Meet the team
Feline Centre
Our state-of-the-art Small Animal Referral Hospital offers a comprehensive, multi-disciplinary dedicated feline referral service to veterinary surgeons across the UK.
The Feline Centre at Langford Vets is internationally renowned for being a Centre of excellence for cats. We aim to ensure that all cats visiting our Centre are treated in a relaxed, comfortable environment with sympathetic and gentle care. We are proud that our facilities and dedicated feline staff can help your cat’s visit to be calm and stress-free. We are a Gold Standard International Cat Care Clinic and are passionate about providing the highest level of care to cats and their owners.
All of our specialist vets work to support the Feline Centre, please see individual service pages for their biographies.
We know about cats
Our Feline Centre has the largest group of European and American Veterinary Specialists in the South West. We have specialists in feline internal medicine, soft tissue and orthopaedic surgery, anaesthesia, imaging, critical care, clinical pathology, neurology, cardiology, oncology as well as rehabilitation and behaviour to ensure a holistic, multi-disciplinary approach for all cats. We are proud to have three recognised RCVS Feline Medicine Specialists, the largest group in the UK. The specialists work with our dedicated team of feline specific nurses and animal care assistants to provide the highest standards of feline care.
Our staff are recognised widely for their feline expertise and commonly lecture to vets, nurses and owners about feline diseases and cat friendly veterinary care. Compassionate cat care is core to how we work, and an essential aspect of teaching undergraduate nursing and veterinary students in our feline medicine rotation.
Facilities
The Centre has the following Feline Only Facilities:
- Waiting Room
- Consult Rooms
- Intensive Care Pod
- Ward
- Procedures room
- Long Stay Ward with cattery style pens
- Surgical Theatres
- Hyperthyroid treatment centre
All are fully equipped with feline-friendly and feline-specific equipment.
Our specialities include:
Services:
Advice for travelling with a cat to the Feline Centre
What happens if my cat is hospitalised?
Advice for medicating your cat
Treatment of Feline Infectious Peritonitis (FIP)-updated statement August 2021
Recently there have been new developments in the treatment of FIP using anti-viral agents. Successful treatment with two anti-viral drugs has been described in several experimental studies. However, until August 2021 anti-viral drugs were unavailable to veterinarians to use legally in the UK and black-market forms of GS-441524 (a nucleoside analogue) and GC376 (a protease inhibitor) were being sourced by some clients for the management of FIP in their pets. The situation has very recently changed and remdesivir (a prodrug for GS-441524) is now legally available for veterinarians to prescribe for cats diagnosed with FIP (Veklury (remdesivir; Gilead Sciences), availability may vary dependent on demand for human treatment; and a reformulated form of remdesivir from BOVA UK). Remdesivir does not have a specific veterinary license (although it can be legally used under the veterinary ‘Cascade’), is costly (treatment courses cost ‘000s), and we are learning as a profession how to use it most effectively with evolving clinical experience.
It is strongly recommended that where a diagnosis of FIP is suspected, confirmation of the disease is first sought where feasibly and ethically possible. This is to ensure that cats without FIP are treated optimally, other diseases (e.g., of the heart or liver) are not missed, and that those with FIP are treated appropriately and their owners managed compassionately. Our clinicians at the Feline Centre are happy to discuss potential and confirmed cases of FIP, as well as their suitability for anti-viral treatment with primary veterinarians. We offer a referral teleconsultation service as well as hospital appointments to assist with the management of cats. Please contact us via sah@langfordvets.co.uk or via our advice service. Unfortunately, we cannot offer advice directly to pet owners without referral to the Feline Centre.
We cannot condone or promote the use of black-market versions of these anti-viral products - as these are of unknown quality, efficacy, toxicity, and longevity. As before discussion of dose, preparation, frequency of administration, side-effects/adverse effects, or monitoring of treatment will not be entered into with either referring vet or Feline Centre client in accordance with the RCVS code of conduct. Were a Feline Centre client to volunteer that they are administering these products to their cat then we would be prepared to monitor their cat's clinical parameters and to discuss palliative care when appropriate, on the strict understanding that our role is to ensure that the cat's welfare is not compromised. It should also be noted that it is impossible to predict adverse drug reactions between any licensed veterinary treatment alongside owner-sourced medication; therefore, ideally, these should not be administered concurrently.
More information can be found on the University of California, Davis website. This is the group that have performed the seminal work on the treatment of FIP in cats.
Davis Paper regarding black market drugs University of California
More general FIP information can be found on the University of California, Davis website.
Suzanne Rudd - Head Feline Nurse
Charlotte Roberts - Feline and Radioactive Iodine Nurse
Jade Sutherland - Feline Medicine Nurse
Zoë Blews - Radioiodine Nurse
Kimberley Whalen - Feline Nurse
Chelsie Bale - Feline Animal Care Assistant
Feline Fixed Price List
Hyperthyroid Assessment and Treatment £3900
- Assessment visit includes initial consultation, 2 days hospitalisation, diagnostic imaging and bloods.
- Treatment visit includes admit consult, 2-3 days hospitalisation before treatment, diagnostics, bloods, sedation, iodine treatment and subsequent 2 weeks hospitalisation.
Hyperthyroid Carcinoma Treatment Package (4 weeks hospitalisation) £5900
- Assessment visit includes initial consultation, 2 days hospitalisation, diagnostic imaging and bloods.
- Carcinoma treatment visit includes admit consult, 4 weeks hospitalisation, iodine treatment, additional diagnostics and bloods.
Hyperthyroid Additional Week Hospitalisation (standard and carcinoma) £350
- 1 weeks additional dedicated long stay accommodation and management of handling and waste.
Hyperthyroid Study Revisits (6 and 12 months)
- admit, echo and blood pressure - free of charge with discounted blood tests
All prices correct as at 01/08/23, these are indicative and subject to change
Some of our specialised implants and products are sourced from abroad. Due to the current volatility in the international financial market our costs and therefore prices may change. Any adjustments would be discussed during the consultation.
