Animates Veterinary Clinic opens cat-only clinic at its Thurlby site, in The Green

Pet owners are being invited to the official opening of a new cat-only clinic.

Animates Veterinary Clinic has renovated a building at its Thurlby site, in The Green, to create a stress-free space for its feline patients.

The clinic has been a year in the making and is something Liz Hughes, a registered veterinary nurse at the practice, hopes will encourage more cats to come through their doors.

She said: “The majority of pet owners have cats, yet they are still the ones brought to the vet the least.

“The reason they [pet owners] don’t often bring them in is because cats get so anxious and stressed, so we want to encourage more owners to bring their cats.

“We have tried to create an environment that will help to minimise their stress levels.”

Liz said some of the measures they have taken to help cats feel more at ease included painting the walls in colours which cats can see – primarily shades of blue and yellow.

There will also be no mixing with other animals, including dogs, and staff working at the clinic will not handle other animals to ensure their scent is not present.

Liz added: “We’ve tried to make it feel as little like a clinic as possible to help cats that have had negative experiences at the vet – there won’t be the usual smells associated with veterinary practices.”

The cat-only clinic opened on Tuesday (July 2), with the official opening set to take place tomorrow (July 5), from 10am to 2pm.

Cat owners will have a chance to explore the facility, meet the team and ask questions.

There will also be a raffle with all proceeds going to Cats Protection.

Animates Veterinary Clinic was founded by Kirsty Smith in 2005, starting with the Thurlby clinic.

Soon after, she opened a second site in Market Deeping.