I’ve always loved animals. When I was growing up we lived close to the beach and there were a number of stray cats that lived amongst the rocks. I’d frequently go down and feed them. We rescued one young cat “Wuzzy” (whose namesake came from “was he” a girl or boy), which became very apparent when she gave birth to kittens a week later. Our Silky Terrier gave birth within the same week, and suddenly we had a fur family of 10! I was hooked, and proclaimed that I wanted to be a veterinarian at the age of 7.
My interest in medicine continued to develop over the years. I was fascinated by an anatomy book that belonged to my father. It had semi-translucent pages that allowed you to construct the human body one system at a time. My father always hoped that I would become a doctor, as he had wanted to be.Mid-way through my veterinary degree I did work experience at the Cat Clinic in Brisbane. I loved the idea of feline-only practice, so pestered them constantly until they offered me a position there 10 months after graduation. After 2 years in feline practice, I decided that I not only wanted to work with cats, but that I wanted to specialise in feline medicine, which led me to undertake a 2-year residency at the University of Sydney. Love ultimately brought me down to the Cat Clinic in Melbourne to be with Richard. I’m a firm believer that all you need in life is love and a cat.Cats are fascinating. Every individual cat has different personality traits. I enjoy getting to know each and every one (and their servant/s!) and gain their trust. In doing so, I hope that I can make their visit as enjoyable as possible, as well as provide them with the exceptional health care that they all deserve.Richard and I are fortunate to share our lives with 4 fabulous felines: Stella (aka Stella Bella), a 11yo female Oriental, that considers herself queen of the household. She loves being spanked hard on the bottom (she will scream at you if you stop!), and is constantly in search of any heat source. Stirling (aka Grey man or Stirly Whirly), an 10yo male Russian Blue that is very loveable and clearly gifted. He loves the simple things in life, from autumn leaves to tuna sashimi. Billie (aka Fatso or Brown cat), an 15yo female Burmese, is the newest addition to the household (and is yet to be accepted by Stella…). She loves cheese, catnip and belly rubs (fortuitously her belly is more than ample!). We recently adopted a 1 year old Russian Blue - Jojo, she hasinjected a level of energy and crazy to the home.
When I’m not at the clinic, you will find me at Pilates, or on the couch with a cat (or FOUR) and a glass of wine. After all, time spent with cats is never wasted (who could doubt Sigmund Freud!).
