The 2024 edition of the Vet Symposium, held in Montpellier on April 9th & 10th, gathered over 550 guests at the Corum Congress Hall from around 64 countries from around the world. 

Attendees included veterinarians, veterinary nurses and technicians, partners such as Boehringer Ingelheim, MSD, VETgirl, VetSource, Wisdom Panel, and Mars & Royal Canin teams. Two days marked by conferences dedicated to showcasing the best practices for kittens and puppies, exploring why focusing on the start of life today is a real opportunity for tomorrow, sharing tips on how to build a vet career, and strengthening the relationship between vets and pet owners.

THE IMPORTANCE OF THEIR FIRST PAW STEPS

The pet ecosystem's expertise and knowledge around nutrition, prevention, and diagnostics of illness is continuously growing. How, as pet health guardians, can we leverage that knowledge to better influence some aspects of the start of life, and anticipate later outcomes? The Royal Canin 2024 annual Vet Symposium was the opportunity for all attendees to learn from the experience of worldwide pet experts to explore the opportunities of a healthy start of life for different stakeholders: pets, pet owners, veterinary professionals, and clinic leaders.

With outstanding talks and keynotes, the attendees had the opportunity to dig into neonatal examination, growth curves charts, the importance in understanding and connecting with Gen Z pet owners, learnings from human pediatrics - such as practical advice on management -, standardization of care, and more.

Renowned international experts participated in these discussions and shared their experience in building strong life-long relationships with pets and pet owners alike. Among the invited speakers were Samah Karaki, Neuroscientist, author and founding director of The Social Brain Institute; Alex German, Professor of Internal Medicine at the University of Liverpool, UK, and expert in pet obesity; Liv. Oginska, Veterinary Surgeon and Emotional Intelligence Expert at Human-Savvy; and Nefertiti Greene, President, Science & Diagnostics, Mars Petcare.

Cécile Coutens, Global Royal Canin President, and Olivier Reymond, Royal Canin Pet Professionals & Corporate Affairs Vice-President, hosted some keynotes, and took the opportunity to preview the launch of the first Royal Canin Neonatal and Pediatric handbook for cats and dogs.

NEONATAL AND PEDIATRIC CARE GUIDE FOR CATS AND DOGS

Co-written by 25 world-renowned experts, this one-of-a-kind handbook synthesizes the key questions veterinary teams are most likely to encounter in their daily practice on the pediatric topic. A collaborative approach with specialists from all around the world, this book offers a comprehensive guide along every stage of early life: from how to prepare for and manage parturition to neonatology, weaning and growth, or frequently encountered diseases. As we know today, “developmental origins of health and disease” also exist for cats and dogs, which means that the start of life is a critical moment for preventing chronic diseases later in life.

“I want to thank the authors of this handbook for sharing their invaluable expertise. I am delighted and proud to unveil this collective effort, which would not have been possible without the steadfast commitment and expertise of all authors, whether they are experts from the company, or partners with whom we are fortunate enough to work with. The handbook aims at providing vets with tools such as cutting-edge pediatric know-hows, as well as advice on creating a strong bond with pet owners. These are keys to guaranteeing optimum health throughout life, from the very start. It is an important topic, and an incredible step in the right direction for the health and wellbeing of cats and dogs,” said Cécile Coutens.

True to its principles of Mutuality and Responsibility, ROYAL CANIN a global reference in Health Through Nutrition for cats and dogs, has at heart to share knowledge and insightful information. This 2024 Vet Symposium was the opportunity to gather stakeholders, especially veterinarians, vet nurses and technicians, whose subsequent work on cats and dogs, and especially during the critical stage of the start of life, is key to achieve together our Purpose: A BETTER WORLD FOR PETS.