Hello Catseys

[jaffavets]

Hi
I'm Pete Coleshaw, a vet who has just opened a vets just for cats in Salisbury, UK.

I realise this is not meant to be an advert - and it's not, but how do I tell you about us/me without mentioning what we do?

So if you will permit me, Mr/mrs moderator:

we have set out to produce the most-cat-friendly vets possible, by having our main areas entirely non-clinical
so reception is carpeted, and the consulting room is made out as a kitchen. All the smelly clinical stuff is in the pantry - and what is so wonderful is how cats don't realise they are at the vets. Cats play, and groom - never seen that before at the vets in my life - and I've spent all my working life at it!

I used to do dogs as well as cats - but now we are just doing our feline friends, the discussion is always centred on them - and we are leaning so much.

I will hope to contribute some veterinary input to the site as well as passing on some of the things we have learned. We also have a few projects on the go - such as has anyone seen FLUTD in a cat on 100% wet diet?

I look forward to the chat!

[alexgirl73]

Hello and welcome Sounds very interesting and I look forward to finding out more about how you came to the decision to focus solely on cats

[jaffavets]

Hi Alexgirl
Thank-youfor the welcome
Why just cats?
As with most things, it's a long story - condensed tightly:....
In our previous practice we did the fab cat-friendly stuff (& got their silver award) and saw the huge difference it made to the welfare of our feline patients.
And the more we came to understand them, the fonder we became of them.
And the more we came to realise what a terrible deal cats tend to get at the vets.
& how much more can be done, especially for older cats
I spent 12 months locuming - and saw so many cats freaking out - something we never had in our own practice
So when we started out again we took the opportunity to do it full-on, right from the start
We have also upped the ante a bit by our non-clinical ground floor (all the surgical stuff is upstairs) and this has opened our eyes further to how wrong we always were in the past
So many things are meaningless in stressed cats - blood pressure, blood glucose levels, expression of pain ( indeed any expression other than fear). And owners know how stressed their cats are, and stress out themselves. Cats get fidgety, need restraint – a whole vicious circle commences.

When they come to Jaffa’s the whole mood is of calm, quiet, no hurry, no hassle – and both cats and owners chill! We need very little physical restraint to perform our tasks, and the only anxious cats are the ones who are anxious in their own homes.

I am also very much into raw feeding, and cats respond so well – assuming you can get them to transition from kibble. It is so great to see diarrhoeic cats that have every test under the sun, every prescription diet known to man (and still have the squits) and see them sorted within 48 hours. I also love seeing ‘diabetic’ cats no longer needing insulin when switched onto a carb- free diet.

And Jill and I love the chat, meeting new and interesting people, and playing with cats all day

Does that give you an idea?

[alexgirl73]

yes it does, and makes very interesting reading. Pity there aren't more vets open to ideas like this. I tried to get my cats on to a raw diet, not a chance! Although my dog is fully raw fed

[PoshPuss]

Hello! What an amazing service you offer, pity I don't live closer, my three would love your cat-friendly clinic
I am lucky to have a wonderful vet who is a cat owner and shares lots of my ideas about cats and helps me greatly.
Good luck with your venture and I hope your clientele increases.

[Velvet]

Wish we lived nearer too!

Interesting about food. We got a kitten last year & had loose bowels for six months. It was a lady on here recommended a food that worked!

I fed our dogs s raw diet for a year but alas altho they loved it, it didnt love them

It would be lovely to have vets that only specialised in one particular type of animal

[JMPARK]

A bit late, but better late than never!
Welcome to Catsey from Joy and Beau

[PoshPuss]

Oh MEE-OWW

Loving your pussycats, just purrfect.

[yola]

Welcome! Salisbury is also a bit far for me but I love the philosophy behind your practice. Our local vet is extremely good - they have a dedicated area for cats and consulting rooms, theatres etc that are also all cat-specific. They have a whole other area for other pets and whilst you can sometimes hear dogs barking, it rarely encroaches into the peace and tranquility that is the cat waiting room.

I wish you much luck with your venture - perhaps if you're very successful you'll consider replicating it in other areas so we can all benefit?

[angieh]

Welcome Pete - lovely to hear of a cat-centred practice.

It's also refreshing to hear of a vet who advocates raw feeding - not a usual opinion at all! My dogs are transferring to raw feed; I have offered my cats some raw but, little fusspots turned their noses up! I will keep trying though.