Feline-friendly veterinary medicine
Feline practice in the UK - is it for you?
Today’s article is for those of you like me, crazy cat people who are wondering if you should move into feline practice! There are a few things that are a bit different from general practice with dogs and I wanted to create this post because I was quite lost when I started working when it came to dealing with cats. However, as is no secret to many of you, I now find them quite intriguing and interesting when it comes to Veterinary Medicine! Regarding feline practice, a couple of things are quite good and can be different from what you find in your own country.
Feline-only Practices
Although this is not exclusive of the UK, feline-only practices are fairly easy to come by. As the name says, they only see cats. No dogs, no rabbits, no ferrets… they are dedicated exclusively to the cats. They will often have facilities created on purpose for cats and they will also have equipment that is suitable for cats, namely x-rays, ultrasound, anaesthetic systems… which can be really good, obviously?
Many of these practices follow ISFM Guidelines for feline-friendly practices, which means that they fill several requirements for standard of care, facilities and also handling. Most of them will be Gold standard!
However, many practices that see all small animals are also cat-friendly, often with separate waiting areas and consulting rooms!
Feline charities
There are also several charities dedicated to felines only, one of the most well-known being Cats Protection (used to be known as Cats Protection League, CPL). Cat Action Trust is another one and they sometimes operate in the same areas. Charities have done an amazing work in the UK, especially when it comes to neutering, as a huge percentage of cats are neutered because charities can offer neutering programs and clinics. Good charities will often have resources to help and treat cats and they usually avoid “giving up” on the cat if there is a suitable alternative. They will sometimes employ veterinary surgeons, so if this is interesting, it’s good to keep an eye out for these offers?
Low-stress handling techniques for Felines
Although this is not as common, it’s something I’m quite passionate about. It's gotten much better in recent years and feline practice is quickly evolving, becoming much more standard to find high levels of care. Feline-only practices and people with an interest in feline behaviour will usually have this approach (low-stress handling of cats). However, I found this is something you usually need to work on – and I found graduate vets with a less “low-stress” approach to cats… This can often be less ideal on a long-term basis. Here are a few behaviours that you take when you use a low-stress handling approach to cats (and you can see the ISFM guidelines here):
No scruffing! Scruffing (holding cats by the loose skin on the back of their necks) is condemned by the ISFM and feline behaviourists as it might immobilize some cats, but it does not change their fearful/anxious underlying emotional state. Feline-only practices usually have a “no scruffing” policy and I have heard of people being fired for scruffing cats (although I cannot testify for the truth of this!); but often the problem is with the owners and we have to stop them from doing it!
Learn to read the cat’s language. Most cats that present for consult will be experiencing negative emotions, such as fear and anxiety. Aggression is just one way of demonstrating this, but if you learn to read the cat’s body language you will become able to recognize more subtle signs and change your approach accordingly, making for a better experience for the cat (and probably you!). For instance, a cat that is curled with the legs under the body at the back corner of the carrier and avoids staring at you is likely trying to hide and feeling fear or anxiety. Forcing the cat to leave the carrier, where she will be less “protected”, might worsen her emotional state and lead to escalation of body language;
Examine the cat inside the carrier. Avoid forcefully removing the cat from the carrier. Instead, make sure the door is open so the cat has a chance to come out if she wants, but if she wants to stay in, disassemble the carrier and examine her inside her carrier. Some cats showing more overt signs of stress, such as hissing, might benefit from having a towel covering them while the top of the carrier is open.
Make happy kittens! Kitten appointments are so important to create happy cats at the vet! How many kittens have you seen that are trying to attack you? Not many, I bet! Spend time creating good associations with the consultation, such as offering treats and play time (I used to have a wand toy for kitten consultations on my first job) and educating the owner about cat carriers. Make sure the owner doesn’t stash away the carrier when the kitten gets home, instruct the owner to create a nice “shelter” inside the carrier. So you have kittens that like the vet and are not afraid of the carrier!
For the patients that already arrive very aroused, consider sedation. Low-stress handling techniques recognise that cats that have been exposed to and created negative associations with the situation they are being put in might be in a very stressful emotional state and, in those cases, sedation might be the lowest-stress technique available. Especially when combined with medication that has amnesic properties, such as is thought to be the case with alprazolam, using sedation means that the cat will suffer less stress during the required handling and might not even remember it, reducing the risk of reinforcing the negative association with the situation.
“Does this work?”, you ask.
Well, I may be overcautious in my attempt to preserve my fingers, but I have used some of these techniques successfully. Sometimes the simple fact that you take your time makes a difference.
I saw a Bengal cat that the records showed had a bit of a temperament… even the owner said that. However, I took my time with him – he was surely suspicious and not too happy, but his language was quite subtle – the way he was sitting in the carrier, the expression of his eyes and ears when he looked at me. I examined him slowly and stopped whenever he seemed to be responding negatively.
No hissing or spitting or swiping, the owner was amazed and said he had never had anyone be able to examine his cat like that (I was very proud! :p).
I was lucky I didn’t need to do anything painful, but the examination revealed he had a resorptive lesion that required tooth extraction.
When he was admitted a few days later and my boss saw him, he asked how I had managed to look inside that cat’s mouth (guess we know who wrote the warnings about him)! Now, getting to the point of sedating him was another story 😜
Let’s just say there was no bear skin available for him to snatch onto!
Sometimes something simple like covering the cat with a towel for the vaccination can make the experience less daunting for the cat and I certainly make a lot of use of towels and blankets (and Feliway! :p). If you cover the cat with a towel or blanket and take your time, you can often fully examine a cat that would strike you without anywhere to “hide”.
Bottom line, learn how to appreciate the underlying emotional states the cats present in and understand that even the ones that are not hissing and swiping at you are likely experiencing some stress in the form of fear and/or anxiety.
Of course, once you a while you have the cat that rubs all over you!!! 😀
As a final note - I would like to say that it's increasingly common to find good practices, all the time, respecting cats. Sometimes we have more of a problem with the owners!!!
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