Cats are the Underdogs When it Comes to Veterinary Care

Thorough communication with the client (and cat!) could ultimately increase compliance with veterinary advice by as much as 40%.

The American Association of Feline Practitioners (AAFP) and the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) have joined together to develop Feline Life Stage Guidelines, published in this issue, in response to troubling statistics that cats receive less veterinary care than dogs. Although there are approximately 10 million more cats than dogs in the US, cats are still the underdogs when it comes to the veterinary care they receive.

The problem was first identified in the 2007 edition of the US Pet Ownership and Demographics Sourcebook, and further emphasized in a 2008 article in JAVMA, ¹ which revealed that:

• In 2006, dog owners took their dogs to the veterinarian more than twice as often as cats, and significantly more cats (72%) than dogs (42%) were seen by a veterinarian one or fewer times per year. Even if pet owners have both dogs and cats, the cats are seen significantly less often than the dogs.

• Cat owners are often unaware of the medical needs of their cat.

• The veterinarian's communication skills, interaction with pets, and ability to educate the owner about his or her pet 's needs drives the client 's perceptions of the value of the services and the quality of the care.

• Veterinarians have an opportunity with more effective communication and better interactions with feline patients to substantially increase overall care for cats. Thorough communication with the client (and cat!) could ultimately increase compliance with veterinary advice by as much as 40%.

The AAFP-AAHA Feline Life Stage Guidelines, which appear on pages 43–54 (doi:10.1016/j.jfms.2009.12.006), provide advice and strategies on how to make the veterinary experience more pleasant for cat owner and cat, and set out a comprehensive care plan for all life stages of our feline patients, allowing veterinarians to make consistent recommendations. As a practicing veterinarian myself, I see the guidelines as a wonderful resource to help educate cat owners.

I thank each and every panel member for working many hours to produce this important and timely document. Our talents were quite varied, to allow us to support cat care in all areas. I would also like to pay tribute to the CATalyst Council, a US initiative to champion the cat, which first identified the need for these guidelines; and thank the veterinary organizations, AAFP and AAHA, without which these guidelines would not have been possible. Boehringer Ingelheim, Merial Ltd, Pfizer Animal Health and IDEXX Laboratories generously sponsored the document as part of their commitment to help the veterinary community develop projects that will improve the lives of cats.

With readers like you, we will be able to help change the status of the cat, and improve the lives of cats and their people.

The guidelines outline an evidence-based wellness program to aid the veterinary medical team in delivering the best care for cats — at all life stages from kitten through to geriatric. Courtesy of Deb Givin (left) and Ilona Rodan (right)

Panel Members

• Amy Hoyumpa Vogt DVM DABVP (Canine and Feline), Co-Chair

• Ilona Rodan DVM DABVP (Feline), Co-Chair

• Marcus Brown DVM

• Scott Brown VMD PhD DACVIM

• C A Tony Buffington DVM PhD DACVN

• M J LaRue Forman DVM DACVIM

• Jacqui Neilson DVM DACVB

• Andrew Sparkes BVetMed PhD DipECVIM MRCVS