In the January episode of Chattering With International Cat Care, we explore two distinct but equally important areas of feline health: welfare research and clinical cardiology.

First, Sarah Ellis speaks with Morgane Van Belle, recipient of the iCatCare Welfare Research Award 2025, about her research into social behaviour in multi-cat households. They discuss why understanding and describing feline interactions matters, and how this work can support better welfare outcomes for cats living together.

Then, Kelly St. Denis is joined by Sonya Gordon to discuss the practical use of pimobendan in cats. Together, they explore key considerations around evidence-based decision making and how clinicians approach treatment choices in real-world practice.

For further reading material please visit:

Development of the Ethogram of Feline Social Interactions (EFSI) to study intraspecific interactions between cats in multicat households

Use of pimobendan in cats: a practical evidence-based review

For iCatCare Veterinary Members, full recordings of each episode of the podcast are available for you to listen to at portal.icatcare.org. To become an iCatCare Veterinary Member, or find out more about our Cat Friendly schemes, visit icatcare.org

Host:

Yaiza Gómez-Mejías, LdaVet MANZCVS (Medicine of Cats), RCVS CertAP (Feline Medicine), iCatCare Veterinary Community Co-ordinator

Speakers:

Sarah Ellis, BSc, PgDip, PhD, Head of Cat Mental Wellbeing and Behaviour at iCatCare, Feline Welfare Consultant, Educator and Writer

Morgane Van Belle, DVM, MVSc, PhD Student at Ghent University & ECAWBM Resident (AW Science, Law & Ethics)

Kelly St. Denis, MSc, DVM, DABVP (Feline), Co-editor of the Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery and JFMS Open Reports & Guideline co-chair

Sonya Gordon, BSc, DVM, DVSc, Diplomate ACVIM, Professor at Texas A&M University