Dear Georgina,
I read with interest the article on ‘How to reduce stress in the veterinary waiting room’ by Stuart Greenfield (The Veterinary Nurse4(8): 494–501). This was a timely and important article, and contained many useful insights in helping to reduce the stress involved in veterinary visits for both dogs and cats.
Unfortunately, given the scope of the article and inevitable restraints on space, some of the critical differences between dogs and cats could not be fully explored. However, it is undoubtedly true that in general stress during veterinary visits is much more profound for cats and cat clients than it is for dogs. Much of this relates to the fact that, unlike dogs, the domestic cat, Felis catus, is by nature largely a solitary hunting species and as such is self-reliant, highly sensitive to smells, and highly dependent on its territory for security.
The many differences between cats and dogs results in veterinary visits that are often highly challenging for cats and their owners, and unless clinics appreciate this problem and take steps to address the unique needs of cats, owners will simply avoid veterinary visits (because of the associated stress) and cats will not receive the level of routine care they need.
This is an issue that must not be ignored, and was the reason that the charity International Cat Care (formerly the Feline Advisory Bureau) and its veterinary division the International Society of Feline Medicine (ISFM) developed the ISFM Cat Friendly Clinic Programme. This international programme (run in Europe in collaboration with Purina) is designed to provide clinics with the practical information and resources necessary to improve our understanding of cats' needs, and to make clinics much more ‘cat friendly’.
After being launched in the UK a little over a year ago, nearly 100 clinics have already become official ‘ISFM Cat Friendly Clinics’, having made important changes and achieved specific criteria which mean they can advertise themselves as accredited clinics. Many more clinics are currently working towards accreditation as the programme streakily expands. However, even if accreditation for particular clinics is not possible, all can still benefit from the practical resources that have been made freely available by ISFM in the UK through the generous support of this programme in Europe by Purina. Materials that are made available to all clinics include a substantial Guide to Creating a Cat Friendly Clinic, a copy of the AAFP/ISFM Feline Friendly Handling Guidelines and a copy of the accreditation criteria should clinics want to become officially accredited. These materials are all sent free of charge to any clinic that is interested, and furthermore no charge is made for clinics entering the Cat Friendly Clinic programme.
For any clinics interested in finding out more and receiving a full information pack, please visit our web site at www.cat-friendlyclinc.com where you can simply fill in a web form and the materials will all be sent to you!
Yours sincerely,
Dr Andrew Sparkes BVetMed PhD DipECVIM MRCVS Veterinary Director International Society of Feline Medicine and International Cat Care andy@icat-care.org