Amy Ward (left) with fellow cat advocate Ansorie Barry at Calder Vets in Penistone.
Award-Winning Calder Vets 'Purring' With Delight As Cats Get Silver Service
1 year ago 
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A South Yorkshire vet practice has been honoured with a prestigious international award for its high quality of care for cats.
Calder Vets in Penistone has been recognised as a silver-level cat-friendly clinic (CFC) by the International Society of Feline Medicine (ISFM).
It now means that all of Calder’s 10 practices across South and West Yorkshire have been recognised as a cat-friendly clinic at either silver or bronze level.
One of Calder’s cat advocates, Amy Ward, said the prestigious award for the Penistone practice recognises their determination to deliver the very highest standards of care for all cats visiting them.
Amy said: “We are thrilled to have gained a silver ISFM award. It is a clear recognition of our steps to ensure our feline patients always receive the utmost care.
“The team here at Penistone fully appreciates the needs of cats and we always strive to make visits to us cat-friendly and stress-free, including for owners.
“A key part of this approach is that clinics are expected to update their knowledge of feline medicine as new knowledge becomes available.
“Not only that, practices need to have feline-friendly hospitalisation cages, separate dog and cat waiting areas, as well as veterinary equipment specifically for treating cats to meet the tough criteria set out by the ISFM.”
The team at Penistone have implemented a variety of changes to become accredited, particularly focusing on its waiting room. This included adding a bookcase as a solid barrier to segregate species, allowing for a cat corner. The bookcase shelves also have samples of cat food that the practice sells.
Meanwhile, it has also started providing blankets that have been sprayed with Feliway to help reduce feelings of anxiety and stress, as well as adding raised platforms in the waiting area to create cat parks to keep their feline patients off the floor.
Away from the waiting room, the Penistone practice has also added cat hides in its cat kennels for day patients and has stopped using its recovery kennels for cats, as this is an area where they could be exposed to other species.
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.
“It has been a real team effort and is a fitting reward for everyone’s hard work and dedication. It’s also great that all 10 Calder Vet practices have achieved this significant feline milestone,” added fellow cat advocate Ansorie Barry.
For more information on Linnaeus-owned Calder Vets, visit www.caldervets.co.uk or search for them on social media.
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