The International Society of Feline Medicine (ISFM), the veterinary division of the charity International Cat Care, continues to grow and develop to meet increasing demands from practitioners worldwide for ways to improve their care of cats.
This growing desire for resources and information may be linked to what seems to be an increase in the international popularity of the cat as a pet, and may also reflect expanding expectations from cat owners for good treatment for their companions.
ISFM, which celebrated its 25-year anniversary in 2021, has veterinary and nurse members in 113 and 101 countries, respectively, and provides a continuous flow of information to veterinary professionals dealing with cats. ISFM saw the highest monthly number of Cat Friendly Clinics accredited in January 2022, and now has more than 2500 clinics accredited in 44 countries (with a first in Russia), showing a desire to improve the veterinary experience for cats worldwide.
Further record demand was shown by ISFM’s Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery (JFMS), which had 1,080,7281 article downloads last year, passing the million mark for the first time, and an 18% increase on 2020.
In addition, ISFM’s most recent guidelines, the ‘2022 ISFM Consensus Guidelines on the Management of Acute Pain in Cats’, published in the January 2022 issue of JFMS, have become the most downloaded article in the past 6 months, with more than 23,000 downloads already. The guidelines, which provide veterinary professionals with practical information on medications, dosages and techniques, have also achieved an impressive Altmetric score of 187, reflecting the interest in pain management in this species, which has been a historically neglected area, and in helping countless cats be more comfortable.
ISFM’s other recent guidelines, the ‘2021 ISFM Consensus Guidelines on the Collection and Administration of Blood and Blood Products in Cats’, were the most downloaded article published in JFMS last year, and have now been downloaded over 23,500 times to date.
Both the management of acute pain and collection and administration of blood and blood products guidelines are free to view and can be found at bit.ly/acutepainGLs and bit.ly/bloodtransfusionGLs, respectively.
Find out more about ISFM membership and sign up at: https://isfm-members.net/
About the International Society of Feline Medicine (ISFM)
The International Society of Feline Medicine is the veterinary division of the pioneering cat welfare charity International Cat Care. Trusted by vets and nurses, it provides a worldwide resource on feline health and wellbeing.
About International Cat Care (iCatCare)
International Cat Care is a pioneering cat welfare charity that challenges cruelty, ignorance and misunderstanding by inspiring and enabling people to understand cats and make positive changes to their lives. Our vision is for a cat friendly world.
The International Cat Care vision: A cat friendly world where each cat, owned and unowned, is treated with respect, compassion and understanding.
The International Cat Care mission: To enable more people to act in a cat friendly way to improve cat welfare
For more information, please visit https://icatcare.org/ or https://www.facebook.com/icatcare
Cat friendly Clinic
Cat Friendly Clinic is a worldwide programme from International Cat Care and its veterinary division, the International Society of Feline Medicine which supports cats, their owners, and staff at the veterinary clinic.
Because of their unique nature and needs, taking cats to a veterinary appointment can be very stressful, both for cats and owners. The Cat Friendly Clinic programme is designed to reduce stress at every stage, including support for owners in transporting their cat to the vet, enabling a friendly environment within the clinic, and guidance for vets and vet nurses in handling. It also promotes a partnership of care between owner/caregiver and clinic.
https://catfriendlyclinic.org/
I am the feline behaviour specialist at feline charity ‘International Cat Care’. We are about engaging, educating and empowering people throughout the world to improve the health and welfare of cats by sharing advice, training and passion.
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