Vets are officially feline friendly

Express columnist Kerry Molloy and her team at Love Street Vets have been awarded Cat Friendly Clinic status.

Kerry, who writes for our A Word With The Vet column, says various this affect cats’behaviour.

She explained:“Stress can be a major trigger for lots of common behaviour problems we see at the clinic everyday.

“In addition, stress can lead to some serious and chronic health conditions which can affect the quality of our pet’s lives.

“Within the body, systems are in place to regulate and control the release of hormones to help an animal survive potentially dangerous situations.

“Chemicals are released in the brain which affect bodily functions and is called the‘ fight or flight‘ response and these have an important role to play in the body.

“These physical responses are relatively easy to see in our cat’s body language and can include a crouched appearance, dilated pupils, shaking and trembling, flattened ears and hissing.

“At Love Street Vets, we understand the difficulties and stress in bringing your cat to see us.

“They often don’t travel well and feel unsafe. They prefer quiet places and are especially sensitive to new sights, sounds and smells.

“Cats also often get very stressed by being near dogs at the vets. Commonly, when speaking to our owners, they mention that they delay taking their cats to the vet due to worry and stress the feel the visit causes their cats - and them!”

To combat all of this, Kerry and her team has worked to reach a higher standard of cat care and understanding for the needs of our feline friends to reduce their stress during visits.

The practice has to adhere to internationallyrecognised criteria by the International Society of Feline Medicine (ISFM).

As part of being a cat friendly practice, they have a separate waiting area for cats, allowing them to be out of sight of dogs.

Towels - sprayed with a pheromone to reduce stress - are provided to cover carriers and there is a cats-only consult room.

Kerry added:“We are incredibly proud to be the only silver accredited Cat Friendly Practice in Paisley.

“Every member of our team is passionate about improving the standards of welfare for all our patients. As