The Purrfect Your Practice Podcast

In this Purrfect Your Practice Podcast, Dr. Natalie Marks gets to sit down with Dr. Petra Cerna, a boarded internist and feline specialist at Colorado State University. This episode is all things Feline Leukemia. They cover the phases of the disease, the challenges of testing, and vaccination strategies.  Dr. Cerna is quite the cat mom herself and shares great information and practical insights for everyday use in practice.

While we continue to see advancements in veterinary anesthesiology around safety and efficacy, it remains an area in which many veterinary professionals carry some anxiety.  But Dr. Tamara Grubb is here today to change all of that!  Dr. Grubb is an internationally-known boarded veterinary anesthesiologist and passionate educator.  She joins us for a practical podcast that addresses the four phases of anesthesia and how to create the best experience for your feline patient and veterinary team!

Do you know what the most uncommon cat breed is today?  It's the "indoor only" cat!  Ok, not a true cat breed, but it's definitely a topic worth significant conversation as it affects how we ask history questions as well as how we discuss exposure risk to infectious diseases.  Back with the PYP community is Dr. Kelly St. Denis, boarded feline veterinarian and past president of AAFP, to further explore why the truly "indoor only" cat is so hard to find and how a few small changes in our practices can help educate cat caregivers and better protect our patients!

The veterinary-client-patient relationship has been essential legally for decades but is more emotionally essential than ever before when we talk about veterinarians, cats, and cat caregivers.  Dr. Ilona Rodan, frequent PYP guest and one of the country's leading feline veterinary experts, gives us some important insight on what makes this two-way conversation unique, important, and success.  Check out this podcast and invite a colleague to be part of the PYP program!

Do I have to remodel my whole practice to become Cat Friendly?  This is one of the most common misconceptions hospitals have as they try to elevate their feline medicine and client service.  We're fortunate to have back Dr. Elizabeth Colleran, boarded feline practitioner and educator, who brilliantly states "The way to be cat friendly is to be creative about the space you have."  Tune in to our podcast and hear some great ideas on how to make your space truly 'catastic' on a budget!

Did you know that a cat that roars (and that's a big one), can't purr? The purr has long mystified scientists and is still being researched and explored. One of the biggest misconceptions of cat caregivers and veterinary teams alike is that cats only purr when they feel good. Let's set the record straight once and for all! Dr. Margaret Gruen, professor of behavioral medicine at NC State College of Veterinary Medicine, is back to help us decode one of the most elusive sounds in the animal world today!

While we love working with our feline patients, we know none of that is possible without developing trust with the cat caregiver in that exam room.  As we look to the future of veterinary care, we must think about how the medical team for our patients interacts, and that's not just our veterinary team as patient advocates in the exam room, but also our caregivers as patient advocates at home.  Dr. Elizabeth Colleran, feline specialist and one our favorite experts, is back to discuss the most important thing cat caregivers want at our hospitals, and easy ways we can build bonds that can last lifetimes.

Do you know the two most important "C" words when it comes to working with cats? Choice and Control. Keeping these two in mind will help reinforce why we do what we do with low stress handling and body language assessment in the exam room.  Dr. Margaret Gruen, boarded veterinary behaviorist, is back to discuss why the "S" word (scruffing) should be in our rearview mirror!  Take a listen!

It's the tenth anniversary of Cat Friendly Practices and what a ten years it's been!  It filled a much needed gap in education around the feline patient and feline parent and helped our veterinary teams feel more confident and secure in our medicine.  Dr. Elizabeth Colleran, veterinarian and feline expert extraordinaire, is back with us to explain more about this certification and to share her Top Five Tips on what we can do in the new year to elevate feline medicine in our hospital.  Take a listen and make your checklist of resolutions!

It’s Diabetes Awareness Month - the best time for us to refresh and purrfect our diagnostics, treatment, and client communication!   Joining me this week is Dr. Susan Little, superstar boarded veterinary feline practitioner and cat mom, to share practical tips about how to accurately diagnose and manage these very “sweet” kitties.  Check out this link for more information: https://usa.petdiabetesmonth.com/