Plus-Hex CLINICAL in stress behaviours being found between cats with different amounts of outdoor access at home, several suggestions can be made.
The aim of nursing care would be to achieve lower stress levels in hospitalised cats, to achieve improved patient welfare. Suggestions should be utilised alongside stress-reduction techniques already being used to help minimise emotional and physical disturbances in patients. Nursing patients holistically, and recognising individual lifestyle habits, will provide a clearer understanding of how the emotional state of the patient can change and be supported during hospitalisation.
The findings of the current study provide a unique perspective on feline behaviour in the time immediately after admission. Veterinary professionals should utilise the admissions process fully to allow interventions to be performed when stress levels appear to be at their lowest, therefore safeguarding the welfare of the animal.
Although trends suggest that the stress levels of feline patients rise following admission, all veterinary patients need regular stress assessments to help identify and correct stress. It is the veterinary nurse ' s duty, therefore, to ensure that stress levels do not unduly affect the welfare of patients or those working with them.
Acknowledgements
The authors thank Emma Gatehouse BVMedSci, BVMBVS, MSc, MRCVS, for her help in designing the ethogram, and the veterinary patients and professionals who continue to inspire them.
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