The American Association of Feline Practitioners Releases Diabetes Educational Toolkit to the Veterinary Community

HILLSBOROUGH, NJ (May 22, 2019) – The American Association of Feline Practitioners (AAFP) has released a Diabetes Educational Toolkit for veterinary professionals: catvets.com/diabetes. There are additional resources to help cat caregivers understand and manage their cat’s diabetes at catfriendly.com/diabetes.

Diabetes mellitus has become an increasingly common endocrine condition in cats. Management and treatment of feline diabetes is often perceived as a very complicated process as each cat requires an individualized plan, which includes frequent reassessment and adjustments to treatment as needed. Additionally, diabetic cats are often challenging to diagnose, treat, and monitor. Diabetes mellitus is not always a straightforward diagnosis.

This user-friendly Toolkit is a digital resource that puts the most relevant diagnostic and treatment information in the hands of veterinary professionals who are working with clients to make the best decisions for their cat. The Educational Toolkit is intended to be an implementation tool for veterinary professionals to access and gather information quickly. There is also a printable PDF version of each page to make the content easy-to-access in the practice. The entire Toolkit can also be downloaded and printed. Navigation on the website is simple and contains tabs to move directly to information focusing on diagnosis, treatment, remission strategy, troubleshooting, frequently asked questions, and client resources.

There are many misconceptions about treatments and responses when dealing with feline diabetes mellitus. Effective treatment is based on a combination of patient goals, finances, implementation of the treatment plan, and the patient’s response. A strong partnership between the veterinarian and the cat caregiver is key to achieving optimal results. It is very important to establish goals at the initiation of treatment and to maintain a frequent, open dialogue.

“We are excited to release this digital resource to the veterinary community in the hopes that we can help veterinary professionals in the diagnosis and treatment of their diabetic feline patients through providing easy-to-access information that can be implemented for each cat. The purpose is to create more informed veterinary teams as well as cat caregivers,” said Dr. Apryl Steele, President, AAFP Board of Directors. "This Diabetes Educational Toolkit is intended to be an on-the-ground tool for veterinary professionals to access and gather the most relevant information quickly."

Acknowledgments
The AAFP thanks Boehringer Ingelheim for their educational grant to develop this Toolkit, and for their commitment to help the veterinary community improve the lives of cats. The AAFP also thanks the independent panel for their hard work in developing this Educational Toolkit content – Audrey Cook, BVM&S, Msc VetEd, DACVIM-SAIM, DECVIM-CA, DABVP (Feline); Kelly St. Denis, DVM, DABVP (Feline); Sonnya Dennis, DVM, DABVP (Canine/Feline); and Elaine Wexler-Mitchell, DVM, DABVP (Feline), Chair.