October 2020 Newsletter

October Newsletter Links

AVMA     Ocala Style Magazine    Ocala Gazette    Lap of Love Veterinary Hospice    Association for Pet Obesity Prevention

September 2020 Newsletter

August 2020 Newsletter

https://www.redcross.org/get-help/how-to-prepare-for-emergencies/pet-disaster-preparedness.html

Disaster Preparedness for Pets 

July 2020 Newsletter

     Welcome to summer, Brick City Cat Family!  We are continuing with our curbside business model for the month of July, and will evaluate at the end of each month going forward.  It gets hot out there in the parking lot waiting, so you are encouraged to make a drop off appointment in the morning, and go run errands or get a snack. Make sure your cell phone is charged and you are available.

     Please read the email you get before your visit carefully. It contains all the information you need to know about current policies and procedures. We need to receive the form attached on that email back ONE DAY BEFORE YOUR APPOINTMENT. Doing business during the Covid 19 era has led to a lot of extra steps we must take to ensure your safety, and it does take more time.

     We are continuing to be very busy. Please schedule your routine visits at least a week in advance. We need to leave space in our schedule for urgent and emergency cases.

     New for July is good news about Care Credit. Purchases over $200 will now have the option of 12 months no interest on financing. You can apply online to carecredit.com if you are not already signed up.  https://www.carecredit.com/ Care Credit is great to have as an exclusive medical expenses card.

     July is a special month for other reasons. It is National Lost Pet Prevention Month, and National Pet Hydration Awareness Month.  We offer PetLink microchips here at Brick City. https://www.petlink.net/  Weekly we hear of pets reunited with owners due to the effectiveness of microchips. 

     A nice link about cat dehydration is here https://www.cathealth.com/cat-care/how-to/2233-dehydration-in-cats-how-can-you-tell-if-a-cat-is-dehydrated.

     There are 2 more recent features on our website. We have added a section dedicated to dental information https://www.brickcitycat.com/dentals.pml, and a section explaining euthanasia https://www.brickcitycat.com/euthanasia.pml. We hope that some of your questions and concerns may be answered here. We are allowing our owners to be with their cats during the euthanasia process.

     We are all hoping to get through this year as safely as possible. Out of concern for the health and safety of our clients and staff, if you or anyone in your family has been exposed to Covid 19 or is experiencing a fever, cough, or shortness of breath, or has traveled to a high risk area in the last 14 days, please inform us so we can schedule appropriately. We understand how frustrating it is for you, but are trying to keep our staff safe to continue to be here for your babies. We hope to be able to see all your faces again when at last Covid 19 is under control.

We are here for you!

Dr. Salpeter

Dr. Myrick

Staff of Brick City Cat Hospital

June 2020 Newsletter

Dear Brick City Cat Hospital Family,

       We hope that you are safe and well during this unprecedented time in our country. The stress we are all under can affect our beloved cats, and we are here for you when you need us. Thankfully we have our cats as emotional support!  We are exceedingly grateful for all of you- our wonderful clients.

       For the month of June we will continue curbside service to keep our clients and staff safe, by practicing and following recommended guidelines for social distancing and safety. 

       We apologize for our new format taking longer for your appointment.  We ask you to bear with us and bring extra doses of patience. Our staff is keeping to the strictest standards of sanitation, and have to glove and mask each time we go outside, which is why there is a time lag before we come and get your pet from the car. It also takes longer for communication as we need to review our exam with you, and prepare estimate for any services. To make the waiting easier starting June 1 we are offering morning drop off appointments for our existing clients, so you don’t have to stay in the parking lot in the heat.  For a drop off, it is imperative that we can reach you by cell phone for consultation, and that you have filled out the paperwork emailed to you prior to the appointment for our review.

     We know that the stress everyone is feeling keeps people on edge. Our hospital’s promise is to provide a calm oasis for your pet. We use soothing scents and pheromones and have added the scientifically proven calming cat music on our website at https://www.brickcitycat.com/music-for-cats.pml that you can use at home, too.

     We are continuing with our policy of remote payment and paperwork. Credit card numbers are punched in directly to the keypad with no record being kept in the hospital or on the computer.

     The measures we are taking to receive paperwork got off to a rocky start for some. Those of you with computer skills had no issue filling out the forms and emailing them back, but it was a large learning curve for others. If you are unable to scan and print history documentation, you can always snap a picture and send it to our email. Remember, we can help with you these issues by calling the front staff.

     As before, we are continuing to prioritize urgent and medically necessary appointments. We ask that routine visits be scheduled at least a week in advance, to allow time for urgent cases. We are accepting boarding reservations.  Boarding patients, as always, need to be current on their routine examinations and vaccinations. 

     Please call us 48 hours in advance before needing medication refills at our office to allow us time for processing. For internet Rx and commercial pharmacy, we ask for 72-hour notice.   We will call you when your refill is ready for pickup. Payment can be taken over the phone at that time, and we will bring it out to your car when you arrive.

     Our website https://www.brickcitycat.com/ has been recently updated and contains copies of forms that can be downloaded directly from the menu. Our Online Store is a valuable resource that allows you to order supplies, food, and prescriptions to be shipped to your home directly https://brickcitycathospital.securevetsource.com/site/view/117499_Home.pml. 

     Our facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/BrickCityCatHospital posts daily, offering informative articles sourced nationally concerning cats, and our facebook group BrickCityCatHospital Group allows our owners to connect to each other through shared humor and love of cats.

       We are here for you and your pets in this stressful time. Thank you for your continue patience and understanding.  Please don’t hesitate to call us for an appointment.  

Dr. Salpeter

Dr. Myrick

The Staff of Brick City Cat Hospital

Remember June 4 is National Hug Your Cat Day!

May Newsletter

Dear Brick City Cat Hospital Family,

            We hope you and your families (both human and furbabies) are staying healthy during the Covid 19 era. We have passed through the first 6 weeks of this shutdown and have evolved policies for the safety of both our staff and our clients. We hope to keep you abreast of current issues and practices by embracing technology to communicate with you.

            We ask that if you or a family member are ill or have been exposed to Covid 19 please let us know so that we can discuss options for treating your cat.

            Firstly, our staff is all healthy and operating at peak efficiency. We have adapted to a concierge business model that keeps each client safe in their own car during the appointment time. All the forms that are needed for the hospital have been converted to a fillable format that we are asking our owners to return one day ahead of their appointment time. This is the same form you would normally be given on a clipboard when you arrive. The purpose of the form is to ascertain the medical condition of your pet On That Day, which is why we need it for each visit.

            Our patients have been handling the appointments well. We are emailing each owner several days ahead to tell them what to expect. We are taking only phone payments at this time to reduce transmission. We ask that you prepare to make yourself comfortable in your car for your appointment time, and bring a cell phone fully charged. Our technicians ask that you remain in your car for the duration of your visit to maintain a six foot distance from our staff and other clients.

            While continuing to prioritize urgent and medically necessary appointments, we are also scheduling routine visits this month. We ask that these routine visits be scheduled at least a week in advance, to allow time for urgent cases. We are accepting boarding reservations this month as well. Boarding patients, as always, need to be current on their routine examinations and vaccinations. 

            Please call us 24 hours in advance before needing medication refills to allow us time for processing. We will call you when your refill is ready for pickup. Payment can be taken over the phone at that time, and we will bring it out to your car when you arrive.

             Our website https://www.brickcitycat.com/ has been recently updated and contains copies of forms that can be downloaded directly from the menu. Our Online Store is a valuable resource that allows you to order supplies, food, and prescriptions to be shipped to your home directly.  Our facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/BrickCityCatHospital posts daily, offering informative articles sourced nationally concerning cats, and our facebook group BrickCityCatHospital Group allows our owners to connect to each other through shared humor and love of cats.

            We are here for you and your pets in this stressful time. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to us when your pet needs care.

Dr. Salpeter

Dr. Myrick

The Staff of Brick City Cat Hospital