Studies show that there is a disconnect in healthcare in cats, with owners perceiving that an annual check consists of just a vaccination, and vets not engaging in preventive healthcare.
International Cat Care/International S ociety of Feline Medicine (ICC/ISFM) believes that regular life-long preventive healthcare should be the goal for every veterinary patient. A combination of primary prevention (e.g. vaccination), secondary prevention (early detection of disease) and tertiary prevention (reducing impact of disease) measures are important in a comprehensive healthcare programme, although secondary and tertiary measures become more critical as the cat ages and as diseases become more prevalent. Such healthcare can only be optimised if both the cat owner and the clinic are committed to working together, forming a lifelong partnership between the owner, the cat and the vet team — something which CatCareforLife aims to facilitate.
CatCare for Life is aimed at both veterinary clinics and cat owners, encouraging owners to understand the life stages of their cat and its equivalent human age, and offers best practice guides for recommended health checks. The materials are engaging and allow cat owners to understand, record and log information about their cat, enhancing the cat–owner bond. Life stages are clearly defined from Kitten (0–6 months) through to Super Senior (15years+).
A wide range of information and guidelines from what to cover in different life stage clinics through to vaccination recommendations, nutrition and weight management, and quality of life is covered, giving the veterinary clinic all the information required to run a successful, ‘gold standard’ preventive care programme for cats.
All information is based on independent published studies and data, and developed by expert feline veterinarians and others working with ICC/ISFM. It allows the practice to refer to reliable, trustworthy and independent information, and it is hoped that the programme will set a new global standard in feline preventive healthcare through all life stages.
With a substantially lower number of veterinary visits than dogs, cats represent a considerable opportunity to veterinary practice, as well as presenting a significant unmet health need. Experience with the Cat Friendly Clinic programme has demonstrated that increased knowledge and understanding of cats pays real dividends in the clinic.
A freely available practical guide to the CatCareforLife programme, including posters, charts, clinical sheets, owner resources and checklists and veterinary protocols can all be found on the dedicated website www.catcare4life.org.
The programme is provided in partnership with IDEXX, Royal Canin and Boehringer Ingelheim.