Updating The Cat Friendly Guidelines: 5 Top Tips For Cat Friendly Interactions

In our first episode, we discuss the new cat-friendly guidelines we’ve created with AAFP: Cat Friendly Interactions: Approach and Handling Techniques and The Cat Friendly Veterinary Environment.

Nathalie Dowgray speaks with Ilona Rodan, Kelly St. Denis, Samantha Taylor, and Sarah Heath - all contributors to the new guidelines. We share some of the positive impacts that we’ve seen and how attitudes have changed in the 10 years since ISFM and AAFP launched the original guidelines - the cat friendly clinic programme and the cat friendly practice programme.

We discuss reasons for updating the title of the guidelines and why we need to move away from negative terms like “angry” or “aggressive” when approaching cats in the consulting room. We explain some of the terminologies that we use in the guidelines and why it’s important for vets to recognise emotions and understand cats on a deeper level. We also talk about how you can create a welcoming environment for cats, whether you work in mixed practice or cat-only clinics and the benefits of working in a cat friendly way. Lastly, we share our top tips for cat friendly interactions!

The guidelines are being published in November 2022 and will be free to view on the Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgeries website.

For ISFM members, the full recording of this roundtable discussion is available for you to listen to at portal.icatcare.org. To become an ISFM member, or find out more about our Cat Friendly schemes, visit icatcare.org

View The Transcript Here

Host: 

Nathalie Dowgray, BVSc, MANZCVS, PgDip, MRCVS, PhD, 2022 AAFP/ISFM Cat Friendly Veterinary Interaction Guidelines Co-Chair, International Society of Feline Medicine, International Cat Care, Tisbury, Wiltshire, UK 

Speakers:

Ilona Rodan, DVM, DABVP (Feline), 2022 AAFP/ISFM Cat Friendly Veterinary Interaction Guidelines Co-Chair, Cat Behavior Solutions, Cat Care Clinic, Madison, WI, USA

Kelly St Denis, MSc, DVM, DABVP (Feline), 2022 ISFM/AAFP Cat Friendly Veterinary Environment Guidelines Co-Chair, St Denis Veterinary Professional Corporation, Powassan, Ontario, Canada 

Samantha Taylor, BVetMed(Hons), CertSAM, DipECVIM-CA, MANCVS, FRCVS , 2022 ISFM/AAFP Cat Friendly Veterinary Environment Guidelines Co-Chair, International Society of Feline Medicine, International Cat Care, Wiltshire, Tisbury, UK 

Sarah Heath, BVSc, PgCertVE, DipECAWBM(BM), CCAB, FHEA, FRCVS, Behavioural Referrals Veterinary Practice, Task Force Member Of Both Guidelines.

For ISFM members, the full recording of this discussion is available for you to listen to at portal.icatcare.org. To become an ISFM member, or find out more about our Cat Friendly schemes, visit icatcare.org