At Ellerslie Vet Clinic we understand how you feel if your loved one shows anxiety when visiting their doctor and we will lead the way to your cats wellness with gentle care. At Ellerslie Vets we have created a cat-friendly environment, by welcoming our patients into their own waiting room and their own cat-only exam room to prevent encounters with dogs and unfamiliar smells. Our quiet cat consultation room has special kitty treats and a soothing pheromone that helps your cat feel more relaxed during their vet visit.
Visiting the veterinarian might not be the first thing on your kitty’s social calendar. However, regular preventative care visits are important.
Cats are real masters of disguise and they often don’t tell you when they are sick, as they are genetically programmed to hide signs of illness and injury.
While a visible limp, frequent vomiting or finding a lump are physical signs that prompt owners to contact their veterinarian, more subtle findings like changes in grooming, avoidance, sleeping more or personality changes are not as likely to result in a call to the veterinary practice.
Many cats suffer from treatable health problems because their families don’t know to bring them to the doctor. To help to prevent this, we believe in yearly Wellness examinations and more frequent exams when their health requires this.
We offer flexibility with appointments to make it easy for you to bring your cat in if they are hard to plan a visit for.
For anxious cats we recommend you weigh the empty carrier cage at home and tell us the weight of the cage on arrival. We then can weigh your cat in his/her cage without taking your kitty out for the weighing process.
For overnight guests, our Ellerslie Vet Clinic has spacious kitty condos. Your cats will relax and enjoy our hospitality in their own private cat-only room while you are away.
Ellerslie Vet Clinic & Cattery is awarded internationally-recognized Cat Friendly Clinic status
Ellerslie Vet Clinic & Cattery has achieved gold accreditation as a Cat Friendly Clinic (CFC). The CFC Programme has been developed by the International Society of Feline Medicine (ISFM), the veterinary division of the leading feline charity International Cat Care, and accreditation has been made available in partnership with Royal Canin and Ceva.
It aims to promote well-being and high standards of care for all cats visiting or being hospitalised in a vet clinic.
Under the Programme, a vet clinic has to prove rigorous adherence to a set of criteria which includes the provision of facilities and demonstration of staff activities and attitudes aimed at reducing stress in cats, both as in-patients and out-patients.
The criteria includes having separate dog and cat waiting areas, feline-friendly hospitalization cages, and veterinary equipment specifically for treating cats. Most importantly, the staff are trained in approaching and handling cats sensitively and respectfully, and in maintaining high standards of veterinary care, including continuing to update their knowledge of feline medicine as new treatments and information become available.
By undertaking Cat Friendly Clinic accreditation, we’ve committed to delivering high standards of cat care, with compassion and expertise.
The International Society of Feline Medicine launched the Cat Friendly Clinic initiative to encourage vet practices & vets everywhere to make best efforts to improve the welfare of cats in their care.
The Programme advises vet practices on how to make their environment as welcoming to cats as possible, as well as providing support in staff training, handling techniques and cat-specific client care.