Feline summit pushes cat-focused changes in veterinary care

Veterinary and animal health leaders met July 19-21 at the first Feline Summit to identify barriers to cat care and coordinate changes across education, practice, and product development. The Feline Veterinary Medical Association also said it will launch a Cat Friendly Campaign this fall to give teams practical tools for improving feline care.

Why it matters: - Cats are a growing share of pet households, but they still receive veterinary care less often than dogs. - Summit participants said better feline care could improve health outcomes, reduce stress for cats and caregivers, and make veterinary teams more efficient. - The industry sees an opening to improve lifelong care as cats live longer and more treatments become available.

What happened: - The inaugural Feline Summit took place July 19-21 and brought together leaders from veterinary medicine and animal health. - The Feline Veterinary Medical Association convened and led the event. - Butterfly Network and TriviumVet/PRN Pharmacal hosted the Summit. - The meeting focused on opportunities, challenges, and solutions for feline healthcare. - Heather O'Steen, CEO of the FelineVMA, said cats represent one of the greatest opportunities in veterinary medicine and that the field must work together to remove barriers and design systems with cats in mind.

The details: - Summit discussions centered on trends shaping feline healthcare, including more cats in households, longer lifespans, evolving treatments, workforce shortages, changing caregiver expectations, and faster adoption of technology. - Participants said no single organization, segment, company, or individual can transform feline healthcare alone. - The group said progress will require coordination across education, research, product development, communications, practice operations, and clinical care. - CATalyst Council data showing declining canine and puppy visits, alongside comparatively stronger kitten visits, reinforced the need to track changing pet demographics. - Attendees said that every missed veterinary visit reflects one or more barriers, including transportation, carrier stress, prior negative experiences, medication challenges, scheduling, communication gaps, finances, and distress in the clinic environment. - Participants said feline patients need care, handling, and environments tailored to their behavioral, emotional, and medical needs. - The Summit noted that many veterinary systems were built around canine patients and now need adjustments for feline medicine and behavior. - Attendees reached strong agreement on Cat Friendly principles, care, and practices. - Veterinary professionals using Cat Friendly approaches report more frequent visits, less stress, more thorough exams, more diagnostics, earlier disease detection, improved feline welfare, better team experience, fewer injuries, lower workers' compensation claims, and improved practice growth. - The Summit also emphasized that meaningful gains often come from small changes in communication, handling, environment, workflow, and education.

Between the lines: - The meeting framed feline care as a systems problem, not just a clinical one. - That shift puts pressure on schools, practices, manufacturers, and communicators to stop treating cats as scaled-down dogs. - The emphasis on language, visuals, and caregiver education suggests the industry sees perception and communication as part of the care gap. - The call for broader alignment reflects a recognition that behavior change across the profession will matter as much as new products or treatments.

What's next: - The FelineVMA plans to launch a Cat Friendly Campaign this fall focused on optimal care for cats. - The campaign will offer tools, resources, education, and practical guidance for veterinary teams and organizations. - Future priorities include more feline-focused education in veterinary and veterinary technician schools. - The group also wants Cat Friendly principles expanded in teaching hospitals and educational settings. - Additional goals include more continuing education, better public awareness, improved communications and video resources, and greater alignment across industry stakeholders. - The FelineVMA said it welcomes partners, sponsors, exhibitors, and innovators at FelineVMA Conferences to help shape the future of feline medicine.

The bottom line: - The Summit's message was clear: improving feline healthcare will require coordinated changes across the entire veterinary ecosystem, not isolated fixes.