The CATalyst Council aims to correct negative stereotypes and improve the health status of the nation’s 82 million cats

The stereotypes are firmly planted. Dogs have masters, cats have staffers. Dogs are lovable, cats are aloof. Dogs are happy, cats are grumpy. Let’s face it: Who would you rather chum around with - Marley or Garfield?

While the stereotypes are good for a laugh, they - like many stereotypes - can have some darker repercussions, says Jane Brunt, DVM, executive director of the CATalyst Council, Kansas City, Mo.

A dog’s world
The number of cats owned (81.7 million) far exceeds that of dogs (72 million), according to the American Veterinary Medical Association’s 2007 U.S. Pet Ownership & Demographics Sourcebook. Yet in a dog-centric society, cats simply don’t seem to be as highly valued. A 2006 survey by the Society of Animal Welfare Administrators (SAWA) showed that overcrowded animal shelters are seeing more cats given up than their canine cousins. While many shelters have to import dogs to keep up with the adoption demand, some 70 percent of cats presented to shelters must be euthanized, points out Brunt.

Perhaps not surprisingly, these second-class citizens are getting second-class healthcare. The AVMA reported that cat visits to the veterinarian fell 11 percent between 2001 and 2006. The association also reports that one-third of all cats never visited a veterinarian in 2006, compared to 17 percent of dogs. “Even owners of both cats and dogs … will bring the dog in to the vet a certain number of times, whereas they won’t with the cat,” says Brunt.

The CATalyst Council was formed last year to call attention to the disparities in feline care, she says. “More important, we’re getting out the message that cats are great companions and they deserve better care than what they’re getting.”

Brunt acknowledges she’s not the pioneer in championing improved feline care, pointing out that those accolades should go to people like Barbara Stein, DVM; Jean Holzworth, DVM; and Jim Richards, DVM, former director of the Cornell University Feline Health Center in Ithaca, N.Y. “These people were the true catalysts, and even though they are no longer with us, the effects of their efforts still carry on today,” she says. That said, her affection and concern for cats dates back quite a ways.

Feline-exclusive clinic
Brunt got acquainted with cats as a kid visiting her grandparents’ farm. “I grew to learn how to handle them and connect with them.” The experience struck a deep chord with her. After finishing veterinary school at Kansas State University in the early 1980s, she opened the first feline-exclusive clinic in Maryland, called the Cat Hospital at Towson in Baltimore. “I saw a need for people to approach cats and cat owners a little bit differently than the wholly dog perspective,” she says. “The Cat Hospital at Towson has filled that need.” In 2001, she opened a second practice, the Cat Hospital Eastern Shore, in Cordova, Md.

Today, of the roughly 2,200 members of the American Association of Feline Practitioners (of which she served as president in 2006), nearly 500 are in feline-exclusive practices.

“I see more [feline-exclusive] clinics opening all the time,” she says. “Back in the 1980s, people would say, ‘Can you make a living doing that?’ or ‘I wouldn’t want to lose 50 or 60 percent of my income working just on cats.’” But today, people have a greater awareness of the unique needs of cats. “They’re asking, ‘How can we better serve cats?’ ‘What are some things we can do to make our practice more feline-friendly in terms of knowledge, communication and facilities?’”

The CATalyst Council both reflects that new attitude and, in some respects, is responsible for stimulating it.

The CATalyst Council was born out of a couple of seminal events. The first was a gathering in October 2007 of shelter, veterinary, and pet-product representatives called “Rebranding Felix,” which was an attempt to address the negative stereotypes of cats and the negative repercussions of those stereotypes on cats’ well-being.

The second was the CATalyst Summit, held in Palm Springs, Calif., in February 2008. Sponsored by the American Association of Feline Practitioners with underwriting from Pfizer Animal Health, people from more than 30 organizations and companies gathered to discuss how to improve healthcare for cats, increase responsible pet ownership, and enhance the stature of cats. Participants included members of the Rebranding Felix group, veterinary and shelter industry leaders, and representatives from such companies as Pfizer, Hills Pet Nutrition and Pets Best Insurance. The group concluded that improving feline health and status wasn’t a one-shot deal, but rather, an ongoing affair. The two groups joined forces, and the CATalyst Council was established as a nonprofit corporation in Kansas City. Brunt was named executive director in August.

Five goals
The CATalyst Council has five goals:

• Continue to collaborate across all channels.
• Develop feline life-stage guidelines for veterinarians and pet owners.
• Create cat-friendly veterinary practices.
• Brand the cat.
• Produce a consumer awareness campaign.

Cross-channel collaboration. The makeup of the Council represents the desire to get all sectors involved on behalf of cats, says Brunt. Included are representatives from the American Veterinary Medical Association, American Association of Animal Hospitals, American Association of Feline Practitioners, Society of Animal Welfare Administrators, foundations, the media, industry, academia and others. “This is pretty unprecedented in our profession,” she says.

Life-stage guidelines. One of the Council’s most important achievements was encouraging the development of life-stage guidelines for veterinarians as well as pet owners, says Brunt. The reason for such guidelines is simple: Pet owners don’t understand the importance of getting their cats into the vet’s office on a regular, twice-a-year basis. And veterinarians aren’t encouraging them to do so.

“Regular examinations are crucial,” points out Brunt. “The time to address problems is when the cat seems well.” While owners are usually vigilant about getting their kittens in for shots and early exams, many fail to see the need after that. “Things seem to level off. That’s when people fall back on, ‘My cat seems OK.’” But cats age quickly, and they need regular monitoring.

Common undiagnosed problems include heartworm, diabetes, osteoarthritis and dental issues. “People don’t think about [osteoarthritis] in their cats,” says Brunt. Unlike dogs, cats rarely exhibit identifiable signs, such as a limp. Instead, the cat might exhibit what the AAFP calls one of the “subtle signs of sickness,” that is, things that often go unnoticed. Perhaps the cat’s activity level is down, or he or she is experiencing problems with litter box usage. “The bottom line is, [cats need] routine, regular visits - and more frequent than people might think.”

Cat-friendly practices. Veterinarians need to learn and practice feline-friendly handling techniques, says Brunt. “The take-home there is, less is more.” The less the vet bears down on the cat or confines it, the better. Creating a cat-friendly environment will help. Separating cats from loud barking dogs is one way to do so. Another is blocking out time during the day for cats-only appointments, if at all possible.

Brand the cat. The “Rebranding Felix” initiative underscored the need to reshape cats’ image. “Cats suffer from bad PR,” says Brunt. Animals like Garfield and Morris are portrayed as curmudgeons. “We laugh at them, but the messages they send are cantankerous. The goal would be, how to make the cat the next iPod.”

Consumer awareness campaign. Naturally, pet owners need to be onboard to make any change permanent. The CATalyst Council intends to create a campaign on behalf of cats that is every bit as strong and identifiable as the pink-ribbon campaign against breast cancer or the red dress campaign to draw attention to heart disease in women.

Amidst her work for the CATalyst Council, Brunt still manages to practice veterinary medicine about one day a week. But she views her duties with the CATalyst Council as an important part of her quest to improve feline healthcare.

“The CATalyst Council has given me an opportunity to get engaged on a different level and hopefully make an impact for the improvement of cat care across the profession and the industry,” she says. “This is more than just veterinary medicine. It reaches across all channels - the shelter and welfare worlds, the veterinary commercial and consumer retail side, the profession and beyond. We have a ways to go. But there are opportunities to change how the healthcare team thinks about cats.”