The Cat Whispurrr, Barnegat, NJ, USA.
South Austin Cat Hospital, Austin, TX, USA.
J Feline Med Surg. 2023 Sep;25(9):1098612X231201683. doi: 10.1177/1098612X231201683.
The '2023 AAFP/IAAHPC Feline Hospice and Palliative Care Guidelines' are authored by a Task Force of experts in feline hospice and palliative care convened by the American Association of Feline Practitioners and the International Association for Animal Hospice and Palliative Care. They emphasize the specialized communication skills and ethical considerations that are associated with feline hospice and palliative care, with references to other feline practice guidelines for a more complete discussion of specific diseases, feline pain management best practices and cat friendly interactions. A comprehensive, multi-step hospice consultation allows for tailoring the approach to both the cat and the family involved in the care. The consultation includes establishing 'budgets of care', a concept that greatly influences what can be done for the individual cat. The Guidelines acknowledge that each cat and caregiver will be different in this regard; and establishing what is reasonable, practical and ethical for the individual cat and caregiver is important. A further concept of the 'care unit' is introduced, which is extrapolated from human hospice and palliative care, and encourages and empowers the caregiver to become a part of the cat's care every step of the way. Ethical considerations include a decision-making framework. The importance of comfort care is emphasized, and the latest information available about how to assess the quality of a cat's life is reviewed. Emotional health is as equally important as physical health. Hence, it is fundamental to recognize that compromised physical health, with pain and/or illness, impairs emotional health. A limited discussion on euthanasia is included, referring to the AAFP's End of Life Educational Toolkit for recommendations to help the caregiver and the veterinary professional ensure a peaceful passing and transition - one that reflects the best interests of the individual cat and caregiver.
2023 年 AAFP/IAAHPC 猫科动物姑息治疗指南由美国兽医协会和国际动物姑息治疗协会召集的猫科动物姑息治疗专家工作组撰写。它们强调了与猫科动物姑息治疗相关的专业沟通技巧和道德考量，并参考了其他猫科动物实践指南，以更全面地讨论特定疾病、猫科动物疼痛管理最佳实践和猫友好互动。全面的、多步骤的姑息治疗咨询允许根据猫和参与护理的家庭的情况量身定制治疗方法。咨询包括建立“护理预算”，这一概念极大地影响了可以为每只猫做些什么。该指南承认，每只猫和照顾者在这方面都有所不同；为每只猫和照顾者确定合理、实际和符合道德的护理方案非常重要。进一步引入了“护理单元”的概念，这一概念是从人类姑息治疗中推断出来的，并鼓励和授权照顾者在猫的护理过程中的每一步都成为护理的一部分。道德考量包括决策框架。强调了舒适护理的重要性，并审查了有关如何评估猫生活质量的最新信息。情感健康与身体健康同样重要。因此，必须认识到，身体状况不佳，伴有疼痛和/或疾病，会损害情感健康。指南还包括了对安乐死的有限讨论，提到了 AAFP 的临终教育工具包中的建议，以帮助照顾者和兽医专业人员确保和平过渡——这反映了每只猫和照顾者的最佳利益。
