Abstract
AAFP
CFP program grows in North and South America
The cat-friendly movement continues to grow each day and across the world thanks to our international partner ISFM and other feline-focused associations. The AAFP’s Cat Friendly Practice (CFP) program has expanded to 45 states in the continental US, eight Canadian provinces, multiple Brazilian states and Mexico. Through the CFP program we can help educate all veterinary professionals about having a cat’s perspective, decrease the stress of the veterinary visit and, most importantly, make sure that once the cat is at the veterinary clinic they receive the best quality of care that’s appropriate to the cat.
The CFP program is available to practices in North and South America, as well as the Caribbean. The ISFM’s Cat Friendly Clinic program is available in all other locations: icatcare.org/catfriendlyclinic.
Partnering to promote the importance of routine care
On August 22, National Bring Your Cat to the Vet Day, the AAFP partnered with Royal Canin, CATalyst Council, The International Cat Association, and The Cat Fanciers’ Association to promote the importance of routine care for cats. As most veterinarians know, 83% of cats are taken to the veterinarian in the first year of ownership, yet over half of them do not return for another visit. So Royal Canin and various feline associations lent their voices to the cause as well as urging more attention be paid to preventive care for cats.
The message was well received, with major news outlets such as Pet Age, Catster, dvm360 and The Dodo running articles on the topic.
The AAFP’s National Bring Your Cat to the Vet Day resources can be used for your clients any time of the year since the message of veterinary care value is timeless.
Obituary
Marian Horzinek
The following is based on an obituary prepared by Hans Lutz, Marion Koopmans, Ab Osterhaus and members of the European Advisory Board on Cat Diseases.
On July 28, 2016, Marian Horzinek, our friend and colleague over many years, passed away. He was in his 80th year of life.
Having fled from Poland to East Germany following the Second World War, and later to West Germany, Marian studied veterinary medicine in Giessen and Hannover, Germany, graduating as a doctor of veterinary medicine (DVM) in 1962. His doctoral thesis about treatment protocols for cattle diseases from medieval Viennese documents provided an early glimpse of his scientific interests and, after a brief stint in small animal practice, he began his career in virology.
In 1971, with a couple of research fellowships under his belt, and having gained his ‘Habilitation’ (postdoctoral qualification) for structural studies on arboviruses, he moved to the Netherlands. At age 35, he was appointed Head of Department and Professor of Virology and Virus Diseases at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht. From this point, he was to become the ‘founding father’ of veterinary virology in the Netherlands, implanting his enthusiasm for virology research into a whole new generation of young veterinarians and biologists. Several of his ‘scientific offspring’ have become professors in leading positions, both within and outside the Netherlands, and his legacy continues to contribute to the highly productive field of virology research in the country.
Marian was a long-time director of Utrecht University’s Institute of Veterinary Research, and established and directed the Graduate School of Animal Health. Although his later career mostly focused on coronavirus research, he followed the geographical expansion of arboviruses with keen interest, applying his extensive knowledge across disciplines (entomology, veterinary and medical virology, cell biology, molecular biology) to understanding the root causes of these emerging disease outbreaks.
Marian published in excess of 300 scientific papers and more than 30 books and monographs, a handbook and many CD-ROM articles. Yet despite being a prominent scientist with enormous creative power, he never lost contact with practising veterinarians, and was always a popular speaker at continuing education events. Whenever he gave a talk, wherever it might be around the world, the lecture hall was full.
Professor Marian Horzinek, pictured during the 2009 ISFM Congress in Croatia. Always the most enthusiastic of educators – and always sporting a bow tie!
Marian regarded retirement from academic leadership as an opportunity to free up time for more of ‘the fun side’! A particular project was his online veterinary research journal, Veterinary Sciences Tomorrow, via which he could satisfy his never-abating curiosity for science and innovation, merged with his drive to stimulate new generations of veterinary students into scientific thinking and debate as the basis for their work.
Accolades and achievements
With a list of professional achievements and honours that would fill many columns of this journal, we can provide only a snapshot.
Marian was bestowed with honorary appointments outside the Veterinary Faculty of Utrecht -Courtesy Professor at the College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell (USA), and Clinical Professor of Virology at the School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis (USA) - as well as honorary doctorates from the University of Ghent (Belgium) and the veterinary school in Hannover (Germany). He gained prizes and awards from research organisations in Giessen (Germany), Liege (Belgium), Amsterdam (Netherlands), Zurich (Switzerland), Geelong (Australia) and Yokohama (Japan), among many others. In 2004, he received the Hill’s/ESFM award for outstanding contributions in the field of feline medicine. In addition to being editor-in-chief of Veterinary Microbiology, he was editor or an editorial board member for scientific journals published in the Netherlands, Belgium, UK, Germany, Austria, France and Italy.
Virologists and veterinarians alike will greatly miss Marian for his scientific curiosity, inquisitive mind, infectious sense of humor, and his ceaseless support and friendship.
iCatCare
The value of knowledge
ISFM members will have received with this issue of JFMS the International Cat Care Annual Review for 2015.
ISFM - the International Society of Feline Medicine - is the veterinary division of the charity International Cat Care (iCatCare). Founded in 1958, the charity has the mission ‘to engage, educate and empower people throughout the world to improve the health and welfare of cats by sharing advice, training and passion’.
The Annual Review highlights the value of knowledge in enabling ‘better care through better understanding’, and describes how iCatCare is expanding its reach; for example, the website, which provides information on feline health and welfare, was viewed in over 200 countries in 2015; free nurse membership has provided over 7000 nurses and veterinary technicians with the monthly online journal Feline Focus, and Cat Friendly Clinics can now be found in nearly 30 different countries around the world.
To view the Annual Review online, go to:
ISFM
National partners spread cat know-how
German Cat Group
‘The cat as a patient’ was the title of a CPD day held in Cologne, Germany, in June, by the German Cat Group, or ‘Deutsche Gruppe Katzenmedizin’. Eight hours of lectures were provided by speakers including Christine Heinrich (pictured) and Angelika Drensler.
Courtesy of DVG
Korean Society of Feline Medicine
The first joint KSFM-ISFM feline conference was held in Seoul, Korea, in July. Over 150 attendees from nine countries enjoyed lectures from Martha Cannon, Susan Little, Jolle Kirpensteijn and Takuo Ishida, among other speakers.
2017 calendar
The iCatCare calendar, which for 2017 has the theme of ‘cat naps’, is now available. Each photograph is a winning entry from the annual iCatCare photography competition, which is run in conjunction with Your Cat magazine, and this year attracted a record number of entries. Funds raised from calendar sales go towards iCatCare’s welfare work. The calendar is available to purchase at icatcare.org/shop for £9.50 + p&p
Feline behaviour course
The first cohorts of students have just started the brand new ISFM/iCatCare feline behaviour courses. The courses, of which there is one specifically for those in the veterinary profession and one aimed at cat owners and those working with cats in non-veterinary professions, aim to provide a comprehensive understanding of what a cat is, so that students can fully understand their behavioural needs and utilise such knowledge to develop the practical skills to improve their wellbeing. A second cohort of students will start the course in May. To find out more or to enrol, visit
JFMS reader survey
If you have not yet completed the JFMS reader survey there is still time and we would love to have your feedback! Completed surveys will be entered into a prize draw for five £50 (or€ or US$ equivalent) Amazon vouchers; they may alternatively be completed anonymously. The survey runs until November 18, 2016 and can be accessed at:
Books
Bite-sized reviews
S Taylor and AM Harvey (eds). Saunders, 2015. Paperback, 396 pages. Price £44.99, ISBN 9780702045875
Veterinary students will also benefit from the straightforward clinical approach but might feel overwhelmed by some cases.
Feline-specific content
Practice resource
Value for money
Overall reviewer rating
Jurgen Kremendahl DrMedVet, MACVSc (Medicine of Cats), MRCVS
2nd ed. MJ Day and R Schultz. CRC Press, USA, 2014. Paperback, 336 pages. Price £25.46, ISBN 9781482224627
Feline-specific content
Practice resource
Value for money
Overall reviewer rating
Caroline Blundell BVetMed, CertSAM, RCVS Advanced Practitioner in Small Animal Medicine – feline
MA Oyama, MS Krauus and AR Gelzer. CRC Press, USA, 2013. Paperback, 96 pages. Price £22.09, ISBN 9781840761986
Feline-specific content
Practice resource
Value for money
Overall reviewer rating
Jamie Rushton BVetMed, MSc, CertVDI, MANZCVS (Feline & Avian), PgDipAB(CABC), MRCVS