Abstract
In the electronic age, having a presence on the ‘Web’ becomes increasingly important. Harcourt Publishers Ltd have recently invested considerable time, and no doubt expense too, on revamping their web sites, and it is very pleasing that the Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery now has its own web pages. These can be accessed at
www.harcourt-international.com/journals/jfms/
On the site there is an archive of previous issues of the journal, containing the full abstracts from published papers, in addition to the full text of one recent issue of the journal. The site is well constructed with useful links to other relevant journals and publications and there are the usual facilities you would expect such as being able to subscribe to the journal ‘on-line’. The team should be congratulated on designing a lively and user-friendly site, and this should be a valuable resource for the future development of the journal.
Harcourt Publishers Ltd have also included a link on the JFMS site to the European Society of Feline Medicine home page, which in turn can be found at
This site may also be of interest, containing details of the society, forthcoming meetings, e-mail addresses for contacts and so on. The Feline Advisory Bureau (FAB), the organisation responsible for its formation, hosts the ESFM pages. The Feline Advisory Bureau is a UK-based charity organisation dedicated to the health and welfare of cats. It was founded in 1958 when knowledge about feline medicine and surgery was really in its infancy. In the years since FAB was founded, it has played an important role in the development of feline expertise, particularly in the UK. It funds residency positions/clinical scholarships in feline medicine, in addition to a lectureship and various research projects, and thus has developed very close links with the veterinary profession. The FAB has also developed expertise in other areas too, including welfare of cats in boarding and quarantine catteries, improving standards of feline rescue and providing information for cat breeders. Fundamentally the FAB exists to gather and disseminate information to improve the well-being of our feline friends.
The European Society of Feline Medicine was established by FAB in 1996 specifically to act as a veterinary focus group in Europe for those veterinarians in general practice, in academia and elsewhere, with an interest in feline medicine, and the formation of this group ultimately led to the development of the journal you are reading. However, although initially established as a European group, the ESFM has already numerous members from other regions throughout the world, and the JFMS was intended to be, and is, a fully international journal. Further details about the ESFM and membership information can be obtained from their web site, and in addition, the FAB web site contains some valuable resources for veterinarians in general practice. For example, the FAB produces in excess of 50 ‘information sheets’ on a variety of veterinary issues, designed to provide accessible and accurate information to cat owners and other members of the public. The text of these information sheets can be read, and single copies of the leaflets can be downloaded for personal reading, at
In addition, details of how to obtain further copies of these leaflets from FAB for wider distribution can be found at the site.
The internet is an ever-expanding source of a wealth of information—some good and some not so good. Quality control is inevitably a difficult issue which is why it is encouraging to see information being provided on-line from sources that can be trusted to which we ourselves can turn, and can also recommend to our clients. To all involved—keep up the good work!