Caring for your cat

We’re so proud to be celebrating three years as a Cat Friendly Practice

Back in March 2021, just four months after opening on 30 November 2020, we achieved silver status accreditation as a Cat Friendly Clinic (CFC)

This internationally recognised CFC programme has been developed by the International Society of Feline Medicine, the veterinary division of the leading feline charity International Cat Care.

It’s all about creating a world where all cats are treated with care, compassion and understanding.

During the planning stages for the layout of our building, it was important to us that this included separate calming areas for cats.  Knowing how stressful a visit to the vets can be for cats, we knew it was important to incorporate a separate designated cat waiting area and kennels.

We also took the opportunity to ensure our car park spaces were larger than normal to enable those pesky carriers and baskets could be got out easier.

On entering our reception, we have special blankets to cover carriers with a spritz of Feliway (a calming pheromone).

We are proud to have state of the art Casco kenneling – no bars in sight – in a separate hospitalisation ward.  The high-tech kennels have individual heat pads, mood lighting and can be made bigger or smaller to suit the needs of each individual patient.

We had to prove rigorous adherence to a set of criteria including provision of facilities and demonstration of staff activities and attitudes aimed at reducing stress in cats, both as in-patients and out-patients.  This includes having separate dog and cat waiting areas, feline-friendly hospitalisation cages, and veterinary equipment specifically for treating cats.  Having a cat advocate helped us achieve this and ensures we are constantly providing a stress-free environment to our feline friends and always looking at ways we can improve.

Importantly, our team are all encouraged to approach and handle cats sensitively and respectfully.

We cover the principles of:

• considering each cat’s physical health and mental well-being
• doing no harm to cats
• being solution driven, namely through the use of evidence
• communicating our knowledge out about cats
• forming useful collaborations
• evolving for cats by being innovative and always learning

We will soon be launching a range of more detailed articles on different care needs your pet may have. You will be able to find those here, so keep your eyes peeled.