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Research
Despite the amount of research which has been carried out over many years, what we actually know about our feline friends is insignificant when compared with what we still don’t know.
Thankfully scientific research continues in universities, veterinary hospitals, and other organisations all over the world; although unfortunately, this does lead to the duplication of both effort and funding in many instances. Furthermore, the dissemination from academia to veterinary surgeons and the cat owning public of the knowledge resultant from some of this research is, in our opinion, rather poor. Never-the-less, it can usually be sourced by those determined enough to do so.
Neither vets nor scientists are mind readers, nor have any of us yet really learnt to talk to a cat about its symptoms or feelings. Hence there is a great deal we will never know about our much-loved felines.
Whilst x-ray, scans and blood tests tell us a great deal, much of our diagnosis of clinical and behavioural illness is reliant upon the experience of the particular vet undertaking the physical examination based on the history and description of symptoms provided by the cat’s owner. Hence, by encouraging research into feline welfare, we hope – as we have said on a previous page – to increase the cat owner’s ability to spot the early signs of disease and distress, and therefore to seek early veterinary advice. Although funds are limited, we are open to research proposals from reputable Universities and other such organisation in order to achieve this objective. All such proposals will be subject to peer review.
Feline Friends directly funds and/or donates to specific scientific research projects which we believe have not been undertaken elsewhere in the world, and which the Trustees consider being of significant importance to the welfare of our cats.
For example, please go to ‘Containment Fence Research’ and also to Pain.
Vets
"Cats are mysterious folk. There is more passing their minds than we are aware of."
Sir Walter Scott
