Podcast CE: Breaking down behavioral barriers to feline wellness care

Sponsored by Elanco Animal Health. Head to dvm360 Flex and login or create a free CE account and claim your credit after listening to this episode.

There are many barriers, whether real or perceived, to providing preventive care and treating many common ailments in cats. Clients may be wary of seeking wellness care after they've experienced a high stress veterinary visit. Furthermore, they may worry it will be next to impossible to get their cat to comply with any at home preventive or therapeutic medication. What if we could make this experience completely different for both the patient and the client? This presentation will walk you through how to make your wellness visits and prescribed treatments not just better, but enjoyable for your feline patients. Learn tips and tricks from a behaviorist's point of view on how to keep your feline patients content and compliant with all of their wellness care and keep your clients coming back for more.

Program agenda:

• Feline veterinary visits frequency of care
  • Behavioral barriers to care
• How to mitigate feline veterinary visit stressors
  • Identification of fear, anxiety, stress in cats
  • Environmental strategies to reduce stress
  • Low-stress techniques for conducting common wellness visit procedures
• Strategies to maximize owner success of delivering prescribed preventive care at home

Learning objectives:

• Learn important environmental and handling stress mitigating strategies for feline veterinary visits.
• Understand the principles and practices of conditioning positive emotions for your feline patients.
• Using feline behavioral knowledge, identify best options and strategies for delivering preventive and therapeutic care to feline patients.

Indications Credelio CAT kills adult fleas and is indicated for the treatment and prevention of flea infestations (Ctenocephalides felis) for one month in cats and kittens 8 weeks of age and older and weighing 2.0 pounds or greater. Credelio CAT is also indicated for treatment and control of Ixodes scapularis (black-legged tick) infestations for one month in cats and kittens 6 months of age and older and weighing 2.0 pounds or greater.

Important Safety Information Lotilaner is a member of the isoxazoline class. This class has been associated with neurologic adverse reactions including tremors, ataxia and seizures. Neurologic adverse reactions have been reported in cats receiving isoxazoline class drugs, even in cats without a history of neurologic disorders. Use with caution in cats with a history of neurologic disorders. The safety of Credelio CAT has not been established in breeding, pregnant and lactating cats. The effectiveness of Credelio CAT against Ixodes scapularis in kittens less than 6 months of age has not been evaluated. The most frequently reported adverse reactions are weight loss, tachypnea and vomiting. For full prescribing information see Credelio CAT package insert.