The American Association of Feline Practitioners celebrates 10 years of the Cat Friendly Practice Program

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The American Association of Feline Practitioners (AAFP) is celebrating the tenth anniversary of the Cat Friendly Practice (CFP) Program. Established in 2012 by the AAFP and the International Society of Feline Medicine (ISFM), the stated goal of the CFP Program is to “elevate care for cats by enhancing the environment and experience of a veterinary visit to reduce the stress for the cat, cat owner, and the veterinary care team.”

Practices that receive a CFP designation demonstrate that they are committed to providing the highest standards of care for cats, assuring cat owners that practices make the effort to individualize each cat’s experience and care. The AAFP works with practices to implement creative solutions to improve the standard of care for feline patients. The organization provides a toolkit of marketing resources, client education materials, exclusive newsletter content, and a public directory for cat owners to search for CFP-designated practices in their area.

“Over the last decade, the foundation of the AAFP’s Cat Friendly Practice Program has been at the forefront of advancing feline healthcare,” said Heather O’Steen, CAE, AAFP CEO, in an organizational release.

“The Cat Friendly Practice Program provides a simple, step-by-step guide on how to create a veterinary environment and experience that reduces stress and puts feline patients at ease so that veterinary professionals can provide the highest level of care and build long-lasting client relationships. We are thrilled to have reached this milestone and applaud our members who have made this commitment and earned a CFP designation,” she continued.

According to the release, the AAFP is rolling out a collection of activities and educational materials in recognition of the tenth anniversary, including:

• Updates to the feline handling and nursing care guidelines, which will launch as 2 separate resources—Cat Friendly Veterinary Interactions Guidelines and Cat Friendly Veterinary Environment Guidelines
• Cat Friendly Practices will receive special care packages mailed to their practice as well as new marketing materials to use, which are located in the online Cat Friendly Practice Marketing Toolkit
• The release of a new education program designed for cat caregivers.
• A special celebration of CFPs and the tenth anniversary hosted during the 2022 AAFP Annual Conference, October 27-30, 2022, in Pittsburgh, PA.
• Distribution of a report that demonstrates how Cat Friendly Practices experience fewer injuries among practice team members because of the Cat Friendly techniques that they employ

To learn more about the Cat Friendly Practice Program, check out its website.

Reference

The American Association of Feline Practitioners celebrates 10 years of the Cat Friendly Practice Program. News release. American Association of Feline Practitioners (AAFP). March 2, 2022. Accessed March 2, 2022. https://catvets.com/public/PDFs/PressReleases-Media/2022%20Press%20Releases/CFP-10-year-FINAL.pdf