Chattering With ISFM ISFM

This month our focus is on recognising feline pain. Yaiza Gomez-Meijas is joined by Beatriz Monteiro to discuss the feline grimace scale. Clare Rusbridge then joins Nathalie Dowgray to discuss neuropathic pain in cats.
Our episode begins with Yaiza interviewing Beatriz about her findings from a large bilingual global survey assessing if cat caregivers reliably assess acute pain in cats using the Feline Grimace Scale, an innovation that led to Monteiro winning the JFMS Best Resident Paper Award. The method allows both veterinarians and cat caregivers to evaluate pain based on facial expressions, aiming to bridge the gap between professionalveterinary assessments and at-home care for felines.
Nathalie is then joined by Professor Clare Rusbridge who shares insights into her recent JFMS article on Neuropathic pain in cats: Mechanisms and multimodal management. She highlights the importance of distinguishing between nociception and pain perception and discusses diagnostic challenges and management strategies for conditions like osteoarthritis and feline hyperesthesia syndrome.
For further reading material please visit:
Can cat caregivers reliably assess acute pain in cats using the Feline Grimace Scale?
The Feline Grimace Scale Website
Neuropathic pain in cats: Mechanisms and multimodal management
AAFP and ISFM Feline Environmental Needs Guidelines
Clare's Youtube Channel
For ISFM members, full recordings of each episode of the podcast is available for you to listen to at portal.icatcare.org. To become an ISFM member, or find out more about our Cat Friendly schemes, visit icatcare.org
Host:Nathalie Dowgray, BVSc, MANZCVS, PgDip, MRCVS, PhD, Head of ISFM, International Society of Feline Medicine, International Cat Care, Tisbury, Wiltshire, UK
Speakers:Yaiza Gomez-Mejias, LdaVet MANZCVS (Medicine of Cats) CertAP (SAM-F) Acr AVEPA, ISFM Community Coordinator and Small Animal Clinician
Beatriz Monteiro, DVM, PhD, ISFMAdvCertFB, PgDip, Chair of the World Small Animal Veterinary Association Global Pain Council and Winner of the 2024 JFMS Resident Best Paper Award
Clare Rusbridge, BVMS PhD DipECVN FRCVS, RCVS and European Specialist in Veterinary Neurology & JFMS Author

This month Yaiza Gomez-Meijas is joined by Cecilia Villaverde to discuss feline nutrition. We are then joined by Kelly St Denis who interviews some of the authors of the 2024 ISFM and AAFP consensus guidelines on the long-term use of NSAIDs in cats.
Our first conversation between Yaiza and Cecilia features a discussion on feline nutrition, specifically protein requirements in cat diets. The conversation highlights the importance of animal tissue in a cat's diet due to essential nutrients and compares raw, homemade, and commercial food options.
Our next conversation delves into the 2024 ISFM and AAFP consensus guidelines on the long-term use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) in cats, highlighting considerations for chronic pain management and monitoring. Kelly St Denis is joined by Sam Taylor, Paulo Steagall, and Duncan Lascelles. The guidelines address identifying chronic pain, the use of NSAIDs in cats with comorbidities, and the importance of caregiver involvement in monitoring for side effects and signs of pain relief effectiveness.For further reading material please visit:
https://wsava.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Frequently-Asked-Questions-and-Myths.pdfhttps://wsava.org/committees/global-nutrition-committee/https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/epub/10.1177/1098612X241241951
For ISFM members, full recordings of each episode of the podcast is available for you to listen to at portal.icatcare.org. To become an ISFM member, or find out more about our Cat Friendly schemes, visit icatcare.org
Host:Nathalie Dowgray, BVSc, MANZCVS, PgDip, MRCVS, PhD, Head of ISFM, International Society of Feline Medicine, International Cat Care, Tisbury, Wiltshire, UK
Speakers:Yaiza Gomez-Mejias, LdaVet MANZCVS (Medicine of Cats) CertAP (SAM-F) Acr AVEPA, ISFM Community Coordinator and Small Animal Clinician
Cecilia Villaverde, BVSc, PhD, DECVCN, DACVIM (Nutrition), Diplomate (Nutrition) of the ACVIM (Board-Certified Veterinary Nutritionist®), Diplomate ECVCN (EBVS® European Specialist in Veterinary and Comparative Nutrition)
Kelly St Denis, MSc, DVM, DABVP (Feline), 2022 ISFM/AAFP Cat Friendly Veterinary Environment Guidelines Co-Chair, St Denis Veterinary Professional Corporation, Powassan, Ontario, Canada
Samantha Taylor, BVetMed(Hons), CertSAM, DipECVIM-CA, MANCVS, FRCVS , ISFM Academy Lead and Specialist Veterinary Advisor to ISFM, European Veterinary Specialist in Internal Medicine and RCVS Recognised Specialist in Feline Medicine
Duncan Lascelles, BVSc, BSc, CertVA, PhD, DipECVS, DSAS(Soft Tissue), DipACVS, FRCVS, Professor in Small Animal Surgery and Pain Management, Director of the Comparative Pain Research and Education Centre (CPREC) and the Translational Research in Pain [TRiP] Program
Paulo Steagall, MV, MS, PhD, DipACVAA, Associate professor of Veterinary Anesthesiology and Pain Management, Member of the World Small Animal Veterinary Association (WSAVA) Global Pain Council, the WSAVA Dental Guidelines Committee and Chair of the WSAVA Therapeutic Guidelines Group

This month Yaiza Gomez-Meijas is joined by Dr Ryane Englar who has published two articles on 'Recasting the gold standard' that were published in the JFMS special collection on Accessible veterinary care. We also continue our discussion about the treatment of invasive fungal infections with Nathalie Dowgray and Prof. Vanessa Barrs.
Our first conversation between Yaiza and Ryane features a discussion on the continuum of care in veterinary medicine, emphasizing a shift from the gold standard approach to more tailored and patient-centred care. Additionally, it delves into strategies for initiating conversations with clients about healthcare options and case management decisions.
The conversation on contextualised care also continues into the discussion on the treatment of invasive fungal infections where Prof. Barrs discusses drug selection and how to best approach these discussions with owners where the treatment options are often prolonged. Make sure you check out part one of our interview with Prof. Barrs in our January episode (entitled: ‘FCoV-23: Is it driving the Cyprus FIP Outbreak?’) in which we discuss the diagnosis of invasive fungal infections.
For further reading material please visit:
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/epub/10.1177/1098612X231209855
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/epub/10.1177/1098612X231215639
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1098612X231219696
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1098612X231220047For ISFM members, full recordings of each episode of the podcast is available for you to listen to at portal.icatcare.org. To become an ISFM member, or find out more about our Cat Friendly schemes, visit icatcare.org
Host:Nathalie Dowgray, BVSc, MANZCVS, PgDip, MRCVS, PhD, Head of ISFM, International Society of Feline Medicine, International Cat Care, Tisbury, Wiltshire, UK
Speakers:Yaiza Gomez-Mejias, LdaVet MANZCVS (Medicine of Cats) CertAP (SAM-F) Acr AVEPA, ISFM Community Coordinator and Small Animal Clinician
Ryane Englar, DVM, DABVP (Canine and Feline Practice), Executive Director of Clinical and Professional Skills, Associate Professor of Practice, and member of the founding faculty at the University of Arizona College of Veterinary Medicine.
Vanessa Barrs, BVSc (Hons), PhD, MVetClinStud, FANZCVS (Feline Medicine), Registered specialist in Feline Medicine, Dean of Hong Kong Veterinary School and past president of the International Society of Companion Animal Infectious Diseases.

This month Nathalie Dowgray, Head of ISFM, talks with Vicky Halls from iCatCare about her work focusing on unowned cats and the new developments in the Cat Friendly Homing program. Later in the episode, Dr Chris Scudder is invited to discuss hypersomatotropism-induced diabetes in cats as part of our JFMS clinical spotlight series.
Vicky talks us through the work she has been leading on unowned cats over the past few years and they discuss the exciting Global Enablers Grant received from Battersea which will aid in the expansion of this program. Vicky's role as Head of Unowned Cats not only involves carrying the Cat Friendly Homing model forward, but also includes developing training courses, consulting about cat population management, andresource creation.
Hypersomatotropism is becoming increasingly recognised as a comorbidity in cases of feline diabetes. Nathalie and Chris delve into the clinical signs, testing procedures, and management of this condition in feline patients.
For further reading material please visit:
https://icatcare.org/unowned-cats/
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/epub/10.1177/1098612X241226690
For ISFM members, full recordings of each episode of the podcast is available for you to listen to at portal.icatcare.org. To become an ISFM member, or find out more about our Cat Friendly schemes, visit icatcare.org
Host:Nathalie Dowgray, BVSc, MANZCVS, PgDip, MRCVS, PhD, Head of ISFM, International Society of Feline Medicine, International Cat Care, Tisbury, Wiltshire, UK
Speakers:Vicky Halls, RVN Dip Couns, Head Of Unowned Cats for International Cat Care and published author
Chris Scudder, BVSc MVetMed PhD DACVIM-SAIM DECVIM-CA MRCVS, Senior Lecturer, Researcher and Mentor Liason at SAMSoc, JFMS Published Author

This month Nathalie Dowgray is joined by Dr Charalampos Attipa, a researcher at the University of Edinburgh who has been investigating the causes of the FIP outbreak in Cyprus. We also feature our monthly JFMS Clinical Spotlight interview in which Nathalie discussed the diagnostic approach to invasive fungal infections with Professor Vanessa Barrs.
2023 saw a large spike in cases of FIP amongst Cypriot cats. Dr Attipa has been part of an international collaboration investigating the cause of this increase in cases and explains how and why FCOV-23 is different.
We are then joined by Prof. Barrs to discuss how climate change is causing alterations in the distribution of fungal diseases globally. We discuss what we should be aware of and how to diagnose invasive fungal infections.
Stay tuned for part two of our interview with Vanessa, where we discuss treatment, which will be available in the coming months!
For further reading material please visit:https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.11.08.566182v2.full.pdf
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1098612X231219696
If you are interested in learning more about the situation with FIP in Cyprus, please follow the link to sign up to the EveryCat webinar:https://everycat.org/webinar-feline-infectious-peritonitis-from-the-fcov-to-fcov23-the-cyprus-case-or-a-new-perspective-in-the-way-we-see-coronaviruses/For ISFM members, full recordings of each episode of the podcast is available for you to listen to at portal.icatcare.org. To become an ISFM member, or find out more about our Cat Friendly schemes, visit icatcare.org
Host:Nathalie Dowgray, BVSc, MANZCVS, PgDip, MRCVS, PhD, Head of ISFM, International Society of Feline Medicine, International Cat Care, Tisbury, Wiltshire, UK
Speakers:Charalampos Attipa, DVM, MRes, MVetMED, PhD, DipACVP, MRCVS, RVCS & American Recognised Specialist in Veterinary Clinical Pathology
Vanessa Barrs, BVSc (Hons), PhD, MVetClinStud, FANZCVS (Feline Medicine), Registered specialist in Feline Medicine, Dean of Hong Kong Veterinary School and past president of the International Society of Companion Animal Infectious Diseases.

Our focus this month is on the JFMS Special Collection about accessible veterinary care which is available for you to read using the link below.
Firstly, Nathalie Dowgray sits down with Dr Linda Jacobson, our special guest editor of the collection. We discuss how the collection came to be, the barriers preventing cats from receiving veterinary care and the work she is doing with the Toronto Humane Society to help both cats and caregivers who are struggling.
Nathalie is then joined by International Cat Care’s Head Of Unowned Cats, Vicky Halls, and they speak with Dr Gemma Ma about her paper on the characteristics of cat semi-owners and their impact in Australia.
For further reading material please visit:https://journals.sagepub.com/topic/collections-jfm/jfm-1_accessible_veterinary_care/jfmFor ISFM members, full recordings of each episode of the podcast is available for you to listen to at portal.icatcare.org. To become an ISFM member, or find out more about our Cat Friendly schemes, visit icatcare.org
Host:Nathalie Dowgray, BVSc, MANZCVS, PgDip, MRCVS, PhD, Head of ISFM, International Society of Feline Medicine, International Cat Care, Tisbury, Wiltshire, UK
Speakers:Linda Jacobson, BVSc, MMedVet(Med), PhD (U Pretoria), Senior Manager of Shelter Medicine Advancement at Toronto Humane Society, President & Treasurer of the Canadian Animal Shelter and Community Medicine Association.
Vicky Halls, RVN Dip Couns, Head Of Unowned Cats for International Cat Care and published author
Gemma Ma, BVSc (USyd), PhD (USyd), Project Manager at Keeping Cats Safe at Home, Community Veterinarian at RSPCA NSW and published JFMS Author.