Our cat Theo has a heart disease. We found that out from a cat cardiologist.
A cat cardiologist? Really?
Yes, really.
Why do I mention this on a site called EconLog? Because the fact that there are cardiologists for cats is a sign of economic growth.
I’m pretty sure that fifty years ago we didn’t have cat cardiologists. There wasn’t much demand for them because Americans, on average, were substantially poorer than they are now. You might argue that there wasn’t much supply either, and you would be right. But why wasn’t there much of a supply? It was due to the fact that technology had not evolved to the point where cardiologists could diagnose cats, but that was also due, in part, to the fact that Americans were poorer and weren’t willing to demand such cardiology for cats.
There are so many indicators of economic growth and how wealthy it has made the average American.
Consider movies. In a blog post titled “Howard Hughes Would Envy You,” EconLog, September 19, 2024, co-blogger Kevin Corcoran told a fascinating story, which I had not known about, of Howard Hughes and his use of his own television station to play movies. Kevin points out that in the 1960s, Hughes was very wealthy, wealthy enough to own his own TV station, KLAS, in Las Vegas, where Hughes lived.
Kevin writes:
Now in control of his own private TV station, he could ensure movies would be broadcast at all hours. And apparently, it wasn’t uncommon for him to decide he didn’t like what was being shown and simply call the station to tell them to play something else instead. As a result, anyone else who was watching the station would suddenly find themselves confused as the movie they were in the middle of watching was suddenly switched to something else.
Imagine that: wanting to watch a movie when you want to, changing your mind, and then watching another movie. To do that, Hughes had to buy a TV station for $3.6 million, which, translated to today’s dollars is about $34 million.
Of course, we don’t have to imagine that. Most of us do it by subscribing to Netflix or other services and paying annually less than 0.0001 percent of the price Hughes paid. (Of course, I should price Netflix over 10 or more years, but you get the point.)
Boy, are we wealthy!
And now compare our situation to that of kings and queens just 2 centuries ago. Even a king could not play a song when he wanted to. If he wanted it late at night, he would have to assemble an orchestra. Maybe it could be done but maybe it couldn’t. Now we all “assemble” our own orchestras and can do so by touching a couple of things on our portable phones. And the artists get it note perfect every time.
I would not trade my life for that of Howard Hughes. I especially would not trade my life for that of George IV, the king of England 200 years ago.
Note: The featured image is of our orange cat Theo and our older cat Rocky.
READER COMMENTS
Craig
Jan 24 2025 at 10:20pm
“A cat cardiologist? Really?”
Part of it is cultural as well. In TN talking to guy who did some work for me said he thought ‘John’ had some property he thought he could get for a low price. I said he might not want to tell ‘John’ that. He then said that he didn’t really see eye to eye with ‘John’ and I made the mistake of asking, “Why?” He elaborated that apparently his dog was getting into ‘John’s’ chickens and he came over and threatened to shoot the dog if the dog kept getting into his chickens to which he said, “Well, you need to do what you need to do, but if you do shoot the dog, make sure you finish him off” Of course the dog doesn’t actually speak English so sure enough he gets into the chickens again and ‘John’ shoots the dog but it limped home bleeding and it is THAT which annoyed him, not the fact that his neighbor shot the dog. Well, that escalated quickly enough.
I did not inquire if he brought the dog to a doggy cardiologist.
I was similar to you with my shih-tzu which lived until it was 18 years old, sadly probably 6 months too long in retrospect, but the vet would bring out ‘estimates’ and run ‘tests’ and all kinds of ridiculousness. In rural TN that’s not going to happen and that really runs the gamut of the economic classes I might add, bringing a cat to a cardiologist is just not something even wealthier people here would consider doing. (Maybe Nashville?)
Jon Murphy
Jan 25 2025 at 7:38am
Not only cat cardiologists, but the whole concept of specialized veterinary medicine for house pets is fairly new. I’ve been reading I Am A Cat by Natsume Sōseki. The book was written and takes place in early 1900s Japan. In the book, the same doctor who treats the humans treats the cats (and even then, he only treats the cat of the wealthy neighbor who spoils her cat).
David Henderson
Jan 26 2025 at 12:10am
Good point, Jon.
Alan Goldhammer
Jan 25 2025 at 9:00am
Yes, there are vet specialists, but this is more evolutionary than surprising. Years ago vet school covered both large and small animal but has moved away from the generalist approach. We also have pet insurance that will cover things like the treatment of David’s cat. People’s attachment to pets is leading to difficult economic decisions about whether the treat their pet who might have cancer or some other disease. Such treatments can cost a significant amount of money as opposed to just putting the animal down.
David Seltzer
Jan 25 2025 at 10:19am
David: Good stuff. Not only cat cardiologists but an increase in general vet practices. There are a dozen vet hospitals within a fifteen mile radius of our home. No certificate of need is required. The competition for our pet bucks is fierce. Prices are posted. I pay directly for service. No third party insurer, although I can purchase coverage. I receive a military discount and payment plans are available. I get both our dog’s teeth cleaned in February because our vet offers a 20% discount for the month. As an aside, it seems our gov operated healthcare system could learn from this.
David Henderson
Jan 26 2025 at 12:09am
Good points, David.
You wrote:
Your dog has only 2 teeth? 🙂
steve
Jan 25 2025 at 6:25pm
There have been veterinary cardiologists around since the 50s but they only became more common in the last 30-40 years as people became willing and able to pay. I suspect they still arent that common in less populated areas. As an aside when U Penn decided to take up open heart surgery for dogs they asked for the consultant help of our team. I went to offer advice for a couple of surgeries but the vets were pretty sharp and really didnt need that much help. They certainly understood the physiology and pharmacology well and better than us on the anatomy. (Most of them were probably smarter than I am.) Mostly we just had some practical stuff to offer.
Steve
Jon Murphy
Jan 25 2025 at 11:14pm
That makes sense. I recall one conversation I had with my vet circa 2020. He said that a lot of would-be human doctors end up going into veterinary care because med schools so tightly restrict access. So, you have a lot of great doctors who end up working on animals.
David Henderson
Jan 26 2025 at 12:09am
Thanks, steve.
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