Abstract
Awards
We are delighted to announce the winners of our two annual journal awards: the JFMS Resident Best Paper Award and, on page 257, the JFMS Open Reports Practitioner Best Paper Award.
2020 JFMS Resident Best Paper Award
Kellyi Benson, of Colorado State University, USA, has won the 2020 JFMS Resident Best Paper Award. This annual award recognises quality and excellence for early career authors in veterinary science.
The criteria used for evaluating the studies eligible for this award are: benefit to cats, direct usefulness to practitioners, quality of science, originality and standard of writing. Kellyi’s paper, ‘Pilot study of side effects and serum and urine concentrations of amoxicillin–clavulanic acid in azotemic and non-azotemic cats’, published in the August 2020 issue, was ranked highest overall.
The panel of judges commented that ‘This paper identifies a potential issue of great magnitude. Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is very common in cats and Clavamox is a common antibiotic prescribed for cats. This study sets the stage for a larger study to determine if cats with CKD need dose adjustment of Clavamox to minimize side effects.’ The study was also described as being ‘well designed and well written’, as well as having ‘practical value for cats with kidney disease’ and ‘information that can be used in daily practice.’
2020 JFMS Open Reports Practitioner Best Paper Award
The JFMS Open Reports Practitioner Best Paper Award has been won by Kajsa Winbladh, a veterinarian at the Blue Star Small Animal Hospital, Gothenburg, Sweden. This award, which runs annually, recognises quality and excellence for veterinary practitioners who submit papers to JFMS’s online, open access sister title, the Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery Open Reports.
The criteria used for evaluating the papers eligible for the award are: benefit to cats, direct usefulness to practitioners, originality and standard of writing. Kajsa’s case report ‘Aneurysmal bone cyst in the pelvis of a cat: successful outcome of partial iliectomy with limb preservation’, published in December 2020, was ranked highest overall.
The panel of judges commented that this paper is an ‘interesting account of a new surgical technique’, an ‘excellent case’ and ‘well written’. The judges also commented that the ‘technique could potentially be applied to other instances’ and that the case ‘describes novel presentation of aneurysmal bone cyst and good outcome following iliectomy, which may have applicability to other conditions’.
A delighted Kajsa responded, ‘I cannot express my happiness enough, and my gratitude towards the judging panel’.
AAFP
End of elective declawing in Cat Friendly Practices
In early January, the AAFP made the exciting announcement of its decision to end elective declawing procedures (onychectomy) in all Cat Friendly Practices (CFPs). This decision reflects the AAFP’s commitment to cats and serves as a crucial step in improving feline welfare. The change applies to any existing CFPs and is standard in all new practices earning the designation moving forward. A CFP designation is a recognized symbol of excellence, showing a practice’s commitment to providing an increased level of care to the cat and the owner, with their veterinary team treating feline patients gently and with respect.
Spring virtual e-conference
The AAFP is delighted to be presenting a 3-day live virtual CE event: Spring into Feline Medicine. Join expert speakers as they address a variety of feline topics in a live format. Attendees can earn 13–14 RACE-approved CE credits (agenda still being finalized at the time of publication). The content will be presented over the 3 days and AAFP members will receive an exclusive substantial discount. The topics will include behavior, nutrition, endocrinology and cat friendly strategies, among others. In addition, all CE will be recorded so that anyone who cannot attend on a particular day can catch it again on demand!
Feline Life Stages: client supplemental resources
Accompanying the release of the 2021 AAHA/AAFP Feline Life Stage Guidelines on pages 211–233 of this issue are two new supplemental resources to aid in educating clients: Your Cat’s Life Stages (client brochure) and an updated Feline Life Stages in Cats chart that translates how old your cat is into human years.
Claw Friendly Educational Toolkit
In an effort to provide resources to all veterinary professionals and support every CFP, the AAFP has developed a Claw Friendly Educational Toolkit. The comprehensive toolkit contains:
Review and summary of scientific literature
Scratching resources, such as an article on helping clients to live alongside cats with claws
Implementation plans to end elective declawing at practices
Experiences from practices that have stopped elective declawing
Two free webinars
FAQs for veterinary professionals and cat caregivers
Phone scripts
Client resources
This toolkit has been endorsed by Cat Healthy, CATalyst Council and the ISFM.
AAFP
Cat Friendly Practice 2020 survey – 99% would recommend to other veterinary professionals
The AAFP is delighted to share the results of the 2020 Cat Friendly Practice (CFP) survey, which highlights the impact of the program’s many outstanding benefits. Key performance indicators include a fantastic recommendation rate of the program to other veterinary professionals, a high satisfaction rate from CFPs, and improved feline knowledge and care among practice staff.
The AAFP expresses deep appreciation to the industry and organizational partners that make this program possible. The CFP program is sponsored by Zoetis, Boehringer Ingelheim, Ceva Animal Health, Elanco, Hill’s Pet Nutrition, Merck Animal Health, Purina Veterinary Diets and Royal Canin, and is supported by Wedgewood Pharmacy. The CFP program is endorsed by the Association of Shelter Veterinarians, CATalyst Council, Cat Healthy, the National Association of Veterinary Technicians in America and the Winn Feline Foundation.
iCatCare
iCatCare comments on proposal for compulsory microchipping in England
Compulsory microchipping of cats in England has been the subject of a recent public consultation by the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra), and could be introduced as law this year.
International Cat Care, the parent charity of ISFM, has submitted its response to the proposal. Stating it has always encouraged cat owners to microchip their cats to aid their reunion if the cat is found after being lost or stolen, the charity also supports Gizmo’s Legacy, a campaign seeking to make it mandatory to scan for a microchip when a cat or dog is found dead by the roadside.
However, the issue of mandatory microchipping for cats is not straightforward. In submitting its comments, iCatCare has highlighted some of the many considerations the UK government should address to ensure this initiative will be effective in practice and prevent harm from unintended consequences. These include:
Effective implementation – microchipping databases need to work together collaboratively.
Role of the veterinary profession – they should not be put in a position of policing the law.
Unowned cats – the suggested change to the law is for pet cats; the position of unowned cats must also be taken into account.
Timing – there must be clear guidance about the appropriate age for microchipping cats and whose responsibility it is to have the procedure done.
iCatCare/ISFM
Support for the end of elective declawing in Cat Friendly Practices
As reported on page 259, the AAFP has announced that only veterinary practices that do not carry out elective declawing will now be designated as Cat Friendly Practices (CFPs) under its CFP scheme.
In accordance with the policies of iCatCare and the ‘cat friendly principles’ that it is developing, ISFM insists that surgical operations for the purpose of modifying the appearance of the cat or for non-medical purposes (such as choosing to declaw) are not performed in their accredited Cat Friendly Clinics.
‘Bringing Cat Friendly Solutions for Unowned Cats to Life’ course reaches far and wide
iCatCare launched its Cat Friendly Solutions for Unowned Cats initiative at the end of 2020, with a live event showcasing the freely available resources designed to help those working with unowned cats. At this event, the online course ‘Bringing Cat Friendly Solutions for Unowned Cats to Life’ was unveiled.
Taking just a couple of hours to complete, and with its engaging format and easy access, the course has already been popular far and wide, with uptake in countries ranging from El Salvador to Estonia.
The course is aimed at people who want to understand more about the challenges facing unowned cats and how they can work to help them. It follows the stories of three very different cats and uses these to demonstrate the benefits of Cat Friendly Solutions for Unowned Cats, including Cat Friendly Homing.
First virtual World Feline Congress
Following the success of ISFM’s virtual International Feline Congress in 2020, it is now holding the first-ever virtual World Feline Congress, to be delivered in an exciting new format. The ISFM World Feline Congress will be taking place on 25–27 June 2021 with the theme ‘The ever-complex cat: a multidisciplinary approach to veterinary medicine’.
Join ISFM for 3 days of stimulating talks taking an in-depth look at the path to diagnosis of the cat. Keynote speaker Professor Kenneth Simpson, of Cornell University, USA, will be discussing his work on infectious causes of pancreatic, liver and gastrointestinal disease and enlightening delegates on his research. Joining him will be a host of international feline experts, who will present information a little differently this year, with new roundtable discussion sessions.
Practitioners at all levels from around the world are invited to learn about cats from leading specialists with a fresh new look at some perennial problems.
New member of iCatCare team
Linda Ryan, Veterinary Technician Specialist in Behaviour and Certified Clinical Animal Behaviourist, joined iCatCare’s Cat Advocacy team in January.
Linda’s background, both as an RVN and an animal behaviourist, means she brings an expertise to her new position that is so important to iCatCare’s holistic approach to feline welfare. In addition to her work as a behaviourist and an influential animal trainer, Linda has been a long-standing supporter of the charity, sitting on the Editorial Board for the nursing journal, Feline Focus, as well as being a member of the pan-disciplinary Feline Wellbeing Panel and a valued contributor to many educational initiatives.
Speaking of her new role, Linda comments: ‘As a passionate feline veterinary nurse and behaviourist, the chance to work with such an amazing team is a wonderful opportunity for me. I love to learn as well as to teach, and in my clinical animal behaviour work I get to help one owner, one cat, one vet team at a time. Now, I’ll also be involved in far-reaching, potentially culture-changing interactions aimed at positively influencing cat welfare and human–cat interactions on a broad and grand scale.’
Book review
Feline dermatology
It has been several years since a clinical textbook focusing solely on feline dermatology has been published and a lot has changed since then. ‘Feline Dermatology’ is a compilation of dermatological diseases of the feline patient and has everything one could wish for in a veterinary dermatology book. It is a valuable text for general practitioners, interns and students, as well as those specialised in dermatology or internal medicine.
Each author contributes with one or more chapters pertinent to their scientific focus and/or special field of interest, covering the aetiology, pathophysiology, clinical presentation, diagnosis and treatment of the described disease. Reviews of each disease or syndrome are evidence-based, which gives the reader the most current and important facts. Authors go into detail when necessary, but the depth is not overwhelming. The editors and authors made sure to include colour photographs for nearly every disease or lesion. Wherever possible, tables with treatment options are included to give the reader easy access to a list of appropriate drugs and their recommended dose. The book is divided into three parts, as described below.
Part I includes the introductory chapters, which cover the structure and function of the skin, coat colour genetics (with pictures of nearly every cat breed) and the approach to the feline patient. The last not only focuses on how to take a thorough history and perform a dermatological examination but also includes tips on how to make the examination as comfortable as possible for the cat from a behavioural standpoint.
Part II focuses on the problem-oriented approach to different lesions and clinical signs such as alopecia, papules, crusts, excoriations, scaling, pruritus, otitis, and others. Tables with a variety of differential diagnoses as well as flow charts help veterinarians to decide on the next diagnostic step. How to appropriately perform diagnostic tests such as cytology, skin scrape, skin biopsy, etc, is also explained throughout this section.
Part III is divided into 22 chapters that describe the most important dermatological diseases of the feline patient. The first nine are infectious diseases, including those of bacterial, mycobacterial, viral, fungal and ectoparasitic origin. An entire chapter is dedicated to dermatophytosis and readers are given a great overview on how to manage this disease in single vs multi-cat households as well as up-to-date-information regarding decontamination of the environment. Allergic diseases are common in cats and often challenging to owners and veterinarians. This book places an emphasis on the feline allergic patient. One chapter is dedicated to flea biology, flea allergic dermatitis and flea control. Feline atopic syndrome is discussed throughout three chapters covering clinical presentation, diagnosis and current therapy.
Additional chapters include autoimmune disease, immune-mediated disease, hormonal and metabolic diseases, genetic diseases, neoplastic diseases, paraneoplastic diseases, idiopathic miscellaneous diseases and psychogenic disease. The last chapter focuses especially on abnormal grooming behaviour and biting of the tail leading to self-traumatic alopecia, as well as hyperaesthesia and excessive scratching. Aside from providing insight into the aetiology and pathophysiology of behavioural illness, the chapter gives the reader a great overview of how to rule out a dermatological cause.
In conclusion, this is one of the most valuable books available in veterinary dermatology – and probably feline medicine. It is a big help for daily clinical practice but is also useful study material for students, interns and residents.
Chiara Noli and Silvia Colombo (eds). Springer International Publishing, 2020, 263 pages. eBook: €117.69, ISBN 978-3-030-29836-4; hardcover: €155.99, ISBN 978-3-030-29835-7.