Sussex vet practice gets international award for its cat care

St Annes’s Veterinary Group, which has four practices in the Eastbourne area, has been recognised as a silver level cat-friendly clinic (CFC) by the International Society of Feline Medicine (ISFM).

St Anne’s Vet Jessica LaBrooy, who took the lead on the initiative, said the prestigious award is recognition of their determination to deliver the highest standards of care for all cats visiting them. She said: “We are delighted to have gained a silver ISFM award in recognition of the steps we have taken to ensure our feline patients receive the best of care. It has been a real team effort and is a fitting reward for everyone’s hard work and dedication.

“The task started when we first joined the Linnaeus family about two years ago. Our director Simon DeVile asked me to help make the practice cat friendly, as he knew I had helped achieve ISFM silver status at my previous practice and wanted to do it here, too. The ISFM is a highly respected international initiative which examines the provision of facilities and staff activities and attitudes to reducing stress in cats, both as in-patients and out-patients. Its criteria include having separate dog and cat waiting areas, feline-friendly hospitalisation cages and veterinary equipment specifically for treating cats.

“We had to demonstrate that the team here at St Anne’s understands the needs of cats and always strive to make visits to us cat-friendly and stress free. Clinics are also expected to maintain high standards of veterinary care, including continuing to update their knowledge of feline medicine as new knowledge becomes available.”

St Anne’s showed they were up to the challenge, with Jessica revealing some of the measures they’ve put in place to achieve their silver accreditation success.

She added: “Most importantly, we now have clearly signed separate cat and dog waiting areas. Other alterations included applying frosted film on the fronts of our kennels so the cats can't eyeball each other while they are with us. The same frosted film was applied over the windows in the doors of the cat ward so it’s impossible to see through them into the dog ward.

“We also introduced calming Feliway blankets which our reception staff encouraged people to use them to cover their cat carriers to help keep their pets calm and relaxed.”

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The ISFM launched the cat-friendly clinic initiative to encourage veterinary clinics to make changes to improve the welfare of cats in their care. The programme advises practices on how to make their environment as welcoming as possible for cats, as well as providing support in staff training, handling techniques and cat-specific client care.

For more information on the St Anne’s, visit www.stannesvets.co.uk or search for St Anne’s Veterinary Group on Facebook.