What It Means To Be Cat Friendly
That means our practice is equipped with specific equipment, staff knowledge, atmosphere and feline handling skills. The American Association of Feline Practitioner (AAFP) developed the Cat Friendly Program (CFP) to help support the ongoing needs of cats. The aim is to reduce the stress on the cat for the visit, improve the quality of care and engage a supportive veterinary team.
A “cat friendly” practice has embraced felines and have taken the extra step to make cats feel at home at the vet. The practice has to pass a comprehensive checklist in order to obtain the accreditation. Our hospital has received the gold level feline friendly certification. This is the highest level of certification available. This shows we have the highest standards for feline care.
Learn more about Cat Friendly Practices Here!
What We Offer Our Feline Guests:
- One designated “Cat Advocate” on staff. This individual must attend a two-day cat friendly conference yearly.
- A “Cat Only” exam room. This room has never been used for dogs and the door is always kept shut to help minimize the smell of dogs as much as possible.
- Your cat will be placed into the examination room as soon as possible without having to wait in the lobby. This can help lower stress levels and make your cat’s visit a more pleasurable experience.
- Cat pheromones diffused in the room periodically to provide a calming effect on the cats
- Cat specific thermometers that take the temperature via the ear canal and feline only stethoscope
- A specific place to rest the cat carriers in the exam room
- A cat only scale in the exam room
- A cat only hospitalization ward that is separate from canine patients and has floor to ceiling glass doors to minimize smell and sounds, which can help decrease stress in our feline patients and help them recover faster.
- Spacious cat condos for hospitalization that allow cats to travel through multiple “rooms” of varying size to help them find their “safe place”
Feline Vaccinations We Offer:
Our practice only uses non-adjuvanted vaccines for all of our feline patients.
An adjuvant is added to a vaccine to stimulate the immune system to react to the vaccine and thus increase the effectiveness of the vaccine (i.e. to make antibodies to protect your cat in the future). These adjuvants may be linked to a certain type of cancer, fibrosarcoma, in cats. Although it is rare, our practice does not use any adjuvanted vaccines for cats.
We use the Purevax 0.5mL (non-adjuvanted) line of feline vaccines and offer:
- Purevax Rabies 1-Year
- Purevax Rabies 3-Year
- Purevax Feline Distemper
- Purevax Feline Leukemia
The Purevax 0.5mL vaccines contain the same amount and quality of antigens as the 1.0 ml products. Reducing the volume significantly provides an easier faster and smoother vaccination process.
PUREVAX also provides:
- Synergistic and broader protection
- Rapid protection
- Sustained protection
- Powerful immune response