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xiphiasWhile Boopsie was staying with ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
felis_sidus while we were in Florida, Boopsie started on a quarter-tablet of Pepsid to help with stomach acid, which may be one of the reasons she's not been eating.
Boopsie doesn't like getting pills -- she'll struggle and resist a bit. However, she ALSO will remind me if it's time for her pill. See, as much as she doesn't really LIKE the pills, she is, in some way, aware that it's good for her. Basically, she trusts me, Lis, andfelis_sidus -- and she figures, if one of us does something like that, there's a good reason for it.
So, tonight was the first time I gave her the Pepsid. And she took it, and then walked over to her food bowl to nibble a little at it.
It really looked like a thought process -- "I've now had the thing which makes my stomach hurt less, so I will now eat." That she associated the pill with feeling better and with being able to eat.
Well, first, of course, I hope that it's working and DOES work like that. But there are a couple interesting, more general ideas this raises.
Boopsie identifies "Thing Trusted Person Has Done" and "Me Feeling Better". And she identifies "Pill That Makes My Stomach Feel Better" with "Stomach Feels Better."
Is it possible for a cat to have placebo effect benefits? Do cats have that level of cognition?
And, if they do, should animal drug tests be double-blind? Are they already?
felis_sidus while we were in Florida, Boopsie started on a quarter-tablet of Pepsid to help with stomach acid, which may be one of the reasons she's not been eating.Boopsie doesn't like getting pills -- she'll struggle and resist a bit. However, she ALSO will remind me if it's time for her pill. See, as much as she doesn't really LIKE the pills, she is, in some way, aware that it's good for her. Basically, she trusts me, Lis, and
felis_sidus -- and she figures, if one of us does something like that, there's a good reason for it.So, tonight was the first time I gave her the Pepsid. And she took it, and then walked over to her food bowl to nibble a little at it.
It really looked like a thought process -- "I've now had the thing which makes my stomach hurt less, so I will now eat." That she associated the pill with feeling better and with being able to eat.
Well, first, of course, I hope that it's working and DOES work like that. But there are a couple interesting, more general ideas this raises.
Boopsie identifies "Thing Trusted Person Has Done" and "Me Feeling Better". And she identifies "Pill That Makes My Stomach Feel Better" with "Stomach Feels Better."
Is it possible for a cat to have placebo effect benefits? Do cats have that level of cognition?
And, if they do, should animal drug tests be double-blind? Are they already?
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Date: 2007-03-30 06:10 am (UTC)Boopsie doesn't like getting pills -- she'll struggle and resist a bit. However, she ALSO will remind me if it's time for her pill. See, as much as she doesn't really LIKE the pills, she is, in some way, aware that it's good for her. Basically, she trusts me, Lis, and [info]felis_sidus -- and she figures, if one of us does something like that, there's a good reason for it.
So, tonight was the first time I gave her the Pepsid. And she took it, and then walked over to her food bowl to nibble a little at it.
It really looked like a thought process -- "I've now had the thing which makes my stomach hurt less, so I will now eat." That she associated the pill with feeling better and with being able to eat.
It could be that the relief of stomach pain is fast enough for her to notice right away, and that's what makes her go to the food bowl. Or it could be a matter of routine. Is she a cat who likes to live by routines?
Is it possible for a cat to have placebo effect benefits? Do cats have that level of cognition?
And, if they do, should animal drug tests be double-blind? Are they already?
Cats can't have direct placebo effect benefits, as far as I know. I don't think the cat can believe "this medicine will cure my disease" any more than she can take the medicine herself. I think a cat can believe "the person who loves me is doing this uncomfortable thing to save me," or "the person who loves me feels doubtful about doing this uncomfortable thing to me," and those beliefs have an indirect placebo effect. Something very similar happens in humans. That's why human drug tests are double-blind, with the doctors not knowing who gets placebos.
I don't know if veterinary drug trials are done blind. I think some of them are, but it's always cheaper to do them openly, because the record-keeping is more of a hassle with secret codes.