The International Society of Feline Medicine (ISFM), the veterinary division of the charity International Cat Care, continues to grow and develop to meet increasing demands from practitioners worldwide for ways to improve their care of cats.
This growing desire for resources and information to help improve the care of cats may be linked to what seems to be an increase in the international popularity of the cat as a pet and may also reflect expanding expectations from cat owners for good treatment for their companions.
ISFM, which celebrated its 25-year anniversary in 2021, has veterinary and nurse members in 113 and 101 countries, respectively, and provides a continuous flow of information to veterinary professionals dealing with cats.
ISFM saw the highest monthly number of cat friendly clinics accredited in January 2022 and now has more than 2500 clinics accredited in 44 countries (with a first in Russia), showing a desire to improve the veterinary experience for cats worldwide.
Further record demand was shown by ISFM’s Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery (JFMS), which had 1,080,7281 article downloads last year, passing the million mark for the first time, and an 18 percent increase on 2020.
In addition, ISFM’s most recent guidelines, the “2022 ISFM Consensus Guidelines on the Management of Acute Pain in Cats“, published in the January 2022 issue of JFMS, has become the most downloaded article in the past six months, with more than 23,000 downloads already. The guidelines, which provide veterinary professionals with practical information on medications, dosages and techniques, have also achieved an impressive altmetric score of 187, reflecting the interest in pain management in this species, which has been a historically neglected area and in helping countless cats be more comfortable.
ISFM’s other recent guidelines, the “2021 ISFM Consensus Guidelines on the Collection and Administration of Blood and Blood Products in Cats“, was the most downloaded article published in JFMS last year, and have now been downloaded over 23,500 times to date.
Both the management of acute pain and collection and administration of blood and blood products guidelines are free to view.
You can find out more about ISFM membership and sign up via their website.
