Swift Referrals, a small animal specialist referral hospital located in Wetherby, West Yorkshire, has recently been awarded gold cat friendly status by the International Society of Feline Medicine.

The certification was driven by vet nurse Molly Parkinson, who is a strong believer in advocating for feline patients and worked hard to make sure standards were achieved to secure the gold status. 

She said: “Achieving this award meant we had to look closely at our hospital and make changes to ensure high quality of care and provide best possible facilities for our feline patients."

In addition to Swift Referrals providing separate wards for both canine and feline patients as well as separate waiting area booths for cats, a consult room has been adapted to be dedicated to feline patients only. 

This, alongside implementing longer appointment times which allows cats to roam and become accustomed to the practice environment, means the practice is really considering the unique feline patient requirements. 

Alongside hospital changes, the team chose to undertake refresher training in feline patient handling and behaviour management to ensure best practice is achieved. Doing so makes the overall stay for feline patients as stress free as possible, in turn helping to reduce recovery times and hospitalisation length. 

Feline patients at Swift Referrals can benefit from large kennel spaces within quiet dedicated wards. The team, including animal care assistants, work hard to provide excellent environmental enrichment and mental stimulation during the patients stay. This is achieved through various toys and feeding puzzles as well as background music, pheromone therapy, feline friendly cat hides and the use of iPads for cat TV. 

The animal care assistants also work to ensure plenty of fuss, cuddles and grooming is achieved. Separate bedding and blankets are used for cats, and these are laundered separately. 

Cheryl Murray, clinical nurse manager at Swift Referrals, said: “Achieving Gold Standard in this award shows just how hard we work to achieve the best standards of care for all of our patients.” 

This is the latest advancement for a team that already provides multidisciplinary referrals in internal medicine, soft tissue, orthopedics and neurology. Part of the IVC Evidensia Referral Network, Swift Referrals boasts world-class facilities including on-site CT and MRI and a 24/7 dedicated intensive care unit.

For more information about Swift Referrals, visit www.swiftreferrals.co.uk.