A cat being examined after the owner dropped it off via curbside pickup. Dr. Kris Hoyt of Cats on Call in Scarborough said that she uses her iPad to video conference with clients. Courtesy Dr. Kris Hoyt
SCARBOROUGH — Medical treatment during the Covid-19 outbreak has had to go remote for some patients with other ailments, through telemedicine or telehealth, which are a virtual doctor’s visit.
For instance, urgent health care provider American Family Care, which has a location in South Portland, announced in a press release that the company would be providing these alternative visits to patients “as a solution in this health care crisis.”
Telemedicine isn’t just for humans, however — Cats on Call, located on 256 U.S. Route 1 in Scarborough has been checking up on feline patients through technology, said Dr. Kris Hoyt. The veterinarian has been providing the service for about a week, as well as curbside patient pickup.
Clients have been sending Hoyt photographs and videos of their cats, and then using Facetime or videoconferencing. Hoyt determines whether she can solve the problem remotely or if the animal needs to be dropped off at the office, she said.
“I had two requests the other day, and one I was able to achieve (over the call), and the other one I needed to see the animal in person because it was an eye problem,” she said. “There’s definitely limitations to what can be done, but I think it makes clients feel validation. It has been a powerful tool in communication.”
One of the biggest challenges, Hoyt said, is making sure that clients are sending in well-lit, clear pictures.
A positive side to telemedicine is that the animal doesn’t always need to be transported to the office for an appointment, she said.
“This is a really great boon for the client because they don’t have to stuff their cats in the carrier,” Hoyt said.
She added with a laugh, “We all know how much they love that and car rides.”
Cats on Call isn’t charging more for telemedicine visits, said Hoyt. While some other veterinarians and doctors have been using online services that come with a cost, she isn’t using anything that most people with a cell phone or a computer can’t access.
“Some of us are just doing it the old fashioned way, just using Facetime and people’s cellphone, that kind of thing,” she said. “Some are technologically adapted to Zoom, and that’s great. There are some platforms that are at a cost, but we just try to make it so that anyone with a limited knowledge can make it. I’ve had people who don’t know how to do videos, to do pictures. I have clients who are 80 who are proud enough just to get pictures.”
One of Hoyt’s clients, Boni Libby, said that Hoyt was able to treat her cat’s cough remotely. Libby had never gone to Cats on Call before the telemedicine appointment.
“I called first, and I have a cat that I saved, a shelter cat brought up from Tennessee,” Libby said. “She was 3 and feral so that was the challenge for me, trying to get a feral cat into the vet. They were wonderful realizing that was a challenge for me. I tried to sedate her and that wasn’t working. I couldn’t get her up there and they said, ‘No problem. We’ll do a video,’ and (Hoyt) was clear about what she needed to see and needed to hear.”
Libby said that she managed to shoot a video of her cat’s cough and send over the footage.
“The coughing worried me as a registered nurse,” she continued. “I was worried it could be a heart thing. Generally, I think (Hoyt) does home visits, and that wasn’t an option. I sent the video over. She listened to what the noises were, and she was able to assess it.”
The treatment that Hoyt suggested has been working for Libby’s cat, Libby said.
“I got a call back quickly and she went over all the possibilities,” said Libby. “She was very specific and thorough. Other than not being able to snap a chest X-ray, she had a good plan, let me know what she wanted to do.”
When animals are brought to the location, her staff come out and collect the animal, Hoyt said. After the appointment, a staff member will put the cat back into the carrier and bring it back to the owner’s car.
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