found their forever family a few months later. I’ve gotten to see them grow up and it’s wonderful to have a relationship with their family!

We provide a full spectrum of care for kitties: from birth to end-of-life care. In addition to wellness services we manage complex internal medicine conditions, perform dentistry and surgery, treat behavior problems, offer acupuncture to manage chronic pain and other conditions, and so much more!

01/19/2025

Freya finished her exam and is not subtle that she’s ready to go home

01/17/2025

Dr. Hicks donates her services to perform trap-neuter-return of community cats in her neighborhood. It all started when some people left behind their kitties when they moved away, and the new elderly homeowners had trouble providing for them. Her neighbors help care for the cats and monitor their wellbeing, and assist with trapping new ones who show up. Seymour is the 23rd cat that Dr. Hicks has fixed! You can help community cats in your neighborhoods through TNR. Learn more at Community Cat Coalition

PS Seymour was sedated and his eyes were lubricated prior to taking this photo. He’s in excellent health and now cannot make any more babies!

01/15/2025

I think SnowBear likes the art in our exam room…what do you think he’s thinking?