Saturday, April 28, 2018

International Cat Care and the International Society of Feline Medicine launch CatCareforLife #WorldVeterinaryDay


FROM CAT CHAT WITH CAREN AND CODY: Today is World Veterinary Day, today, "the global veterinary community will come together to celebrate. Created by the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) and the World Veterinary Association (WVA), World Veterinary Day is meant to raise public awareness about the important roles veterinarians undertake."

We love our Vet, ("Dr.Smiley") and are grateful for him and the entire staff at DePorre Veterinary Hospital. (Cody is particularly happy that they are designated as a "Cat Friendly Practice" and they are AAHA accredited. A MUST for us!)

"Don't tell "Dr.Smiley" that I am secretly LOVING THIS!!!"


Today, in honor of this special day, we are sharing a post from our friends at International Cat Care, which introduces their new program: CatCareforLife.






International Cat Care and its veterinary division, the International Society of Feline Medicine (ISFM), were delighted to launch a new program at BSAVA Congress. Entitled CatCareforLife, it is a blueprint for how a clinic and owner can work together to keep cats healthy and encourage veterinary visits. The program is provided in partnership with IDEXX and Royal Canin, global leaders in veterinary diagnostics and cat nutrition.

Regular life-long preventive healthcare should be the goal for every veterinary patient. A combination of primary prevention (eg, vaccination), secondary prevention (early detection of disease) and tertiary prevention (reducing impact of disease) measures are important in a comprehensive healthcare program, although secondary and tertiary measures become more critical as the cat ages and as diseases become more prevalent. 

The program is aimed at both veterinary clinics and cat owners and will be promoted to both, 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 information is set out simply for owners and it is explained that it is based on independent published studies and data and developed by expert feline veterinarians and others working with International Cat Care/ISFM. It allows the practice to refer to reliable, trustworthy and independent information.

Clearly with a substantially lower number of veterinary visits than dogs, cats represent a considerable opportunity to a veterinary practice, as well as presenting a significant unmet health need. Experience with the Cat Friendly Clinic program has demonstrated that increased knowledge and understanding of cats pays real dividends in the clinic.  

International Cat Care and ISFM provide veterinary clinics with a freely available practical guide to the CatCareforLife program, including posters, charts, clinical sheets, owner resources and checklists and veterinary protocols, all on the dedicated website www.catcare4life.org.

International Cat Care, in partnership with Ceva, has developed a set of handling videos for both vets and nurses, and for owners. The videos, (there are 29 in all and a couple are seen above and below in this blog post).  detail best practice handling techniques and approaches, and are designed to reduce stress for cats and improve safety in vet clinics, and also to help build a bond between owners and cats at home. 

For owners, there are 13 videos covering two different areas, interacting with cats and handling cats. Particular attention is paid to getting cats used to going in the cat carrier and travelling – cats can be helped to understand that entering and spending time in their cat carrier is a positive experience. A number of the videos cover helping owners to get their cats accustomed to having ears, eyes, mouth, paws/claws and coat checked to improve handing at home, but also in the veterinary clinic. Of course, these are not just for owners, as the information is useful for the veterinary team to know in order to help owners prepare for veterinary visits as well as care at home. 

  For the veterinary team, there are 16 videos covering many aspects of handling cats in the clinic, from assessing the cat while in the carrier to handling for blood sampling, intravenous catheter placement and administering oral, aural and ocular products. Tips on towel wrapping to assist handling in a comfortable way for the cat are also covered.



How will you be celebrating World Veterinary Day?

22 comments:

  1. By not going to da vet (well, today anyways, MOL!)

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  2. Haha! I an catabrating this day be helping pawppy stay in his recliner...cause petcretary has to go to her work. And I will *not* be going to my vet...hopefully not till August when its time for my regular check up.
    But I am glad to have a great vet.
    He helped my angel brofur Minko a lot...and he is good to my new brofur Dalton (as well as he was good with MJF).

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  3. We're thankful for the skilled, caring staff at our vet clinic. They've always taken great care of all our pets!

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  4. We agree with the Lone Star Cats! We do love our Vet but we do miss the one who used to come to the house to see us. Terrific post!

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  5. it is so important to have a good vet!! I am lucky my sister is a vet!

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  6. Oh, I wish I had known when I went to see OUR vet lady this morning. But I'll make it up to her by putting her picture in the blog!

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  7. Our vet is in a cat-only practice and we like her very much.
    It was interesting seeing the videos. I always take the cats out of the carrier myself when we go to the vet. Friends go to a vet where they just drop off the cats for a check up. I want to be there to ask questions and comfort my boys.
    xxoo
    Maggie

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    1. I always take Cody out of the carrier myself too. I would never just drop him off. I DO drop Dakota off (but only when he is getting a shot and being groomed) because the groomer is affiliated with our Vet and is right there. Dakota isn't fearful at the Vet (frankly Cody isn't that fearful there either), or our Vet wouldn't let us drop Dakota off for his shot and grooming. Often my husband just takes Dakota without me going, when Cody goes, I am ALWAYS there.

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  8. That's so nifty!
    Happy World Veterinary Day to all the great vets out there.
    Have a wonderful weekend...

    Noodle and crew

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  9. Well, we will be celebrating it one week late -- Ava has to go to the vet for her checkup next weekend (shhh ... she doesn't know yet)!

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  10. We celebrate it here with you, Cody :D We loved to see the video of the kitties in their baskets...seems that they all like to be in their carrier instead of coming out...so recognizable...MOL :D Extra Pawkisses for a Happy World Veterinary Day :) <3

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  11. MOL MOL Cody I'm purrty sure Dr. Smiley KNOWS you are loving that scratching as much as he is lovin' doing it.
    Hugs madi your bfff

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  12. What an important day! We are also very happy with our veterinarians, in part because they run a feline-friendly, AAHA accredited practice. We're so thankful for all they've done for us. Purrs!

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  13. Today is also National Tabby Cat Day!!!

    Allie says thank you for helping her celebrate her birthday!

    The Florida Furkids

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  14. That's very innerestin'. We do wish we had a cat vet in our area. Altho' we'd just settle fur a good vet who cares 'bout the patients more than the money. Big hugs

    Luv ya'

    Dezi and Raena

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    1. for SURE! Never had the good fortune here in all the years I have lived here.

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  15. As long as the veterinarian refuses to declaw, that's my minimum standard. Which has nothing to do with your post. This program seems positive and hopefully, many vets will avail themselves of it!

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  16. What did I, Marvelous do? I waited for Mom to come home from work.
    I Marvelous, have not yet been to visit the vet here in Vancouver. Kozmo, Jo Jo (Angel Queen Penelope) and Cinnamon LOVE him. Mom says she will be taking me for a meet and greet as soon as things settle down at work.
    Happy Tabby Cat Day (today) Cody!
    Purrs
    Marv

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  17. Oh Cody, I am so glad that you have a good place to go that is cat friendly. Mommy and me..and all the ones who came before suffer because the vets around here are all dog centric and have no care for the cats comfort while they are in the office.

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  18. I'm glad that Cody likes your vet and that it's a Cat Friendly Practice! We have a cat-only vet, which we love. Well, I do anyway. I'm sure that cats would prefer no vet! :-)

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