“Helping Pet owners of Mersea Island and surroundings to maintain the wellbeing of their beloved family pet, through provision of veterinary care and education on responsible ownership.”

As we start a new year, many of us will have New Year’s resolutions and many of these will relate to our own personal wellbeing. Mental health is something that is of great importance to the practice ethos at Blackwater Vets.

Whilst a veterinary practice will always need to care for pets that are unwell or have been injured, the practice objective is to keep pets happy and healthy. A large part of this is our annual health checks and vaccinations against life threatening diseases and protection from unpleasant and debilitating parasites. It’s also about offering behavioural and environmental advice on pet wellbeing.

Practice owner Ola said; “We want our clients to see us as not only the place to bring a pet when they are unwell, but we want clients to talk to us about what we can do to keep pets both physically and psychologically healthy.

In the same way that we are committed to our ongoing learning and development, we invite our client community to embrace our culture where education on pet welfare is key.”

Blackwater Vets is associated with the International Society of Feline Medicine and has been accredited as a silver status Cat Friendly Clinic. This prestigious scheme is something that the practice feels strongly about being a part of. The worldwide programme was first set up in 2012 in recognition of the unique needs and behaviours of our feline friends. It is a voluntary scheme, and Blackwater vets is one of only 12 vet practices in Essex who have completed the requirements to join. 

Achieving this award means that the team has additional knowledge and expertise around supporting cat welfare. This includes a greater understanding of the unique disease processes, temperaments, personalities and needs of cats which allows the practice to provide the special handling and veterinary care needed in the right environment to support feline wellbeing.

The practice has allocated “cat advocates” and in particular practice owner, Ola has a great deal of knowledge and experience around cat health and welfare.

Ultimately the Cat Friendly Clinic accreditation means that clients have the reassurance of knowing that our community vet practice has invested in developing their knowledge on the unique healthcare and behavioural needs of your cat, and how to set up the right environment to support this.

Ola explains; “The focus on wellbeing begins with us ensuring that we do everything in our power to ensure your cat’s visit to us is a relaxed as possible. This starts from the moment you prepare your cat for a visit; it’s important that they feel happy and relaxed in their carriers; we welcome the opportunity to guide you on how to do this.

Upon arrival at Blackwater Vets, we set up their environment carefully. We understand that meeting dogs or other species may be stressful for a cat. Therefore we provide towels coated with FELIWAY to help your feline friend relax whilst they are in their carrier, and we are trained on how to handle cats to avoid stress.

If your pet is staying with us, you can be sure that their accommodation will be at an elevated level [cats feel safer high up] and will include areas where they can relax and hide if they want to. Towel curtains are put up and lots of comfortable bedding provided. We will ensure that the environment is kept calm and quiet and for those cats that enjoy attention, there will be lots of cuddles provided”

With the advances of veterinary medicine and knowledge it is great news that cats are now living much longer and often well into their teens. Understanding their behaviour and taking advice on how to keep them healthy is an important part of this. Blackwater Vets invites their cat owning clients to talk to them about what they can do to support your overall cat’s welfare, both physical and emotional.

The practice also offers nurse clinics as well as vet consultations and the website is a great source of advice and has a whole section on cat healthcare under PET ADVICE. 

Blackwater Vets invites the pet loving community to see their vet as not only the place to contact when your pet is unwell, but the place to go to keep up to date with optimal knowledge in order to keep pets happy and healthy.