Lisburn gold

It is not often one gets the chance to design a practice from scratch and build all the things one’s been thinking about for a long time. Imagine the freedom; the satisfaction of getting it right; the abject delight of having it just the way you want… I realise I am beginning to sound like Toad of Toad Hall, so I will revert to a normal way of writing.

I visited Vets4Pets Lisburn Longstone in Northern Ireland and, having found the practice towards the edge of the small town of Lisburn, I was easily able to find off-road parking in the generous car park fronting it. We all know this is an important issue for every practice, but, if you are setting out to become a local centre of excellence for feline care in a town, little hope exists of clients attending if they have to park miles away and lug a volubly protesting cat in its basket through the shops.

Cat-conscious staff

Joint venture partner Anna Barron-Moore has set out to bring the best possible care for cats to Lisburn and, although the practice has only been open for a couple of years, she is certainly succeeding. Part of the secret has been to surround herself with other “cat-conscious” people and she has done this very carefully, but with some success, as Rea Johnston – the original head nurse – not only has a first degree in animal science from the University of Bristol, but went on to train as a VN at the RVC before undertaking her master of science in animal behaviour at Queen’s University Belfast.

Her early work has been developed by her successor Lesley O’Neill and colleague Caroline McCrory, who are also highly focused on feline medicine, so living the dream of being “cat conscious” is a reality for the whole staff in this vibrant practice.

It was some time since I visited Northern Ireland and I was intrigued to see Lisburn, which is less than a half-hour drive from Belfast City Airport, is very much like so many towns in mainland UK, with its fair share of shop closures and too few signs of returning affluence. That said, plenty of dogs were out with their owners and one got the feeling Lisburn is a hard working town just on the cusp of a developing economy.

What is impressive about this practice is not just the excellent fittings and equipment, but the caring attitude that seems to be apparent at every turn. The expression of being “cat conscious” is something that pervades the practice, with clients being encouraged to arrive early to allow the cat time to relax and acclimatise prior to consultation.

The advice given to clients is to prepare their cats for the trip by placing treats and the cat’s own bedding in their carrier, and spraying a pheromone diffuser on his or her hands and in the carrier when getting ready to bring the cat out of the house.

We all know shouting at a cat when we are stressed about getting it into a carrier is hardly conductive to a good result and staff at the practice repeatedly advise owners to use a soothing tone of voice, something all practice staff also do once the cat has arrived. One trick they shared is to look steadily at the cat and blinking slowly in rhythm with the cat’s own facial expression to elicit a positive response – not something I had done before, but, having tried it out on my own cats, it seems to work.

Calming atmosphere

We all know cats and dogs have evolved differently over millennia and while dogs are always delighted to go anywhere with their owners as part of the family pack, cats are solitary hunters and constantly fearful something may mean them harm.

It is because of this the practice insists on quiet whenever possible, plays classical music softly in the feline hospitalisation suite, has fitted soft closing, non-metallic cat condos instead of stainless steel cages and follows through the varied advice given to cat owners to minimise feline stress with a dedicated feline waiting area, a feline-only consultation room and an additional consult room that doubles up as extra waiting room space if a lot of dogs are in the practice.

Early experience in other practices has helped the team scope out the way it wants this practice to be, looking always for signs of stress in its feline patients, following the recommendations given by the International Society of Feline Medicine (ISFM) at both vet and nursing level, using the Colorado pain scale to monitor cat behaviour according to pain response and environment, and using basket stands that allow two cat baskets to be raised above floor level in the waiting room.

It is little wonder this friendly practice was the first in Northern Ireland to be awarded gold level cat friendly clinic status. From the perspective of the ISFM, which created the scheme, this practice is pure “Lisburn gold”.