Abstract
iCatCare
Recognising companies with cat commitment
International Cat Care, the parent charity of ISFM, presented two ‘Easy to Give’ and three ‘Cat Friendly’ awards at its 2019 annual awards ceremony, in Stratford-upon-Avon, UK, on 28 September. A brief outline is provided below; for more information about the awards go to icatcare.org/international-cat-care-recognises-companies-with-cat-commitment
iCatCare.org
International Cat Care has recently launched a brand-new website. With a fresh, sleek design, the website retains all of its popular content, with information about ISFM membership, conferences and courses, but is now easier to navigate and has improved searchability. In addition, the website also now features built-in translation for 27 languages.
For owners, the website offers a comprehensive and easily searchable cat care advice section, developed to help them access the information that they need to keep their cat happy, healthy and safe. Other features include a section devoted to iCatCare’s key campaigns (such as its scruff-free campaign), a blog and its shop.
ISFM
New learning opportunities
iCatCare/ISFM has developed a number of new courses for veterinary professionals, cat professionals and owners, the first of which is ‘ISFM Advanced Feline Dentistry for Veterinary Nurses’. This on-demand, online short course provides an overview of the important dental diseases affecting cats and how they are managed. In addition, it covers the importance of preventive dental healthcare and the role nurses/technicians can play in improving the health of cats coming into the clinic. Students have 90 days from registration to undertake the six-module course.
A further three new courses are devoted to feline behaviour.
‘Advanced Feline Behaviour for Cat Professionals’ is an 18-month, online, tutor-led course aimed at cat professionals, such as behaviourists, breeders and those working at rehoming centres and boarding catteries. Specifically for cat owners and enthusiasts there are now two online courses: ‘Getting to know your cat: an introduction to feline behaviour’ and ‘Cat friendly introductions: cats, dogs and babies’.
Call for abstracts
Resarch abstracts of relevance to feline clinical practice are invited for the 2020 ISFM Congress in Rhodes, Greece, from 10–14 June.
Abstracts should present novel information (or highly unusual case material) that has not been previously published, although abstracts that have been presented at a previous conference will be considered. All submitted abstracts will be reviewed, and those accepted will go foward to be presented in poster format. The presenter of an accepted abstract will receive a 50% discount on member rate registration for the congress. Accepted abstracts will be published in JFMS.
JFMS
Ultrasonography Virtual Special Issue
JFMS has launched a new ‘Virtual’ Special Issue, with feline abdominal ultrasonography as its topic. Comprising clinical review articles written by Sally Griffin, a diplomate of the European College of Veterinary Diagnostic Imaging, who is in veterinary referral practice in the UK, the series is aimed at general practitioners who wish to improve their knowledge and confidence in feline abdominal ultrasound, and is intended to plug the gap in the available literature.
The Virtual Issue so far includes articles on ultrasonography of the liver, the biliary tree, hepatic vascular anomalies, the normal gastrointestinal tract and the diseased gastrointestinal tract, and will continue to grow as more articles come to fruition.
JFMS Open Reports
Scopus
JFMS Open Reports has been accepted into Scopus – the largest abstracting and indexing database of peer reviewed literature – and now appears alongside over 24,000 titles from more than 5000 international publishers. This is another key step in the development of JFMS’s sister journal JFMS Open Reports, which is now entering its fifth year.
While sharing news of the acceptance, Scopus provided the following very positive feedback: the articles in the journal are consistently of high academic quality; the journal has scholarly relevance as evidenced by citations in other journals currently covered by Scopus; and the journal consistently includes articles that are scientifically sound and relevant to an international academic or professional audience in this field.