Medicating cats can be extremely difficult, and a source of great stress for both owners and cats. iCatCare’s Easy to Give Awards were designed to acknowledge, reward, encourage and improve therapeutic compliance and feline welfare by recognising POM-V products that make administering medicines to cats genuinely easier. The Easy to Give Awards were initially only available for POM-V products (or equivalent veterinary medicines authority regulation outside the UK). Over time, this requirement has been relaxed, recognising that as data on product safety and efficacy has been generated, some POM-V products are recategorised as GSL (General Sale List) in some countries.

International Cat Care has recently made the decision to move away from a discretionary award to an ‘Easy to Give^TM ISFM Approved’ certification programme. This will continue to encourage the development of veterinary products with improved compliance and provide vets and owners with confidence in administering the product, whilst making the process of how this certification is awarded transparent.

iCatCare will consider veterinary products for Easy to Give^TM Approved certification if they are:

• Innovative, safe and particularly easy for owners to administer to cats
• Minimise the number of times an owner has to administer medicine to the cat

What is assessed?

Easy to Give^TM Approved certification is made after formal and structured evaluation of the product by iCatCare. The certification is based on both the product and its presentation (not simply on the active ingredient) and the certification is granted within the following framework. We require:

• Evidence of efficacy and safety from the licensing authority* at the level of POM-V (or equivalent for products licensed and evaluated outside of the UK)
• Additional relevant verifiable data on safety*, efficacy* or administration must be clearly displayed on the packaging including highly visible, clear warnings where appropriate
• Evidence of the ease of administration of the product
• Clear and responsible owner advice and information on the product and its administration including the route, means and dosing schedule
• Results of palatability trials for all oral medications where possible

The product is then assessed externally by a selected panel of ISFM veterinarians members and structured feedback from them will be sought.

The Easy to Give^TM ISFM Approved Product Mark