How to Get Started

Becoming a Cat Friendly Practice® will help your practice team show cat caregivers how much they truly care for cats. The time it takes to become a Cat Friendly Practice® varies. It depends on how many Cat Friendly initiatives your practice has already implemented and how much time you it takes to assess your practice, policies, environment, and implement new items as needed. The informational brochure, First Steps Toward a Cat Friendly Practice®, will walk you through the process, including:

  • Step 1: Aspire to make your practice Cat Friendly
  • Step 2: Create excitement and a team committed to becoming a Cat Friendly Practice®
  • Step 3: Read the documents, assess your practice, and make changes or enhancements as appropriate
  • Step 4: Complete the CFP Checklist, upload the photos, and submit the application

Program Details

Your practice must have at least one FelineVMA Veterinarian Member to access the Cat Friendly Practice® (CFP) Program application and resources. The application can be completed online in an easy-to-use format, and you can save your work as you proceed. The CFP Program has ten topic areas each with a video to explain the importance of implementing these criteria in your practice. Checklist criteria are supported by the manual A Guide to Creating a Cat Friendly Practice® as well as by supplemental educational resources and photos.

There are two status levels within the CFP Program: Silver and Gold. The Silver Level is for practices that meet the essential standard criteria. The Gold Level is for practices that have incorporated the optimum level of Cat Friendly Practice® criteria.

Once you verify that your practice meets the CFP Checklist criteria, your application is evaluated for approval. Once approved, your practice officially becomes an FelineVMA Cat Friendly Practice® and receives access to the CFP Toolkit that includes the logo, status certificate, poster, and numerous marketing pieces that give your practice the tools, printed documents, and knowledge to make the most of your CFP status. You will also be listed in the Cat Friendly Practice® online-search database so cat caregivers can search for and find your practice. You will receive support materials to enhance your participation and keep your practice at the leading edge of feline care.

Ten Topic Areas in the Cat Friendly Practice® Checklist
  1. Staff Training & Continuing Education | Client Communications
  2. Veterinary Practice Premises | Waiting Area
  3. Feline Handling & Interactions with Clients
  4. Examination Room(s) | Clinical Records
  5. Hospitalization & Boarding of Cats
  6. Pain Management | Operating Room & Anesthesia
  7. Surgical Equipment | Dentistry
  8. Diagnostic Imaging | Laboratory Facilities
  9. Treatment | Health & Safety
  10. Feline Preventive Healthcare Individualized by Life Stages

Located outside North & South America?

The Cat Friendly Clinic and Cat Friendly Practice® are two parallel programs run by the International Society of Feline Medicine (ISFM) and the Feline Veterinary Medical Association (FelineVMA), respectively. The FelineVMA Cat Friendly Practice® Program runs in the North and South America/Caribbean, and the ISFM Cat Friendly Clinic program runs in other regions of the world (Europe, Australia, and Asia). Both programs are virtually identical in the criteria required to become an approved clinic, however, they do have some information specific to those regions of the world that is important to the practice. While any member practice can apply to become designated, we encourage all clinics in the Americas and Caribbean to apply to the FelineVMA and all clinics in Europe, Australia, and Asia to apply to the ISFM, who will run and maintain these programs in the respective areas.

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