The Tails of Truth Podcast:

We Asked AI About a Sick Cat. Here's What It Got Wrong (and Right)

AI and Pet Health Advice: What It Gets Right, What It Misses, and When to Call Your Vet

Pet parents are using AI tools to look up symptoms. Veterinarians know it. And honestly we do it too.

This episode doesn't tell you to stop. It gives you a smarter way to do it.

In this episode of Tails of Truth, Dr. Angie Krause and JoJo test two popular AI tools, ChatGPT and Claude, live using a real clinical scenario — a 12-year-old cat not eating and losing weight — and break down the responses in real time. They cover what the tools got right, what they missed, and why a 3-pound weight loss in a senior cat is a much bigger deal than the number sounds.

What this episode covers:

  • AI hallucinations in veterinary medicine including fabricated research studies
  • Why conversational AI feels different from a search engine (and why that matters)
  • Live comparison of two AI tools responding to a senior cat case
  • A key diagnosis both tools underemphasized: inflammatory bowel disease
  • How AI is already sending pet parents to specific veterinary practices
  • The 2 a.m. symptom spiral and what to actually do with what you find

For veterinary professionals: this is a conversation worth having with your clients. AI-generated "diagnoses" are showing up in exam rooms. Knowing how to address them starts here.

Listen now, then book a consultation at boulderholisticvet.com if you've got questions an AI couldn't answer.

Key Takeaways

  1. AI tools can and do hallucinate including fabricating veterinary research studies with real-sounding citations that don't exist.
  2. There is a meaningful difference between using a search engine and using a conversational AI tool. Search returns sources you choose to trust. AI returns a single answer without always disclosing where it came from.
  3. When AI was tested live with a real clinical scenario (senior cat, weight loss, not eating), one tool missed inflammatory bowel disease entirely which is one of the most common diagnoses in that presentation.
  4. A 3-pound weight loss in a senior cat equals roughly 20 to 30 percent of total body weight. That is not a "wait and see" situation. 
  5. Googling pet symptoms at 2 a.m. is not something to be ashamed of. It's what people do. The goal is knowing how to use what you find.
  6. No AI tool can replicate 20 years of clinical practice or hands-on physical examination.
  7. Use AI as a starting point. Then bring it to your vet and have the conversation.
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Sound Bites

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  • "AI just can't replace practitioners. It can't replace 20 years of clinical practice."     — Dr. Angie

  • "You're going to use your AIs and you're going to Google, but they are not the end all, be all." — JoJo

  • "When we tell people not to Google their pet's symptoms, that's so unrealistic."    — Dr. Angie

  • "Chat GPT seems very generalized. Claude is a little bit more mature." — JoJo

  • "This is a great reason for a consultation. If you've Googled or AI'd something that scared you in the middle of the night." — JoJo

  • "It pulled in some really random disease that we'll often in medicine call zebras — something that's so rare. That's so unlikely." — Dr. Angie 

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