The American Association of Feline Practitioners Presents Academic Opportunities for Its 5th World Feline Veterinary Conference

More than 1,500 veterinary professionals expected at one-of-a-kind conference

Hillsborough, NJ, April 2, 2019 – The 2019 American Association of Feline Practitioners (AAFP) Annual Conference and 5th World Feline Veterinary Conference, themed Complex Disease Management focuses on Exploring Feline Comorbidities and will take place October 31 – November 3, 2019 in San Francisco, CA. This will be a truly unique meeting that encourages attendees to think differently about treating feline comorbidities. The interaction and processes between two or more distinct diseases can be challenging and yet, veterinary practices experience this frequently. By attending the conference, veterinary professionals will acquire knowledge about two or more different diseases or conditions that exist together and what to do if treatments appear to conflict.

“Cats are a truly unique and amazing species in many ways, and it is very unfortunate that having multiple concurrent diseases or conditions, or comorbidities, is often normal for so many,” said Heather O’Steen, CEO of the AAFP. “There is much veterinary education on treating one specific feline disease, but there hasn’t been an entire three-day conference led by experts dedicated to educating veterinary professionals about how to treat a cat that has multiple diseases. Often times there are different factors that need to be assessed to diagnose, treat, prescribe, feed, monitor, and manage multiple diseases at the same time. That’s why we are excited to present this one-of-a-kind opportunity to the veterinary community.”

More than 1,500 attendees from across the globe are expected. Any veterinary professional who treats or examines cats is encouraged to attend this conference. Unique educational offerings include:

• Feline-specific material presented by expert speakers
• Feline-Friendly Handling Workshop
• Sessions for veterinary professionals who see cats at all levels of their career, including: two
  veterinary tracks, a two-day Technician/Nurse Track, and a one-day Practice Management Track
• Additional CE is offered through interactive Lunch and Learn sessions with speakers
• Networking opportunities, multiple social events, and an interactive exhibit hall

Some sessions will include: why comorbidities are the norm, triaditis, diabetic cushingoid cat, IBD in the diabetic cat, hyperthyroidism and CKD, cardio-renal syndrome, CKD and chronic enteropathy, cardiomyopathy and thromboembolic disease, heart disease and respiratory disease, nutritional triage for concurrent diseases, integrating pharma and non-pharma, peri-operative cat with renal disease, senior cat nutrition when comorbidities exist, changing the way we use NSAIDs with comorbidities, anesthesia for HCM and other diseases, changing therapy for antimicrobial risk when comorbidities exist, the cat with diabetes and cancer, oncology with other concurrent diseases, skin disease when corticosteroids are contraindicated, and much more.

The conference also offers ancillary sessions on a variety of feline topics during the Pre-conference day, such as hypertension, effects of emotional well-being, localizing feline dyspnea, update on IMHA, hypotension, acute pancreatitis, and more.

Just a sampling of the expert speakers includes:

• Dawn Boothe, DVM, MS, PhD, DACVIM, DACVCP
• Christopher Byers, DVM, DACVECC, DACVIM
• Julie Churchill, DVM, PhD, DACVN
• Linda Ellis, DVM
• Amy Farcas, DVM, MS, DACVN
• Kristen Hagler, RVT, CVPP, CCRP
• Barbara Kitchell, DVM, PhD, DACVIM (SAIM and Oncology)
• Jolle Kirpensteijn, DVM, PhD, DACVS, DECVS
• Michael Lappin, DVM, PhD, DACVIM
• Ronald Li, DVM, MVetMed, PhD, DACVECC
• Susan Little, DVM, DABVP (Feline)
• Stanley Marks, BVSc, PhD, DACVIM (SAIM and Oncology), DACVN
• Catherine Outerbridge, DVM, DACVD, DACVIM (SAIM)
• Jessica Quimby, DVM, PhD, DACVIM
• Ilona Rodan, DVM, DABVP (Feline)
• Margie Scherk, DVM, DAVBP (Feline)
• Andrew Sparkes, BVetMed, DECVIM, MANZCVS, MRCVS
• Joshua Stern, DVM, PhD, DACVIM (Cardiology)
• Melissa Tompkins, BS, CVPM
• Cynthia Ward, VMD, PhD, DACVIM (SAIM)
• Ann Wortinger, BIS, LVT, VTS (ECC, SAIM, Nutrition)
• Bonnie Wright, DVM, DACVAA, cVA, CVPP, CCRP

*Speaker and sessions subject to change

In addition to the above components of the conference, the AAFP has designed four programs to further provide in-depth feline content sharing the latest research, and supporting young veterinarians and veterinary students. The conference will also provide unique opportunities to engage with leaders in feline medicine and interact with peers and colleagues.

Additional information can be found on catvets.com/education.

Call for Oral Presentations and Posters: Share Your Feline Prowess

Practitioners, academicians, and researchers who are passionate about advancing feline medicine are invited to submit an oral presentation or poster abstract for the 2019 AAFP Conference. All accepted oral presentations and posters will be published in an issue of the Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery (JFMS) as originally submitted.

Submission Deadline – April 15, 2019

Student Feline Enrichment Contest

The AAFP and Purina ProPlan Veterinary Diets are delighted to support veterinary students and encourage them to enter the Feline Enrichment Contest with innovative ideas to improve feline enrichment. The top ten (10) contest entries will receive a complimentary three-day student conference registration, a travel stipend to present their feline enrichment ideas at the conference, and get mentioned in the JFMS. Grand prize winners will be announced at the conference. Entries may include items such as feeding puzzles, technology or devices, toys, as well as those that promote physical and mental activity, encouragement of natural feline behaviors, and more that will enhance the lives of cats.

Contest Deadline – June 14, 2019

Student Award Program

The AAFP and Kindred Biosciences are pleased to support veterinary students interested in feline medicine by awarding 20 complimentary three-day student registrations to the 2019 AAFP Conference. Students must currently be enrolled at an accredited college of veterinary medicine. Student winners will receive the opportunity to network with fellow awardees and Kindred Bio during a special gathering at the conference.

Submission Time Period – April 3-April 17, 2019

Young Veterinarian Scholarships

The AAFP and Royal Canin are happy to support feline medicine by offering 25 scholarships for the three-day general conference registration. To qualify, veterinarians must be younger than 35 years old, be licensed, not yet board certified, and working in the US or Canada. Applicants will be selected on a first come, first serve basis from those who expressed clear interest and passion towards feline medicine. Winners are invited to attend a special dinner with Royal Canin and AAFP leadership.

Submission Details – Opens on May 22, 2019 at 12:00 pm EDT

About the American Association of Feline Practitioners
The American Association of Feline Practitioners (AAFP) supports its members in improving the health and welfare of cats through high standards of practice, continuing education, and evidence-based medicine. As a trusted leader in the veterinary community, the AAFP has a long-standing reputation and track record for facilitating high standards of practice and providing educational resources to veterinary teams, including guidelines for practice excellence and an annual conference. Over the years, the AAFP has encouraged veterinary professionals to continuously re-evaluate preconceived notions of practice strategies in an effort to advance the quality of feline medicine. Launched in 2012, the Cat Friendly Practice^® (CFP) program (catvets.com/cfp/veterinary-professionals) was created to improve the treatment, handling, and overall healthcare provided to cats. Its purpose is to reduce the stress of the veterinary visit for cats, caregivers, and the veterinary team and provide veterinary practices with the tools and resources to elevate the standard of care provided to cats. With the belief that cat caregivers are instrumental to feline health and welfare, the AAFP launched catfriendly.com, a consumer-focused, reliable educational resource powered by feline veterinarians branded Cat Friendly Homes. This educational resource is tailored to the needs of cat caregivers who want to provide the very best care for their cat and is accompanied by a monthly newsletter, The Cat Column, as well as educational content on Facebook and Instagram.