- The CatCareforLife program is a new worldwide initiative set up by the International Society of Feline Medicine
- It aims to encourage cat owners to work with their veterinary clinics to maintain cats in the peak of health through all their life stages
- Boehringer Ingelheim is committed to further improving the health and well-being of cats and helping educate veterinarians and cat owners
Boehringer Ingelheim is proud to announce its new partnership with the CatCareforLife program. The program was set up in April 2018 by the International Society of Feline Medicine (ISFM), the veterinary division of the UK-based charity International Cat Care (ICC). Both Boehringer Ingelheim and ICC share a common commitment in providing support for veterinarians and cat owners alike to ensure cats enjoy longer, happier and healthier lives, through an effective and tailored preventive healthcare approach.
The CatCareforLife program sits alongside the Cat Friendly Clinic program which offers internationally-recognized standards to help reduce stress of cats during veterinary visits. It is a lifelong partnership of care between cat owners and veterinary clinics through all life stages, from kittens through to old age.
The program provides a full set of recommendations established by international experts and organizations to support, educate, and raise the level of care for feline patients.
Three levels in prevention should be considered for a comprehensive approach:
- Primary prevention consists in avoiding the development of diseases; this could be achieved thanks to vaccination or antiparasitic treatments.
- Secondary prevention regards the early detection of a disease and how its progression could be delayed and/or stopped.
- Finally, tertiary prevention concerns the reduction of the impact of an established disease, for instance by managing its complications.
Secondary and tertiary measures become more critical as the cat ages and as diseases become more prevalent. Both the cat owner and the veterinary team need to be aware of the importance of such preventive program, especially as cats often do not show signs of disease. Cats are masters for masking symptoms, thereby regular vet examinations are all the more important for this species.
Shawn Hooker, Head of Strategic Business Unit Pet Vet at Boehringer Ingelheim, shared: “We are passionate about the lifelong well-being of cats, and are proud to support the CatCareforLife program. We share a common goal with ISFM to ensure that all cats receive optimal veterinary care throughout their lives, with regular, stress-free health checks and preventive healthcare, and with early diagnosis and treatment of disease. This is the best way of protecting the health of the cat and preserving the human-animal bond.”
Through this partnership, Boehringer Ingelheim will actively promote this world-wide initiative and develop practical and informational tools and services to enhance veterinarians’ and cat owners’ knowledge.
