The Purrfect Your Practice Podcast: Recent Episodes
Dr. Natalie Marks
Welcome to Purrfect Your Practice, a podcast series which provides veterinarians and their hospital teams with quick and easy tips and tricks from leading experts to improve cat visits and help make hospitals more cat-friendly! Hosted by Dr. Natalie Marks and brought to you by Zoetis in cooperation with the American Association of Feline Practitioners.
Do you know what the most uncommon cat breed is today? It's the "indoor only" cat! Ok, not a true cat breed, but it's definitely a topic worth significant conversation as it affects how we ask history questions as well as how we discuss exposure risk to infectious diseases. Back with the PYP community is Dr. Kelly St. Denis, boarded feline veterinarian and past president of AAFP, to further explore why the truly "indoor only" cat is so hard to find and how a few small changes in our practices can help educate cat caregivers and better protect our patients!
The veterinary-client-patient relationship has been essential legally for decades but is more emotionally essential than ever before when we talk about veterinarians, cats, and cat caregivers. Dr. Ilona Rodan, frequent PYP guest and one of the country's leading feline veterinary experts, gives us some important insight on what makes this two-way conversation unique, important, and success. Check out this podcast and invite a colleague to be part of the PYP program!
Do I have to remodel my whole practice to become Cat Friendly? This is one of the most common misconceptions hospitals have as they try to elevate their feline medicine and client service. We're fortunate to have back Dr. Elizabeth Colleran, boarded feline practitioner and educator, who brilliantly states "The way to be cat friendly is to be creative about the space you have." Tune in to our podcast and hear some great ideas on how to make your space truly 'catastic' on a budget!
Did you know that a cat that roars (and that's a big one), can't purr? The purr has long mystified scientists and is still being researched and explored. One of the biggest misconceptions of cat caregivers and veterinary teams alike is that cats only purr when they feel good. Let's set the record straight once and for all! Dr. Margaret Gruen, professor of behavioral medicine at NC State College of Veterinary Medicine, is back to help us decode one of the most elusive sounds in the animal world today!
While we love working with our feline patients, we know none of that is possible without developing trust with the cat caregiver in that exam room. As we look to the future of veterinary care, we must think about how the medical team for our patients interacts, and that's not just our veterinary team as patient advocates in the exam room, but also our caregivers as patient advocates at home. Dr. Elizabeth Colleran, feline specialist and one our favorite experts, is back to discuss the most important thing cat caregivers want at our hospitals, and easy ways we can build bonds that can last lifetimes.
Do you know the two most important "C" words when it comes to working with cats? Choice and Control. Keeping these two in mind will help reinforce why we do what we do with low stress handling and body language assessment in the exam room. Dr. Margaret Gruen, boarded veterinary behaviorist, is back to discuss why the "S" word (scruffing) should be in our rearview mirror! Take a listen!
It's the tenth anniversary of Cat Friendly Practices and what a ten years it's been! It filled a much needed gap in education around the feline patient and feline parent and helped our veterinary teams feel more confident and secure in our medicine. Dr. Elizabeth Colleran, veterinarian and feline expert extraordinaire, is back with us to explain more about this certification and to share her Top Five Tips on what we can do in the new year to elevate feline medicine in our hospital. Take a listen and make your checklist of resolutions!
We're nearing the end of the year - does being Cat Friendly sound good but totally overwhelming? It doesn't have to be at all! Dr. Kelly St. Denis, past president of AAFP, is back with us to discuss the Cat Friendly Program. Cat Friendly Hospital certification is an awesome goal but are you the lone feline advocate at your practice and feel sometimes like you're on an island? The newer Cat Friendly Certificate is available to individual practitioners and being a stellar "catvocate" often will have a trickle down effect to other members at your hospital. Tune in as we bust some myths and pain points, and remember why we're doing all of this in the first place - a better experience for our clients, patients, and our teams.
It’s Diabetes Awareness Month - the best time for us to refresh and purrfect our diagnostics, treatment, and client communication! Joining me this week is Dr. Susan Little, superstar boarded veterinary feline practitioner and cat mom, to share practical tips about how to accurately diagnose and manage these very “sweet” kitties. Check out this link for more information: https://usa.petdiabetesmonth.com/
You’re using towels and pheromones and giving tuna to all of your patients - isn’t that enough? It’s a wonderful start, but there’s so much more we can do to give our feline patients, cat parents, AND our veterinary team the best experience during the veterinary journey! Dr. Ilona Rodan, DVM and boarded feline practitioner, is back with us this week! Take a quick listen on your way home or on the treadmill (if any of you are finding time for that, let us know how!) to find out why Cat Friendly certifications can truly take your practice to the next level.
This week’s podcast asks one of the most difficult questions for veterinarians and cat parents alike: Is my cat in pain? Dr. Tammy Grubb, boarded veterinary anesthesiologist and president elect of the international veterinary academy of pain management, joins me to discuss how personal the identification of pain really was in her house. Dr. Grubb states, “We don't see pain, we see the impact of pain - mobility and behavior changes. There are some great mobility animations on the Zoetis website and it was using those animations that made me realize I was missing pain in one of my own cats” Hear the whole story, and so many more game-changing tips, here, on the Purrfect Your Practice podcast!
Unfortunately, many of our cat parents have been trained to think that the ONLY reason to come to the veterinary office is that rabies vaccine reminder. Whether that’s our own fault or not, it’s not too late to change the focus of that appointment. Dr. Mary Ann Vande Linde, a veterinarian and consultant who specializes in exam room communication and teamwork, helps us with important communication strategies for our clients so that they understand that an exam is ENOUGH OF A REASON to come see us!
One of my most challenging patient scenarios has always been the obese cat in a multicat household - is it for you too? How do we find creative ways to exercise cats, feed separate diets, keep clients motivated (and avoid diabetes at the same time!) Well, the struggle is over! Dr. Lindsey Bullen, boarded veterinary nutritionist, spends the next 10 minutes sharing tips and tricks on how to solve these potentially “cat”astrophic cases! P.S. Are you using a skinny cat box yet?
Do you know what’s the second most common behavioral issue reported from cat parents? Inappropriate scratching! Dr. Margaret Gruen, professor of behavioral medicine at NCSU College of Veterinary Medicine joins Dr. Natalie Marks on this podcast to remind us, scratching is NOT inappropriate at all! It’s a normal and NEEDED behavior, especially for our indoor cat population! Have a quick listen to us discuss why cats scratch, the three things we should all know about scratching post training, and tips to help those homes who need it!
Want to hear a shocking statistic? Did you know that less than 2 in 5 cats see a veterinarian each year? And even fewer than that receive preventative care? We can do better, and Dr. Kelly St. Denis, Immediate Past President of the American Association of Feline Practitioners, joins Dr. Natalie Marks to discuss why we need to finally stop the myth of the “bubble”: if cats live inside a house, they aren’t exposed to infectious diseases. For easy tips and so much more, grab a coffee, put your feet up and have a quick listen! Brought to you by Zoetis in cooperation with the American Association of Feline Practitioners.