How to Get Started

The time it takes to complete the application and approval process varies by practice. It can depend on how many cat-friendly initiatives you have already implemented and how much time you are able to dedicate to assessing your practice and implementing new items. The informational brochure, First Steps Toward a Cat Friendly Practice®, will walk you through the process including:

Step 1: Aspire to be cat-friendly
Step 2: Create excitement at work
Step 3: Understand the documents
Step 4: Complete the checklist

Your practice must have at least one AAFP veterinarian member in order to access the Cat Friendly Practice® program resources. Everything can be completed online in an easy-to-use format, and you can save your work as you proceed. There are ten topic areas, each with a video that discusses the importance of implementing these criteria in your practice. Checklist criteria items are supported by the manual, A Guide to Creating a Cat Friendly Practice®, as well as by supplemental educational resources and photos.

There are two status levels within the program: Silver and Gold. The Silver Standard status is for practices that meet the essential standard criteria for a Cat Friendly Practice®. The Gold Standard status is for practices that have incorporated the optimum level of Cat Friendly Criteria.

Once your practice meets the criteria, your application is evaluated for approval. Once approved, your practice officially becomes an AAFP Cat Friendly Practice®. Each Cat Friendly Practice® receives a complete CFP toolkit that includes a status certificate, poster, and numerous marketing pieces that give your practice the tools, printed documents, and knowledge to make the most of your CFP status. You will also be listed in the Cat Friendly Practice® online database so clients can search for and find your practice. The CFP program is dynamic and ongoing. The AAFP will regularly send you new resources and support materials to enhance your participation and keep your practice at the leading edge of feline care.

Additional information can be found in the CFP Veterinary Practice Brochure.

Located outside North and South America? The Cat Friendly Clinic and Cat Friendly Practice are two parallel programs run by the International Society of Feline Medicine (ISFM) and the American Association of Feline Practitioners (AAFP) respectively. The AAFP Cat Friendly Practice program runs in the North and South Americas/Caribbean, and the ISFM Cat Friendly Clinic program runs in other regions of the world (Europe, Australia and Asia). Both programs are virtually identical in the criteria required to become an approved clinic, however they do have some information specific to those regions of the world that is important to the practice. While any member practice is able to apply to become designated, we encourage all clinics in the Americas to apply to the AAFP and all clinics in Europe, Australia, and Asia to apply to the ISFM, who will run and maintain these programs in the respective areas.