Feline Friendly Practice
We are a feline-friendly practice. Please scroll down to learn more.
Making vet visits easier for cats
Cats are unique and special pets with unique needs, so going to the vet can be a stressful experience for some. We take pride in building a feline friendly practice. That means:
- Separate Waiting Areas for Cats and Owners: Clients with cats enjoy their own ‘cat parking’ area for their boxes, keeping them out of the reach of rambunctious dogs to reduce stress.
- A ‘No Scruff’ Policy: We always handle cats gently and respectfully. We never scruff a cat (a potentially painful technique, used commonly by some animal professionals, where the skin on the back of the neck is held), apart from in rare, extreme cases where a pet’s or human’s health is in danger. We achieve this by reducing the stress of our feline patients so that they do not become frightened or aggressive and can be handled more gently while still treating them medically.
- Separate Cat and Dog Wards: This means cats that must be kept in the clinic for treatment are not housed with the dogs, reducing their stress significantly.
- Veterinary-Designed Cat Wards: Our cat housing is spacious, climate controlled, bar-free, and private, reducing the stress cats can feel when they are being watched by other cats or animals.
- Cat-Sized Equipment: We stock cat-specific specific equipment that is the right size and shape so we can treat them and get them back to health more effectively.
Cats will always be a little anxious when they come to the vet, but we find that cats that come to the Finchley Vet are more relaxed. This allows us to provide the highest standard of treatment possible.