Cat owners: do you take your cats to the vet, even if they’re indoor cats?

This is going to sound ridiculous, but I only recently realized not everyone does this. OK, that’s the wrong way to put it — more like I only recently understood this is not a common thing.

This understanding came from a conversation with a couple of friends. They have an indoor cat (who goes outside occasionally) and mentioned taking him to be neutered. During the appointment, the vet asked about his shots. My friends mentioned they didn’t plan to do this annually.

It surprised me. Which is weird because the more I think about it, the more I realize that among people I know, we are the weird ones when it comes to our cats getting their shots.

For as long as I have had cats, taking them to the vet has been an annual-ish occurrence. The appointments have not always been exactly on time, but once a year, they find their way to an exam room.

Here are some of the reasons why we do this (even though it’s not cheap).