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| Veterinarians recommend twice-yearly health checks for cats. |
Veterinarians are beginning to notice a trend with cat owners: Veterinary visits by cat owners are declining, Valerie Crieghton, president of the American Association of Feline Practitioners, said. To help reverse the trend, the AAFP is partnering with other organizations to create public-awareness campaigns and offer online resources for cat owners.
The Healthy Cats for Life Campaign, sponsored by the AAFP and Fort Dodge Animal Health, hopes to encourage cat owners to schedule twice-yearly health checks for their pets. A website for the campaign helps cat owners identify the early signs of illness and provides a wellness checklist owners can fill out before taking their cats to the vet.
“Our members are enormously skilled and talented in treating cats, but if no one takes the cats to them, then that skill is not fully utilized,” Rick Alampi, the AAFP executive director, said.
The AAFP also will continue its existing campaign designed to educate cat owners about feline heartworms. The KNOW Heartworms program, co-sponsored by Pfizer Animal Health and the American Heartworm Society, exposes the myths about feline heartworm disease and encourages cat owners to look for the signs of heartworms in their pets.