Abstract
Anyone who attended the BSAVA Congress in Birmingham in April could not fail to have gone to at least one cat lecture! Not only did ESFM have its usual pre-congress feline day, but the whole programme had a strong feline theme. The Cat Group, whose statements have appeared regularly on these Pink Pages, had a whole day of lectures on topics which have formed part of their policy statements and these were also very well attended.
Cat Group Speakers and Chairs: Lisa Morrow, David Yates, Sarah Caney, Os Jarrett, Claire Bessant and Andy Sparkes.
Other feline themes included feline behaviour and how to improve feline practice. This (coincidentally) coincided with the launch of the Feline Advisory Bureau (FAB) Cat Friendly Practice Scheme which received great interest from delegates. FAB is trying to get practices to ‘think cat’ and make life less stressful for cats, owners and veterinary staff alike with a positive approach to cats within the practice. Information on the Scheme can be found on the FAB website www.fabcats.org or via www.catfriendlypractice.org.
ESFM Day
The ESFM feline symposium was very well attended with over 200 practitioners listening to cat and Laurent Garosi (Davies Veterinary Specialists, UK) giving a hugely practical guide to neurological examination of the cat. Further talks from Peter Hill from Bristol University (diagnostic challenges in feline dermatology), Taka Miyabayashi from Japan (feline abdominal ultrasonography) and Lesley King from Pennsylvania (feline critical care – what you can achieve in practice) all contributed to a fantastic feline day. Proceedings from the ESFM feline symposium can be found on www.fabcats.org/conferences.
The FAB stand promoting the Cat Friendly Practice, staffed here by Jo Vuckovic FABs conference organiser.
Rome
Over 130 delegates have already registered for the ESFM Rome Congress (see page vi) and bookings are coming in fast. It promises to be a great event with excellent science and a memorable social programme, not to mention a chance to see this most beautiful city. Many people have already found out how friendly ESFM Congress is, and new visitors will be warmly welcomed by staff, delegates and speakers alike. We hope to see you there.