Welcome to Healthy pet Connect

Although our company launched in July 2021 this is our first blog post. Sorry for the delay! Here is a brief history, then on to our mission …to connect pets with their vets to improve pet health & save veterinary team time!

Dr Hadar & I  met at a veterinary innovation conference in 2019 and quickly partnered to publish a peer-reviewed paper that showed technology used in the home could improve weight loss 4X in multiple cat households. We then built an app as the transfer of information during the study was challenging & slow. This led to a dashboard that a veterinarian could look at and quickly spot trends allowing decisions regarding care and often avoid a car ride to the vet (not most cats or some dogs favorite thing!) 

Spudgie (a 37# cat), yes a 37# cat! just happened to  appear at my  practice the week our app launched. He was rescued by the Dane County Humane Society (DCHS) who had a long relationship with my clinic and our weight loss program for pets,  Fit Pets for Rescues (FPR), which was held annually (prior to Covid) at Bug’s Cat Gym which is above my  practice, West Towne Veterinary Center (WTVC) in Madison, WI.  Fast forward 2 years and Spudgie, after twice weekly weights, daily food weights on scales connected to our app while fostering in Bug's Cat Gym and lots of "tough love" from my WTVC staff now weighs just 12#! He is now normal in every way and will soon live in my home with my 3 other cats. His rate of loss was better than established rates within the profession and HPC donated over $500 to DCHS. His full story is here  https://www.giveshelter.org/news/new-year-new-cat-weight-resolutions.  

Shortly after Spudgie achieved his ideal weight I was alerted to Patches, a 42# cat in Richmond Virginia.  He is currently on our platform and has lost 10# in just 6 months at a safe 1% average weekly weight loss and better than average weight loss rates . Patches has a huge worldwide following with over 41K followers on FB. Pet lover Kay Ford has done a truly amazing job with him! Go Patches & Kay! https://www.facebook.com/p/Patches-Journey-100092055847095/​

Does HPC just monitor HUGE cats? No, many other cats & some dogs have used the HPC scale system & platform to maintain or even gain weight. Chronic care conditions like diabetes, osteoarthritis, hyperthyroidism, cancer and other diseases that affect appetite and involve frequent medications are now monitored on our platform remotely. We have also monitored perfectly healthy pets to detect inadvertent weight loss and healthy growth in puppies & kittens.

Although body weight, the amount of food being fed and activity  are among most important data points for pets at home owner observations, there are many other important pieces of information that can be helpful to the veterinary team. Our app uploads videos to assess movement issues, pictures or food, treats, medication and more that can help the veterinary team help make healthcare decisions.

The most important thing about HPC  is that we exist only to help improve the care you get from your veterinarian and to save their veterinary team’s  time via telemonitoring. Additionally, we can work with any home pet health device (feeders, other smart scales, activity monitors etc) that gathers data.  We are essentially  a conduit of validated information to your existing veterinarian. That said, if/when you move all records & information in your subscription can be shared with your new veterinarian or or specialist if needed.

Does our founders/team really know what we are doing? I have traveled in the US, Europe, Costa Rica, Mexico with my adventure cat Bug (link to FB page) and have tested countless smart feeders, activity monitors and smart scales for pets in Bugs Gym and in our FPR contests. Dr. Joey has been in feline-only practice for 18 years having over 60 special needs cats of her own (yes, she is writing "the book"!) so is an expert at chronic care from both a vet and pet parent’s perspective.  Dr. Hadar will be receiving his PhD in veterinary epidemiology with an emphasis on leveraging veterinary technology from OVC Guelph in spring 2024. The rest of our team has amazing credentials and  is equally focused on providing the best pet care remotely using technology. More about them and pet success stories to come! 

Welcome to the future of precision care for pets!

Dr Ken