Author: Diane
Date: 5/21/2011 9:35 am EDT
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Less Stressful Cat Vet Visits
AAFP and ISFM release the Feline Friendly Handling Guidelines for more comfortable cat veterinarian visits.
Posted: May 13, 2011, 3 a.m. EDT
Feline Friendly Handling Guidelines were developed to provide the best care for cats to increase cats' vet visits.
The American Association of Feline Practitioners (AAFP) and the International Society of Feline Medicine (ISFM) have released the Feline Friendly Handling Guidelines, endorsed by American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA). These guidelines were developed by a panel of experts in cat medicine and behavior to create a less stressful experience for cat patients while meeting their medical needs. Find these guidelines on the AAFP website.
The Feline Friendly Handling Guidelines were developed to provide the best care for cats to increase cat vet visits. Pet population studies from the American Veterinary Medical Association indicate that pet cats well outnumber pet dogs, yet dogs visit the vet more than twice as often as cats. The recent Bayer-Brakke study indicates that 58% of cat owners surveyed say that their cats hate to go to the vet. Many owners state that they avoid veterinary visits for their cat because of the stress of all aspects of cat vet visits, from travel to the clinic to the actual cat vets' actions. This results in compromised care for cats. The objective of these Guidelines is to make veterinarian visits more comfortable and less stressful for cats, safer for the staff and less frightening for cats' owners.
"These Guidelines are a reminder of the unique responses that cats have to handling stress and how critical first impressions are to building lasting client relationships,” Dr. Donna Stephens Manley, guidelines committee chair said in a release.
These Guidelines encourage veterinary teams to utilize a comprehensive approach in developing strategies for working with cats. Strategies include educating team members as well as owners. Because cats hide signs of illness, a cooperative effort is needed between the vet team and owner to reduce the stress of the cats' vet office visit to provide appropriate medical care and maximize the quality of life for cat patients. The Guidelines aim to understand innate behaviors and adapt environmental and handling recommendations to minimize stress.
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