611: Partnerships that Support Felines and Their Owners with Dr. Ashlie Saffire
Time to Pet. Go to timetopet.com/confessional for 50% off your first 3 months.
National Association of Professional Pet Sitters. Learn more at www.petsitters.org.
Are pet sitters and veterinarians really on the same team when it comes to caring for cats? In this episode, Dr. Ashlie Saffire, feline specialist and President of the Feline Veterinary Medical Association, joins the show to explore how deeper collaboration between pet sitters and veterinary professionals can dramatically improve cat care. She dives into common stress-related cat health issues, the importance of maintaining routines, and why understanding feline behavior is essential. They discuss practical tips for pet sitters—like using pheromones, documenting eating habits, and asking better intake questions. Dr. Saffire also encourages pet sitters to pursue certifications and reach out to local clinics to form partnerships built on trust and knowledge.
Main topics:
Building vet-pet sitter partnerships
Understanding cat stress and anxiety
Importance of routine in feline care
Using pheromone therapy for calmer cats
Certification and education for sitters
Main takeaway: “Cats actually are a lot harder to care for than dogs… People are finally figuring that out.”
Dr. Ashlie Saffire, feline vet and President of the Feline Veterinary Medical Association, joined us on Pet Sitter Confessional to talk all things cat care. As more pet parents recognize the unique needs of their cats, pet sitters have a vital role to play in supporting feline health. From routines to stress reduction to better communication with vet teams, we can make a big difference--if we take cats seriously. Let's give cats the thoughtful, professional care they truly deserve. 🐱💡
About our guest:
Dr. Ashlie Saffire is a board-certified feline specialist and the current President of the Feline Veterinary Medical Association. She co-owns and practices at a feline-focused clinic in Columbus, Ohio, where she combines patient care with ongoing research, teaching, and veterinary leadership. Originally trained in equine medicine, Dr. Saffire transitioned to feline care after recognizing the unique needs and misunderstood behaviors of cats. She is passionate about educating both veterinary professionals and pet caregivers to raise the standard of feline health and well-being worldwide.
Links:
https://catvets.com/cat-friendly/certificate-program/
ProTrainings: For 10% off any of their courses, use CPR-petsitterconfessional
Give us a call! (636) 364-8260
Follow us on: Instagram and Facebook
Subscribe on iTunes or Spotify
Email us at: feedback@petsitterconfessional.com
A VERY ROUGH TRANSCRIPT OF THE EPISODE
Provided by otter.ai
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
Feline Veterinary Medical Association, cat care, pet sitting, veterinary practice, feline medicine, stress and anxiety, cat behavior, routine care, cat friendly practices, veterinarian partnerships, pet sitter education, cat health, veterinary resources, cat-specific care, pet care industry
SPEAKERS
Collin, Ashlie Saffire DVM
Collin 00:00
Ashley, welcome to pet sitter confessional, an open and honest discussion about life as a pet sitter. Today, we're brought to you by our friends at time to pet and the National Association of Professional pet sitters. Today, we are really excited to have the president of the feline Veterinary Medical Association, Dr Ashley sapphire, on the show to talk cat care and helping to bridge the gap between the pet sitting world and the veterinary world and everything in between. Dr SAFIRE, I'm super excited again to have you on and cover these topics for those who aren't familiar with you or your association. Could you please tell us a little bit more about yourself? I
Ashlie Saffire DVM 00:40
am a feline specialist. So boarded in feline medicine. I practice in a clinic that I own with my husband in Columbus, Ohio. I have been a feline veterinarian for almost a decade now. Graduated from the Ohio State and decided I actually was equine initially, so kind of a funny change to go from horses to cats, but decided my calling was actually these little misunderstood patients, and it's been the best thing I ever could have done. And currently, in addition to working at my practice and seeing patients, I do a lot of research on the side, I love just trying to progress feline medicine in any way that I can. I do a lot of teaching and speaking at conferences. It's one of my favorite things to share what I've learned along the way with others. And then also, am now the current president of the feline BMA. So just another way that I can help.
Collin 01:39
I love that. And now you you made the switch from equine to feline. What got you into the veterinary field to begin with
Ashlie Saffire DVM 01:47
horses. I was a horse girl growing up, for sure, so I definitely always loved animals, you know, like, probably the same story for most veterinarians that you know. You grow up with pets of your own. You just love them. And some people can can handle or, you know, there's the squeamish side of medicine that I apparently was okay with. And then others go other tracks, like pet sitting and caretaking in other ways. But yeah, I wanted to definitely pursue a career, and ended up going through vet school pretty convinced I was going to continue with the horse path, and then decided that maybe that wasn't quite right for me, so I went out and explored other options, and then just gravitated towards cats over time. So Well,
Collin 02:30
that's nice that you had that opportunity to go and kind of see other fields and other perspectives, right to kind of decide exactly where you want to land on. That's true. That
Ashlie Saffire DVM 02:38
is true too. It's nice to have that experience so I don't look back and regret that I didn't try pretty much
Collin 02:46
everything so well. Now the feline Veterinary Medical Association would love for you to talk about its history and mission and kind of how it's helping the field.
Ashlie Saffire DVM 02:55
Yeah. So the feline Veterinary Medical Association is an organization that really is the the leaders in feline health and well being for both the veterinary community as far as professionals go. So veterinarians, technical staff, anybody involved from the vet practice side, but also the cat caregivers and so their mission is really supporting the members of the organization by constantly improving health and well being for cats, and they do that through high standards of practice, so creating guidelines and position statements, offering continuing education and all evidence based medicine. So it's really quite an organization that is is internationally known. We have members from all over the world, we have really just reached everywhere, which is pretty, pretty incredible, actually.
Collin 03:47
And you all went through a recent rebrand, right? Why was that important?
Ashlie Saffire DVM 03:53
Yeah, that's a really great question. So our previous name was the American Association of feline practitioners, which is we were 50 years ago when our organization had basically been born, and when we were looking at what the next 50 years were going to look like. This past year, we all sat down and talked about, you know, what, where we want to be, where we where do we want to go? Who do we want to be a part of this organization? And we really felt that the the name practitioners, was very limiting. You know, most people assume that meant veterinarians, when really we we service everybody. We represent feline medicine for all, including caregivers. And so we it took, actually quite some time looking at focus groups and speaking with different people and surveys and trying to find out what would best represent us and just where we wanted to go the next 50 years. And we all landed on the decision to change our name, update our logo. So we decided putting cats first is why we have the word feline first and then Veterinary Medical Association, which includes our technician members, our CSR assistants. Practice managers and our veterinarian. So includes everybody. And then we also have tons of resources for our pet parents
Collin 05:06
as well. I really like how you basically, kind of reaching your arms wider, just a little bit wider as and I see that across different, you know, disciplines in the pet care world of of going no, there's a whole lot more people who need this information and who we can help and who we can bring into this 50 years, that's a long time for an association to really be around. Why was it important for you, just personally, to be involved and lead the helm here?
Ashlie Saffire DVM 05:32
Yeah. I mean, so like I told you, I love teaching. I do some classes for Ohio State for their feline electives and speak to the feline club, and I speak at conferences for veterinary medical associations around the country. It's one of my favorite things. And so I really started doing a little bit more teaching. I was very confident at that point in my career with the experience that I've had and just, you know, being a specialist, that I really wanted to take the next step. And the feline VMA I had been a member of for several years, and with watching what they were doing, and decided to apply as an intern to try to kind of see what, like leadership medicine was about. Because a lot of what I was doing was sharing knowledge and teaching. And so I spent some time as an intern on the board. Actually, it ended up being during COVID. So I had a year of mostly zoom meetings, which can be challenging sometimes, you know, to get to know people from all over the country. And actually we had people in different countries as well on the board, and but then once that was over and actually got to meet people in real life, it was just it was so addicting being around so many people who were driven and just wanted a better feline medicine, and I felt like, for me, it was the perfect time in my career, just because I had enough experience, I felt like I could bring something to the table, and I had others on the board who believed in me and supported me joining and here I am. And it's, it's crazy to think that I'm the current president, because I I always thought about, like, definitely holding a role at some point. I didn't think it would be president yet, but it actually has been a great experience. And I do feel like being in practice, and where I'm at my career, I have been able to contribute quite a bit. So it's been a, it's gonna been pleasantly surprising and awesome experience, really. Yeah,
Collin 07:15
it's kind of a lot of those worlds colliding all of a sudden. Of you know, you get to go, Hey, I have experience in this, in this teaching, in this education, oh, and in my practice. And so I'm actually implementing a lot of these things and seeing where the field is leading to go. Well, I can, man, I can really contribute, especially to have other board members right who are surround you, to have that team like that, just that must be really wonderful.
Ashlie Saffire DVM 07:37
Then just seeing everybody have the same passion, and all support each other. It's been pretty neat. I it's something I always encourage, like every feline practitioner, or a general practitioner, or anybody who's interested in feline medicine who wants to get involved, like such a great organization, to join, even technicians and anybody really in the field, could there's a place for you with feline BMA? It's pretty awesome. I
Collin 08:00
think it really is important to be connected to a group right around that common interest, and especially even more than that, even more than the interest, a common goal in seeing everybody get better and going, how can we come together and make the field as best as it, as good as it can be, right? And really, you know, pushing that forward together,
Ashlie Saffire DVM 08:18
yeah? And I mean, right now I feel like feline medicine is just exploding. I mean, there are companies investing in feline medicine on all sides, from research and clinical therapeutics to diagnostics, and so it's such a great time to be in this field and really help propel it. So it's an awesome time right now. Yeah, it's
Collin 08:37
interesting that you say that, because from from our on our side, from the pet care side, we see the demand for cat specific care going through the roof. The number of cat specific and cat only companies has grown in the last three to five years. I know when, like, just in our personal business, when we look back at last year and, you know, crunch the numbers and see what service grew and where it's like, oh, man, Cat people came out of the woodwork like they were really they're demanding this. They're looking for a high quality service that maybe they weren't a little while ago. Why do you think that there is this sudden interest and surge across all these things?
Ashlie Saffire DVM 09:18
Yeah, that's a really great question, and I think that a lot of it is we now have more evidence on what cats need. We understand behavior so much better. There has really been an explosion in people putting out published literature, and behaviorists and feline practitioners who are sharing that knowledge and because we're understanding the cat more we understand what they need. And so the cat friendly practice program was developed about a decade ago, and that was through the feline BMA, and in conjunction with isfm, which was an international organization, and they really created this global initiative to change the. Way people practice with cats, and they really put together this program to teach you how to create an environment that was safe for a cat, calming for a cat, let the cat feel more comfortable, secure. And because of that, then, and these are things you do in your practice, which then creates a better environment. And we're starting to learn you know, how to better care for them. And so I think with that, it fixes some of those issues. Of, you know, people didn't take their cats to the vet because it was a very scary experience. You know,
Collin 10:29
yeah. I mean, 10 years ago, when we were kind of just getting started in our business, the number of clients who'd say, oh, I need I'm going away for a week. Can you pop in like, once for my cat? I've got a big bowl of food. I'm putting out three or four more litter boxes. It's okay, like, that's completely gone. Oh yeah, the number of clients are going, Hey, actually, I don't want just one visit a day. Can I have three? And can they both? Can they all be hour long so you can sit and play, you know, cat
Ashlie Saffire DVM 10:52
TV. I love it well, right? And like that. We I think there was a big misconception for a long time that the cats are the easy species. Like, Oh, you want an easy pet, go get a cat. Like, no, if you want an easy pet, go get a hamster. Cats actually are a lot harder to care for than dogs. I mean, dogs are the easy one. They just have to go outside, go for a walk. They're happy as a clam. Cats like, you need enrichment. You need your cat videos. You need to play with them. You need to feed them special ways, right? Like, there's so much more involved. So people are finally figuring that out.
Collin 11:21
Yeah, we called them for a long time. They were the also, and it was the hey I need. Here's my dog, and then I'd be standing there talking to the client, and the cat would kind of walk across the couch, and it'd be like, what about that one? And they go, oh yeah, the cat, they'll be fine. And you know, just to know that, like, this is really where a lot of the power of client and community education comes in. And going, this is how we raise the bar. It's in educating people, the putting the effort into the research to go here is where the needs actually lie, and here's how we can give them the best life possible. And so from your perspective, I know you're doing you're doing research, and from your own practice and from the work that you're doing, what I did want to ask just some some cat care stuff as well. Because, you know, a lot of, lot of pet sitters, they focus on on dogs only, and they they then go, Well, let me, I need to educate myself on cats. So from your perspective, from what you see, what are some of the more common health issues that pet sitters should really be aware of when take care of cats.
Speaker 1 12:24
Question.
Ashlie Saffire DVM 12:25
So I think number one is probably stress and anxiety. Cats are creatures of habit, and they like routines. And when their routines are disrupted, we start to see health issues. Big one is bladder disease. We see lower urinary tract disease. And you know, that's something that happens. We see it just with changes in schedule, like this week, I've had several cats coming in with urinary signs because it was spring break here, so everybody's home from school, the cats are like, Oh my gosh. Why are there's kids here that shouldn't be here during the day, when I take my naps, it's setting everybody off, right? And so routine is huge, and that's something that we'll probably touch on here in a minute, but keeping routines the same, because anytime there's that change, no now my my my mom or dad's not here, my family's gone, I don't have that interaction. Maybe I love being groomed all the time, and I'm not getting that. So that's one big thing. Also, they don't they stop eating. We can see cats stop eating, right? Like they're stressed out. Maybe they're social leaders, and now we're just leaving food out, and nobody's there to sit with them and eat, you know, or maybe they don't want to eat a whole bowl of food. They like small amounts fed frequently, which is more natural feeding. But when you have a pet, or you're out of town, and you have a pets that are stopping by once a day just keeping the bowl full, that may not be helpful either. So those are probably the two big ones that we see, because otherwise, you know, ideally, they're not getting into things and getting foreign bodies. I think that probably be more a dog problem I'd be worried about. But for cats, you know, they don't tend to, typically chew on things they shouldn't. But if they're bored, and it's a young, one year old pad, and he's like, where is everybody? He may start getting, you know, climbing into things, getting into things, we could see some trouble there too. So
Collin 13:58
have you heard of tying to pet? Susan the pet gal, has this to say, time
Susan M. 14:03
to pet has helped us grow exponentially. We believe the platform's features make us by far more professional than other companies who use conventional dashboards. They are the software gurus constantly developing and improving the platform based on user feedback. This decision was a good one.
Collin 14:20
If you're looking for new pet sitting software, give time to pet a try. Listeners of our show will save 50% off your first three months by visiting time to pet.com/confessional Yeah. So there's that harm from kind of boredom or just generalizing, you know, anxiety, you know, pacing and looking versus the the overall just stress and anxiety and the impact that has on their body. What are some, what are some signs of stress, right, that we should be on the lookout for when we're over at visits?
Ashlie Saffire DVM 14:46
Yeah. So one big one would be, of course, the cat is hiding and it doesn't come out. You can't find it. Another would be, if you see how soiling or you see any signs of blood in the urine, catsley, who are stressed, the bladder tends to be a stress organ for them. So. We will see, when a cat is stressed and anxious and has some anxiety issues, they can have what's called cystitis, which is inflammation of the bladder and that often manifests as difficulty urinating blood in the urine. So they may see, I've had some situations where a pet sitter has brought a cat in because there's blood in the bathtub, they start house oiling and it's bloody. That's a big one. Of course, not eating anything. If that cat's not not eating its food, they're just hiding under the bed the whole time that the family is gone, that can be a problem too.
Collin 15:28
Yeah, it really is incumbent. Then to be asked some of those good questions up front. You know, you know, when I clean the litter box, what do you usually see? Right? What should what would I expect whenever I clean this litter box? You know, if they do have accidents, where should I be looking for these in the house, so that we are getting just one more step ahead of them? Because if we have in our mind of stress, is the biggest thing that I needed to be on the lookout for, it's we go, okay, back out from there. And what other questions do I need to have so that I'm staying up to date and I'm getting ahead of really, where these issues are
Ashlie Saffire DVM 16:01
going to come. Yeah, exactly, exactly. And then really, I think, for the pet sitter side, is really asking before they take these, these jobs on, you know, what are the things that these pets enjoy? What do they do? They enjoy grooming? Do they enjoy being pet? Because sometimes don't like being groomed at all. But for some, it's a really important thing for them. Meet and greets are always great to have a pet sitter come and spend time with the family present so that they've gotten used to them. Play time is huge. Like, if they're a cat that does enjoy play time, making sure they're designating time for that and ideally sticking to like, as close to the routine that that cat knows as possible. So if you know, the pet parents always play with them at night 15 minutes or so before bedtime. They do, you know, treat tossing, or maybe they do, like a fishing pole toy, trying to do those same activities close to that same time, so that pet still feels like his routine is the same. I think another like thing would be pheromone therapy. So a lot of people don't think about pheromones, and pheromones actually have quite a bit of research behind them. And so putting pheromones in your in your home that they come as diffusers, they come as like standalone containers now where it diffuses a calming pheromone into the air. And so that can be really helpful for the cat to just feel comfortable and less stressed when the family leaves. But they actually make sprays as well. And like, as a veterinarian, I'll spray my lab coat before I go into a feline exam, because it's a calming feeling. So same thing a pet sitter could do the exact same thing. They could spray themselves off, especially if they have a dog at home, right? They come into this house smelling like a dog, the cat's gonna be like, oh gosh, the dog person's here again, you know? So like, we want to make sure we're giving them those, those calming pheromones. And we go into the house and the cat might be more more likely to come out from under the bed or come and say hello, things like that. Yeah, I
Collin 17:48
know for us, you know, we may have a day back to back to back to back of nothing but dogs, and then we get a cat visit, and it's like, okay, I need to be really aware of what I'm bringing into this house, right? And knowing those calming pheromones, those sprays, are really a lifesaver in a lot of cases, because it's like, I need to make sure I leave all that else at the back, at the door, and I need to be coming in as amenable as possible. Because what I bring in, and how I bring it in, and what I do is all going to, you know, impact the kind of interaction that I have with
Ashlie Saffire DVM 18:19
this guy. Well, even, even the behaviors, like, from a human coming into the house, like, for a dog you're in, you're like, hi, fluffy, yeah, so good to see you, right? But then a cat, you want the total opposite, like, she'd be very quiet, calming. Don't wear very strong perfumes smell like dogs, um, you should. Like, one of the big things that I always tell veterinarians, too, same thing for a physical exam is, and this sounds ridiculous, but it's, it's amazing. It actually works is when you're when you're looking and communicating to a cat, you really want to have very non threatening body language. And so one of the big things is you never want to stare cat directly in the eyes. If you do like what you want to do ideally is very slowly blink so that you're you're showing the cat that you're not a threat, ideally, even turning your body away from them a little bit. So if you become very unthreatening, and you're showing them that you are submissive, like submissive basically, to them, they are so much more likely to come out and investigate you. But if you stare at them with you know, and don't blink and look at them directly in the eye, and you look aggressive like there's no way you're not going to win them over. So just even the way you come in the door can make a huge difference.
Collin 19:22
And I really do appreciate how you mentioned to ask the client, like, what their routine is, because that's you find so much information about that. And from a pet seller's perspective, a lot of times, the motivation of the owner is, well, I don't want to bother you. I don't. I just so don't worry about playtime. Don't just do, do feeding and leave. And it's like, well, no, like, don't just tell me what you do, but when do you do it? And we because we'll have clients who reach out to us and they'll say, Well, I usually feed at seven in the morning and at eight at night, but you can just come over at one and feed a little bit of extra food, and it's we've had to go, Well, no, like, I. That's fine, like, let's keep this routine because they're not then they don't have this because we don't want them to, you know, gorge themselves and overeat or quickly eat and, you know, have all this other things that are thrown off in their schedule. And taking that little bit of time to educate why it's important to the client to keep that routine really goes a long way also to just building trust with them.
Ashlie Saffire DVM 20:21
Say that too, from like, the pet sitters perspective, because, like, I I recognize pet sitters is, like, the reason you guys are doing this is because you care so much about them and you want to be there for them when their families are away. And I just feel like that is such a huge for me as a veterinarian, like I 100% prefer cats, anyways, to stay at home in their safe environment and have somebody who cares about them coming in and visiting them and like that is such I mean, that's why you guys do this, and you're right, like, we have to try to keep their routines as close as possible. And that's what's going to make ultimately, a very successful pet sitter is allowing them to do that for your cat and be there for them, because at a boarding facility, they're not going to get that. I mean, they're going to be in a kennel, and probably not get played with. They don't get to stretch their legs, do anything, and they're going to get fed when the kennel staff feeds twice a day, you know? Yeah, so, yeah. And
Collin 21:09
just, just having that conversation, because I know there's still a lot of work on that front for people to understand, you know, the necessity of that and going, No, this is really where the power of routine come in and of the health and wellbeing and the life that your pets going to lead, and you're trying to limit the amount of because, you know, we know stress is so impactful to bodies and to cats and going we don't want, especially if our clients are leaving for, like, you know, two weeks, three weeks, it's like, okay, like we This, this stress can really stack up over time and lead to a lot of complications later.
Ashlie Saffire DVM 21:47
We you can even see things like, so stress is a great trigger for herpes virus, and a lot of cats carry Herpe virus. And so now you've got respiratory disease breaking out, and now they're, you know, they feel sick from that. So, yeah, 100% so anything you can do to reduce stress, and I will say, like I worked in a practice for several years who did boarding for cats, and you know, seeing them lined up in kennels, very stressed. Half the time, the cats wouldn't eat. They had to go on appetite stimulants. It was very stressful for them. And a lot of these patients, we would recommend pet sitting, and would arrange for them to have a house sitting situation. And it was amazing, the difference that they would be just fine and would eat really well. They did great. So it is so important. Now, you know, obviously there's medical conditions and things, but that's also to where, like, for me, maybe you're going to ask this question, but, you know, I have several of my staff members that will do pet sitting, and I love it because they're not, some of them are not even, you know, train nurses their assistants, but they've been, you know, taught how to administer medications and to administer injections, sub q, fluids, all those things that are such a great skill to have as a pet sitter that you can then go into the home and give those pet parents peace of mind that, you know, half the time they're probably boarding is because they're worried they're not going to get their meds. And so this is a great way to make sure that the pet is still getting their medications, but they're in a home environment, you know, and I think that's where having a relationship with a veterinarian as a pet sitter would be fantastic
Collin 23:11
idea. Well, yeah, so let's talk about that. Because, you know, many times we'll say as a pet sitter, it's like, okay, I want to go out and build relationships and get integrated into the community and find partnerships. From your perspective, what can, what can pet sitters do, or just a pet sitter do, to help build a strong relationship with a veterinarian? I
Ashlie Saffire DVM 23:30
think they what they should do is probably most of them have pets of their own, I would imagine, so they probably already have a veterinary clinic that they're affiliated with. So that's a great place to start and meet with your veterinarian on the side, not as an appointment with your pet, but ask if you could come in and, you know, stop by and just chat about what you do and how you'd like to offer service to your pets. I mean, a lot of us veterinarians don't offer boarding. If they do, we don't really like it. It's not, it's a hard business to have, and it's it can be stressful, and so it's something where having that person in your town or area that can help you facilitate making sure that your pets are in safe environments is such a great relationship to have, so that, I mean, that's the first place to start. But even just going into these clinics and saying, Hi, I am in your area, I would love to pet sit for your patients. You know. Do you have any pet sitters that you're affiliated with that kind of stuff? I do think, though, the question that would probably come up, and this would be my, like, mine personally, would be, well, what certifications do you have? Like, what is your experience, you know, and everybody has to start somewhere. And I think for cat specifically, something that's super important for me, would be doing the cat friendly Certificate Program, which is offered through the feline VMA. That is a program where it there's different levels, there's veterinary level, but even caregiver level, and like a pet sitter, would be a perfect or groomer, perfect example of the the advocate role. But. You basically take four modules that teach you all about feline behavior, so you understand their behavior. You understand what their stressors are. It goes through a lot of basic feline care and gives you that extra knowledge to be able to, you know, know when something is wrong, when you're pet sitting, and and take your your you know, your pet sitting to the next level. And I think that would be really important for me as a veterinarian, that if somebody came to me and said, Hey, I have my certificate, like, you know, absolutely 100%
Collin 25:27
man. Okay, so just bringing in donuts, that's not going to do it. That's what I'm
Ashlie Saffire DVM 25:32
hearing from you. Also great coffee. But don't
Collin 25:35
just rely on that. I think that is really important in that, you know, we, we can often forget that these kind of referrals or relationships, you know, the veterinarian is is in a lot of cases, putting their reputation on the line. When they give somebody a name and they they say, Hey, go check out so and so. Pet Sitting like that is a reflection on their own values and what they see so coming in, knowing that they're going to want to see some stuff, and not just like, hey, I'm, you know, kind of chucking and jiving here, and I just have some business cards, you know, they coming in, being able to to walk through some of those things have, you know, the legitimacy behind that sounds like that. You know, that is really important here,
Ashlie Saffire DVM 26:15
the initiative as as a pet sitter, and you're saying that, like, I want to do best, and I'm going to get myself this certificate. You know that also, like, you don't even know what kind of, like ricochet effect that could have, because you could go to a veterinary clinic and they're like, wait, I'm sorry, what is the cat friendly certificate? And then they because that's still not everybody knows about this. I mean, we have about 15,000 veterinary professionals who have their certificate right now worldwide, which is pretty awesome, but it's something that that veterinarian might be like, what is that? I've never heard of, that they look into it, and now they're like, Whoa, there's a veterinary program I should do that, you know. And so you could even have a positive effect on the veterinary industry too, just by being, you know, promoter of something like that,
Collin 26:56
yeah, to be able to have that conversation about, what are you doing, right? And that's, and that's a good reminder, too, of just, just sharing right about where, who you are, where you're coming from, and and kind of your goals there, like, that's, that's just as a human level, right? That's, that's a kind of a great connection and
Ashlie Saffire DVM 27:12
relationship to have, yeah, and you know that everybody who goes, who goes to a vet clinic has a pet, right? And everybody who has a pet at some point has to go on vacation, and so what a great resource to have. You know, hey, we know a pet sitter. We have someone. You might be sorry if you go to too many vet clinics, because you might get more business than you intended on having, but
Collin 27:32
it could be a great resource. So I was curious, you know, kind of your with your own personal practice, your relationship with pet sitters, and kind of the partnerships that you have with that? Yeah, I actually have
Ashlie Saffire DVM 27:44
been lucky enough to know a lot of veterinary staff who does pet sitting on the side. One of our assistants started her own business, and she it really, pretty much it took off. And so she's quite busy on her she comes to work part time, and then she does her pet sitting when she's not at work. And it's been, it's been a blessing to have someone like that, because, of course, then people know they have that affiliation with the vet clinic, so if something happens, she's able to notify us or bring the cat or dog in or whatever. But, you know, I also have other technicians that have maybe left the veterinary medical field and have gone into pet sitting. There's a couple of apps out there. Now that is pretty cool that you can kind of like sitting, made simple. We have kids, so we use that all the time to find a babysitter, and this is a great way too, to find a pet sitter. But I do. I've had a lot of my own staff that does it, but they can never even cover the amount of need that we have. So gosh, if I had some outside pet sitters that we could have a relationship with, I would love that.
Collin 28:40
Yeah, and just having that, you know, again, this, this, everybody has the best interests at heart here and and, you know, for you, knowing, okay, well, I have staff here, so I know their background, and you even mentioned before, especially when it comes into the medications and the sub cues, and all of a sudden, we're doing, you know, we're doing post op monitoring. We're doing also, like, okay, like, there's, there's this, this whole side of this that requires that, that special training and attention here, that, you know, a lot of people really look for it, and there's such a need for that kind of thing too
Ashlie Saffire DVM 29:07
brilliant, and it's nice for me, like I feel so comfortable knowing that I have a cat who's being pet sit that is, anything happens, I know they're they're being watched. And that's also something too that we have a lot of our our clients who will give us the contact information for their pet sitters and notify us when they're going out of town. And they'll say, If anything happens, this is our pet sitter. And we always tell them, like, please have them call. Like, don't hesitate to ever call me, um, if something comes up, even if they just have a question, you know, like, and that's where, again, having that relationships not, not a bad thing, where I know, you know, so and so pet sitters, and I know if they call me like I know this patient, obviously, and I'm more than happy to answer questions over the phone, you know, before they have feel that they need to bring them in. But again, just having that relationship
Collin 29:52
that really helps, right? Especially if a client is going to be out for a long period of time or their cat has a known health condition, right? That's right to. We be managed and monitored. Going, Okay, now we really need to be all on the same team and all the same page here, but what and how to move forward and what we're looking for? So I've
Ashlie Saffire DVM 30:10
even had appointments where people have brought in somebody who was going to be pet sitting for, like, a chronic kidney disease cat who needed sub q fluids, and they learned how to give sub q fluids with us in an appointment. So those are, those are great things and great skills to have as a pet sitter. For sure.
Collin 30:28
Are you a passionate pet sitter or dedicated dog walker looking to take your career to the next level? Join the National Association of Professional pet sitters or naps, a leading organization dedicated to elevating pet care with industry resources, ongoing education and a network of like minded experts. NABS empowers you to shine, whether you're expanding your business or building new client relationships, their community is here to support you at every step of the way. Visit pet sitters.org today to learn more and join the movement. Take the leap and let your career flourish. Naps where pet care meets excellence. But what was so what other recommendations do you have for pet sitters to make sure that we stay aligned with care plans? Or, you know, the again, those, these managed pets, these medically managed pets?
Ashlie Saffire DVM 31:12
Yeah, I think open communication is huge. If you're not comfortable administering medications and stuff. I think that's totally understandable. The good thing is, like, there's a lot of options for medicating pets. And so, you know, maybe the pet parents really good at killing their cat every single day. But, you know, you come in as a pet sitter and you're like, I don't know if I can do this, or you try a couple times and it's not working. And so those are big, you know, I think a big thing right there is just being honest and being like, maybe I don't have a ton of skill with medicating, and then we have some backup plans that maybe the pet parent can talk to me about as the vet, what happens if my pet sitter can't get meds in? I've had times where I've switched our cut on them order transdermal medicine, where it's a cream and they just have to rub it on the cat's ear for those two weeks while the pet parent has gone so that we don't even have to worry about the pet sitter getting, you know, the meds in the cat. So those, those are really awesome, you know, people planning ahead of
Collin 32:05
time, you know? Yeah, no, I You mentioned that the backup medication, because we get that a lot too. Of, oh, my cat loves the pills so easily. And I always wait for them to finish, and I go, Okay, but what happens if she doesn't for me, right? And this going, we just need to have and right? They can, they can compound it differently. They can make it, you know, into pace. There's so much that now, like, we've done a lot of just with, you know, compounding it into a pace to do a lickable mat for them, you know, and adding stuff to instead of the like, do you you really don't know until you ask. And now, now you've got other tools in your toolbox to recommend the next time things happen, or just that simple question of, okay, but what is our backup plan that is so huge and will save you so much headache,
Ashlie Saffire DVM 32:52
and then too, like having that phone number to the clinic in case they can't medicate, they can give us a call while you're out of town and be like, hey, what other ways or recommendations do you have? I think another thing too, that I want to just remember to say is, like, a great way for the pet sitters to be an advocate for the pets that they're watching is making sure, and, like, encouraging the pet parents to bring these cats in make sure they've, like, had a recent physical examination. You know, are they up to date on vaccines? Right? Like you guys have to protect yourselves as well. And cats, they do sometimes when they're scared, you know. And you know, it's not fun when somebody gets bit by a cat that hasn't had a rabies vaccine or a physical exam in several years. And so I think you guys could be such a great advocate for these pets to make sure they're getting in and getting that updated exam, that they're healthy enough to be left alone for a while. And that's a, that's a huge advantage that you have, because a lot of times they listen, you know, people listen to other leaders in the field, and I would consider you guys very knowledgeable when it comes to caring for pets. So that's a huge way to be a teammate for us, too, you know,
Collin 33:56
yeah, well, and it's, it helps make sure that that cat, like you said, is healthy for this, because if we're just going to accept that there's going to be a little bit of stress induced with this change, right, anytime we make a change, there's going to be stress, what we want to do is make sure that we have a good understanding of the baseline, so that as things change, we know kind of where they're headed and what direction is going. Because you're right, like pet sitters, we often forget that it's like, well, this cat may see of, you know, the vet once a year, you know, maybe twice. You know, if they're really staying on top of they've got medications, you know, every couple months, maybe, if we're seeing them for weeks on end, you know, for every couple months, like there's a lot of influence and recommendations, we can say, hey, I really, you know, I'm not sure when the last time it was, where you took snowflake in, but I really think it'd be great if she went in for your next big trip, because you're going to be gone for a month, and I think maybe it's time that we do that for her then, and just putting that out there in if they don't have a good relationship with their veterinary care team, going giving them some recommendations for the area to go try out too.
Ashlie Saffire DVM 34:58
And that's huge again, with that partnership. Of like, you guys are referring patients to us. We're referring patients to be pet set by you guys. And it's that really nice relationship. And it's all like, at the end of the day, we're all doing it for the better of the cats and the dogs, right? Like we want them to have veterinary care and be safe and happy, so when their families come home, they're happy and, you know, healthy still. So it's all, it's just great in general, for, again, just getting, especially cats, I mean, because that's why I'm here today for you, is just, they're so underserved, right? And like, they just don't, they don't get the vet care that they need. And you guys are in the homes, potentially, way more than we see them, so absolutely well,
Collin 35:33
as we think, continue to think about, you know, you know, our cat and our feeling specific care, a lot of us send specific, you know, we send reports will say, hey, it was over today and XYZ happened. From your perspective, what are things that you think we should be including more of or talking more about in our visit reports to our clients?
Ashlie Saffire DVM 35:52
That's great. I think, I think that's definitely how they're eating. If they're obviously on medications. Have they been able to be medicated? You know, are they out and about? Are they? Are they hiding? I think these are all like feedback things that could always come back to make the next time you're there better, like if they were hiding the whole time. Well, what could we do differently next time? Does that mean maybe we do more pheromone therapy for them, or maybe more introductions, like when the parents home, that you can be there and pet them, and they get to know you special treats and things that they like. But I definitely know for peace of mind, like, it's always nice having a picture of the cat. Like, no, I mean, I have my own cats that get pet sit, and I love it when they show me a picture of them, either at the food dish eating or just a picture that they're there. They've seen them. They're alive, you know, they're okay. So just any update, I think, is awesome, really, in any capacity, but definitely, if they continue to hide like we want to make sure that we don't avoid that issue. And we certainly say, You know what, I didn't get to see him again today, he didn't come out. Then we need to figure out, what is that reason, and how can we help that cat. Next
Collin 36:57
time that you mentioned the picture of the cat eating like the like, the most powerful photo, I think we can say, is of the cat eating like, it's just, it's a concern that, that they, that the owners have. It's the thing that we need to be tracking. Like, how are they eating? It's not just are they eating, but how much did they consume? You know, while we were there versus over? You know, when we left. You know that again, getting back to that, that social eating versus not social eating, and going this, it's just such a simple photo to get that really instills a lot of confidence and value to the client. And then, yes, now you have eyes on them, and you know, okay, here I found them, and are they coming out? And that takes a little bit of prep too. Of going, is your cat usually really social, um, or are they more high? Because, you know, cat owners, they know they're going to know. Now, my cat always hides. Not to say that we don't go try and find them in their in their hiding locations to get eyes and trying hands on them as they're, you know, as they're comfortable. Because you don't want to just say, Oh, I didn't see the cat well. Anyway, you know, let me just finish up.
Ashlie Saffire DVM 37:59
Yeah. And like you said, like the eating thing too. I mean, if you just fill a dish once a day and just leave it full, like, we have no idea how much that cat is eating. So again, like, if they can get out there at least more than once where they're measuring what you're putting in the bowl, so you know how much the cat is consuming, because sometimes it looks like they ate and they actually did not really eat anything. So you know, that can be really helpful,
Collin 38:20
too. Yeah, all they did was basically push the food around in the bowl. Nothing was actually consumed, right? So, yeah, those free, free cats, like, that's a whole other thing of going well, let me, instead of just kind of topping off periodically, let me start with a whole fresh bowl, right? Let me just, I'll measure one full cup in. And now, before I add more food, I can pour that bowl back into the cup. I've got him measured, and now I really, I can really say for certainty how this is going.
Ashlie Saffire DVM 38:47
Is there things we can give them then the next time? Like, if we know the cat isn't a great eater, when mom and dad's out of town, like, what can we do? And we have things, little appetite motivators and things that we can use to help them so to make sure that they continue to eat while the family's away,
Collin 39:01
yeah, because we want to make sure that it's not just going, Okay, did I get my tasks done? Right? I think too often we can fall into that of going, well, I have a checkbox of scoop, litter, refresh water, you know, make sure that the food's topped off and that I've, you know, maybe, you know, I tidied up a little bit. Okay, those are tasks, but we're talking about relationship and livelihood like thriving? Are we really thriving through this and doing that problem solving of going, Okay, well, this didn't quite turn out. Let me do some brainstorming. Let me talk to the veterinary care team and figure out what we need to do next time. Because that's really so powerful,
Ashlie Saffire DVM 39:34
exactly why people choose pet sitters over a kennel. Because a kennel or a boarding facility is tasks they're checking off boxes and making sure these things are happening. But a pet sitter is a whole nother experience. And it's, it's for the cat. I mean, really, it's, it's for the pet. So it's just different.
Collin 39:51
Yeah, it is. It's that relationship. And it's, it's building that trust with the client too, you know, because we have to understand they they really genuinely love their cat. They want what's best for them. And sometimes they don't know where to go or what questions to ask, and going, hey, well, I man, I can sure help you with some information. Yeah, you know, from your from what you know as the as the president, and again, your your past experience here, how do you see the our two industries, you know, the veterinary side, the pet sitting side, really advocating for pets. You know, for the next, you know, next 50 years, you know, for the years to come.
Ashlie Saffire DVM 40:28
I think, I this is, would be a huge advantage to have a relationship grow between veterinary industry and the pet sitting industry. Because, you know, like you mentioned earlier, cats are becoming more important. The cat ownership is increasing. People are really, I mean, pets now are children. They're family members, and they're really important teammates. And the best way to give these animals the longest life is having a multiple, multiple people involved in their care. And I really think that communication is huge. And I would encourage anybody who's interested in pet sitting to reach out to several veterinary clinics and be a contact for them. But like we talked about, it's also important and your responsibility to make sure you're getting different training, so that you are actually, you know, certified in some things, to be able to care for these pets in the best way possible. And these things are out there. They're available. And I feel like, when you come to the table with credentials, and your veterinary team has credentials, right? Like, together, that's just so powerful. And I really could see a huge advantage to that. And I mean, for us in our organizations, like, we're always putting things out for pet parents and information from the feline VMA side. And like, I would love to put something together for pet sitters. You know, what a great idea to things that they need to know and quick. You know, we call it CE or continuing education for the veterinary side, but something like that, right? That's gives them. These are some great tips and tricks on how to be a great cat sitter.
Collin 41:55
Yeah. You know, when we look at continuing the industry and fostering these relationships, we have to go, Okay, well, where am I starting from? Where do it? Do I am I educated on this? Do I know? Do I really know, or what don't I know? And having those, a lot of those, you know, just come from conversations, but going and getting some some education, taking some online courses is really helps get that ball rolling, rolling. Because what I found is that the more we do that, just personally in our own business, the more all of a sudden, I'm equipped with tools language and ideas that I didn't have before. And now whenever a problem comes or a client's talking to me, it's like, Oh, hey, I just read this. Let me tell you, yeah, it really does help start that much, much better conversation. Now they're having a conversation with their vet, and the whole thing just improves for everybody does
Ashlie Saffire DVM 42:44
such a source of knowledge when you're in the industry. And, like, we all get into these, these animal careers, because we love them, ultimately, right? So then it's, how can you then even do better? And, like, really help educate pet parents on things. And I mean, you guys are a huge source of knowledge for them. So I think it's taking it. We call it imposter syndrome in the veterinary industry, where we, like, don't feel like we actually know what we're talking about. And I'm sure you guys feel the same way, right? But you have so much experience and just going into these homes and seeing what works and what doesn't work, and that's just so incredibly, incredibly valuable, but then also knowing, like, I could do better and I could learn more and get certifications and certificates on how to be a better, you know, caregiver. Huge,
Collin 43:25
huge. Well, speaking of resources, what are some recommended ones that you think more pet sitters should be utilizing?
Ashlie Saffire DVM 43:31
So I would say for like, general care. I mean, the big thing is, with the internet, right? You can find the answer to anything that you're looking for. So always trying to find credible resources. So we have some really great ones through the feline VMA that is for for actual like, pet parents and caregivers, and it's cat friendly.com and it actually has all sorts of information for, like, doing things cat care in general. At home, it has routine care and grooming and how to be a good caregiver. And these are all really great for you as a pet sitter who's coming into an environment and maybe you know what works for your own pet, but maybe not works for everybody. So getting that those really good resources, we also have the cat friendly certificate program that I was telling you about, and that's through catvets.com where, if you go to that, there's a drop down menu for the cat friendly programs. And the cat friendly advocate program is the certificate program that I was talking about that goes through basically four modules on understanding feline behavior and the veterinary experience and interactions with cats, and that's a huge resource. So those would be two big ones for sure, that I would recommend is a great starting point, yeah,
Collin 44:50
and even, you know, you mentioned, you know, there's some of these sound like they're a little bit more from the veterinary angle, but I think what's really important there is that that helps us. Know. Like, when we're speaking with veterinary clinics, like problems that they're facing, or helps, you know, we can provide like it really helps complete that circuit of care where you mentioned multiple people around if I don't understand the things that a veterinary clinic is struggling with or has to struggle with and work through in their work, how am I going to, you know, think or expect them to understand the struggles that we go through. And I think that's really important to go just because it says, Oh, it's a catvets.com like, no, like, there's still that information is still really invaluable to have access to and to know as you build these relationships and partnerships. Dr SAFIRE, I really want to thank you for coming on the show today, and for walking us through building these partnerships, these relationships with veterinary care teams and clinics, and how we can help bridge that gap between them, and really the importance of education at the personal level, and making sure that that we are working at those those high standards, and so that we can give the best care possible And and educate our clients as well. For those who are interested in finding out more information about your association and getting connected, how best can they do that
Ashlie Saffire DVM 46:11
through the website. You can sign up and make it yourself an account on the website to get access to the materials. You can become a member. You can become a again. You need to go through this the cat certificate program. There's a lot of you know, contact us buttons there too. That's very easy to get a hold of, especially for Feline VMA, yeah. I mean, people are I'm always happy for anybody to reach out to me to never, I would never, not respond to somebody who's interested in helping cats out and like, I can't thank you guys enough for what you do, because I have so many patients that benefit from having somebody take care of them at home that like, it's, it's my number one preference for everybody. So we don't have enough of you. So the fact that you guys are out there and want to do more is pretty amazing. So I'm grateful for that. For sure, you're in Columbus, come and see
Collin 46:58
me. Okay, we'll do well. Thank you again. This has been it's been so much fun, and I've really appreciated your time and sharing with us today. Thank you so much for coming
Ashlie Saffire DVM 47:09
on. Yeah, absolutely thanks for having me.
Collin 47:12
How do we build partnerships for the care of our feline friends and their owners? Through relationships, through trust and through knowledge, showing up just one time to show your face and throw some donuts isn't good enough. It's a long term partnership and relationship that we are looking for. We are want people to look to us and know that we are the experts when it comes to pet care. When it comes to Cat care, this takes conversations. This takes getting to know the veterinarians that our clients use so that we become a known entity that they can trust and rely on. Only showing up when there's a problem or when a client has a complaint. Isn't going to cut it. If we need someone to go to with questions, it should be the vets that our clients are using, that that are treating the cats that we're caring for. Those kind of relationships don't start and build overnight, go in, re, listen, learn, share. It's a long process, but it's well worth it for both us and our clients. We want to thank today's sponsors Tyne pet and our friends at the National Association of Professional pet sitters. We also want to thank you so much for listening. We hope you have a wonderful rest of your week, and we'll be back again soon. You
