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So what is involved in ‘doing the right thing’? How can vets in practice ensure that the cats under their care receive the best possible attention to their health, throughout the animals’ lives. The WellCat for life programme sets out a clear partnership of care between the vet and the cat’s owner – showing what should be expected of each party and when the important milestones are likely to occur. It focuses on maintaining and managing the cat’s health rather than just attending to its sickness. It aims to provide a clear platform for vets and owners alike to ensure that cats can enjoy long, happy, healthy lives.
FAB recognises that not every owner will meet every opportunity to follow the right course and that, while some owners will do absolutely everything they are asked, others will do so reluctantly or, at best, sporadically. As a result, the WellCat programme includes both educational and motivational materials for owners of varying shades of commitment, as well as this comprehensive guide for veterinary professionals.
The aim of the WellCat for life veterinary handbook is to focus on the everyday common things in practice, for example routine checks and preventive care, problems like dental disease, renal failure and obesity, and what we should know about performing and interpreting basic laboratory tests. We also want to give you some tips to pass on to your clients to improve understanding and compliance when you ask them to, say, change their cat’s diet or increase its water intake. Some important considerations are provided regarding drugs that are used every day in general practice (antibiotics and corticosteroids) – facts that are easy to forget or overlook. Finally, there are some guidelines on what is, sadly, one of the most commonly performed and important procedures in general practice, euthanasia.
‘We talk with much greater confidence, our understanding of cat needs is greater, clients pick up on our greater interest and knowledge. We know that our regular cat clients talk to their friends and recommend us as a practice that is good with cats.’ |
There was a time, not so long ago, when most practices charged a differential consulting fee for cats. Nowadays, however, the importance of cats to every small animal practice cannot be ignored. There are around 9 million cats in the UK and a little over a quarter of the population owns a cat. Over 6 million households own at least one cat and of these, 2.5 million own more than one cat. That’s a lot of cats!
Each year, around 500,000 kittens are born, around 90% of which are moggies. While the average lifespan of a cat is about 12 years, many live to more than 15 years and some will live beyond 20 years. Like the human population, the feline population is an ageing one, with almost half the cats in the UK aged 8+ years.
‘Cats are much calmer
– they chill out, settle and life is much easier.’ |
In contrast to dogs, around 60% of cats cost their owners nothing but this doesn’t diminish the strength of feeling that so many people have for their cats. Indeed, 10% of people would rather spend time with their cat than with anyone else (intriguingly, this figure is higher still in Scotland!) and one-third of owners acquired their cat expressly for companionship.
Over the years, the veterinary profession and animal charities have done an excellent job of encouraging neutering and, today, around 90% of cats in the UK are neutered. However, there are probably more than 4 million cats that are currently unvaccinated and the rate of revaccination decreases with age. In a survey of committed cat owners, 37% admitted that they had not visited the vet in the past 12 months and, inexorably, the source of information about pet welfare issues has shifted from the vet – with 55% seeking information from other sources. Most worryingly, 37% of owners said they would consult other sources, rather than the vet, for information concerning their pet’s health.
‘There is greater readiness to
take part,
in proactive and preventive healthcare.
This probably stems from our own changed approach – we, in turn, are more proactive in promoting it to the clients.’ |
Clearly, the cat represents a considerable opportunity to veterinary practice. Recent experience with FAB’s Cat Friendly Practice programme has demonstrated that increased knowledge and understanding of cats pays real dividends at practice level, as these quotations from some of those involved in the programme illustrate.
Cat owners use a variety of sources for information on their cats’ health.
Ideally this would always be the vet, but in these days of internet information and where other organisations and companies are becoming better qualified on animal care, there is a range of ‘gatekeepers’ who will advise owners. Different points of contact assume different degrees of importance, depending on the cat’s age and perceived state of health, and so WellCat for life seeks to make contact with cat owners through this range of influences – the vet, the pet shop, the cattery, the rescue organisation, the breeder and, where appropriate, the pharmacy. The aim of the programme is to provide a single set of standards with a consistent message and to reach as many cat owners as possible through these channels.
The initiative is not just aimed at people who already go to the vet but to stimulate interest in owners who do not usually go to the vet by encouraging them to notice their cat’s weight and age – and, from there, to think about its state of health. This opportunity for other cat professionals to provide owners with authoritative materials for use throughout their cats’ lives is part of a process designed to encourage a higher percentage of cat owners to consult the veterinary practice as a part of the management of their cats’ health.
The WellCat programme relooks at feline life stages, taking into account how cats mature both physically and behaviourally and the onset of common changes and disease problems. Hence the WellCat programme puts forward six new life stages (for further information please refer to the booklet).
So, just what are these materials?
This WellCat for life veterinary handbook outlines a gold standard of preventive care for cats and has been developed by the FAB Feline Expert panel. It is the cornerstone for the WellCat for life programme and has been designed to be used alongside the following, more consumer-oriented, materials.
The WellCatlog is a complementary owners’ booklet. It can be given to clients with cats of any age but is obviously ideal for those with new kittens coming into the practice. There is a section on health and care requirements of older cats and information on disease risks throughout cats’ lives as well as routine check-ups and preventive healthcare.
The WellCatlog asks clients to get actively involved in their cat’s health by explaining what you, as their vet, will be checking in their cat and allowing them to record various health parameters such as weight, body condition score and blood pressure measurements. Owners are also asked to briefly log details of any episodes of sickness that are severe enough to warrant a trip to the vet. FAB is asking owners to send in their WellCatlog when their cat dies, and the expectation is that, in time, an invaluable bank of data will build up that will help direct further information and advice on feline veterinary care. Owners are asked to give the name of their veterinary practice(s) and to sign to give permission for FAB to contact the practice in the future for more information if required.
A poster designed for veterinary practice waiting rooms, catteries, breeders, pet shops and pharmacies encourages clients to ask about the WellCat for life programme or to consult FAB’s website, www.fabcats.org, for more information.
The WellCat ‘wheel of furtune’ has been designed to encourage owners who may not have thought much about their cat’s health to consider their cat afresh. Available from pet shops (and anywhere else?), it introduces the concept of life stage and body condition in a light-hearted way: by rotating the wheel, owners can calculate how old their cat is in human terms and whether or not its weight is correct. It also encourages them to bring their cat to the vet for a check-up.
Although principallly aimed at owners who may not go to the vet, it could also be used by veterinary practices to raise awareness of these fundamental issues.
A dedicated website supporting the WellCat programme, and aimed at the more committed cat owner, is available at www.wellcat.org. It gives owners the opportunity to sign up and receive more information, to feed back opinions on feline-related matters and be involved in surveys. In the future, owners will be able to input their cats’ data directly online.
All veterinary practices in the UK will automatically be mailed these materials in mid-late April.
Alternatively pick up your free pack from our stand no.101 at the BSAVA Congress
If you wish to order copies, this can be done from April 3
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