Abstract
AAFP
Cat Friendly Practice launched at NAVC
The AAFP launched its Cat Friendly Practice Program at the North American Veterinary Conference (NAVC) in Florida on January 16. Sponsored by Pfizer Animal Health, CEVA Animal Health and Hill’s Pet Nutrition, the AAFP’s program is one of North America’s first coordinated efforts to standardize the elements that make a practice cat friendly and is sure to make significant strides in improving the health and long-term well-being of cats.
The Cat Friendly Practice initiative was developed to support veterinarians and their team members in creating practice environments that encourage cat owners to obtain the care their cats need. Veterinary practices can now have access to the best information available to create practice environments that are welcoming to both felines and their owners.
An outline of the AAFP Cat Friendly Practice Program can be found at the front of this issue. Full details of the program are available online via www.catvets.com
ISFM
Cat Friendly Clinic launched in Spain
There was an enthusiastic response to the launch of ISFM’s Cat Friendly Clinic Programme at GEMFE’s congress on feline medicine held in late January in Santiago de Compostela, Spain. Delegates were quick to sign up their practices. GEMFE (Grupo de Estudio de Medicina Felina de España) is ISFM’s Spanish National Partner.
An outline of the ISFM Cat Friendly Clinic Programme, being run in conjunction with Purina, can be found in the early pages of this issue or via www.isfm.net and www.wellcat.org
JFMS
Making the most of your journal online
SAVSNET
UK companion animal disease surveillance programme underway
The British Small Animal Veterinary Association (BSAVA) and the University of Liverpool are working together to develop The Small Animal Veterinary Surveillance Network (SAVSNET), a national UK disease surveillance network for companion animals (mainly cats, dogs and rabbits).
The network will provide a single resource for accessing data on pet animal diseases. Large volumes of anonymised health information will be collected from two sources: collaborating diagnostic laboratories, and veterinary surgeons in practice. The ultimate aim is to improve health treatments and reduce the spread of infection among pet animals across the UK.
SAVSNET has just completed a three-year pilot study to bring together data on diseases in pet animals across the UK. This involved more than 5000 animals and revealed that 7% are admitted to veterinary practices with vomiting or diarrhoea; 6% for pruritic skin disease; 3% for respiratory disease; 2% for tumours; and less than 1% for the treatment of aggression.
Researchers looked at how frequently and what types of antibiotics were used across a group of veterinary practices in England and Wales. The team found that 48% of cats and 35% of dogs received antibacterials as part of their consultation. The most common group of antibacterials used were beta-lactams. Research showed that practices varied considerably in their use of these drugs, with some twice as likely to use them as others.
Research
Pupil-shrinking protein discovered
The muscles controlling the size of a cat’s pupils do not always require nerve signals to drive their movement; a light-sensitive pigment in the iris, called melanopsin, can do the job too. King-Wai Yau and his colleagues at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, USA, discovered that eyes isolated post mortem from animals that are active at night or at dusk and dawn – including cats, dogs and hamsters – continued to respond to light.
Melanopsin may provide dark-loving mammals with an additional tool to induce miosis, which helps them avoid being dazzled if suddenly exposed to light.