Cat Friendly Practice Update by Dr. Cini

Do you find it stressful to bring your cat to the veterinarian? If you said “yes” you’re not alone. Many cat owners do not look forward to their annual visits. At North Hill Animal Hospital we are constantly striving to manage feline stress by trying to see through the eyes of a cat. We can make small changes that can make a big difference in decreasing the stress of our feline friends.

As featured in our first newsletter over the past year we achieved Cat Friendly Practice accreditation from the American Association of Feline Practitioners. This means we have met many criteria in standards of care from having a cats only hospital ward to using calming feline pheromone spray in our exam room. We have also changed the way we examine and restrain cats by trying to keep them with their owners as much as possible to help decrease their anxiety.

Since becoming a Cat Friendly Practice we continue to improve and learn new ways to make vet visits as calm and stress free as possible. We recently added a large cat tree to our cats only exam room. Our patients love to climb and scratch the cat tree and can even have their exam while lounging on one of the perches. In the next couple of months we plan to construct a collapsible exam table in the cat ward. This will allow our in-hospital patients to stay in one familiar area, away from our canine patients. We will also be connecting two of our smaller kitty condos by putting a hole in the wall between the cages where the cats can pass from one cage to the other. We will place food and bedding on one side and litter on the other making the cat’s hospital stay more enjoyable.

If you have stress when thinking about your next visit to the animal hospital please contact us to discuss how we can make your appointment more relaxing for you and your cat!