I have always had a connection with animals, when I was 5 our family dog (Betina) was about 14 years old and I wanted her to jump up on her kennel, despite warnings from my mum not to do that, Betina bit me on my top lip.I still have a tiny scar to this day, ever since then I have known I wanted to work with animals. I think what has drawn me to our feline friends is the mystery they hold. I love the sound of a purring cat. I just melt away
I love working at The Cat Pad & Cat Clinic – it is an awesome group of people and everyone is willing to help each other grow. We share the same passion for our feline friends, we are always learning new things about them and sharing our knowledge which is wonderful. My goal is to make our patients and boarding cats feel relaxed and safe. I like to earn their trust and make a potentially stressful situation a more pleasant experience for them.
Elexis is my little feline shadow, she is everything to me – I love falling asleep listening to her purring away. She is 10 years old in December ’18, I have had her since she was12 weeks old, She is a Domestic Short Hair. She loves to bake in the sun and sleep on my bed. She is fairly lively and keeps me on my toes. In my spare time I love Dancing, going to see Musicals, Scrapbooking & Land-sailing. I also play World of Warcraft and am a regular at Supanova and Oz Comic Con.
I studied animal services straight from school and once I locked onto vet nursing, I couldn't imagine any other job. I love the animals and the medicine, I love that every day is something different, and I love being apart of a team of people all striving towards good health and happiness for our animals.
When I was younger I fostered kittens, volunteered at a cat shelter, and worked at a cattery. In 2022 I saw that The Cat Clinic was hiring a cat nurse and it just seemed like the next logical step! In general practice vets, about 80% of patients are dogs so it seemed like a feline-only clinic was the purrfect place for someone like me.
My goal with every cat I meet is to give them the least stressful experience possible. As a mum of 2 extremely anxious cats (both in very different ways), I understand that every cat needs an individual approach catered to them and their personalities, and try my best to deliver that to them.
Our Brady Bunch is made up of me, my husband, our 2 cats (Gambino and Tyler), 1 dog (Fergie), and 3 cockatiels (Kendrick, Frank, Missy). Our babies mean absolutely everything to us. They all came from bleak pasts with their fair share of mental and physical issues so it is extra important to us that we show them the love they deserve every day.
In my spare time I like to explore nature, bake vegan treats, and take care of my large collection of plants.
I grew up in a multi cat household eventhough my dad is very allergic. My mom made it very clear you can have me with cats or not at all.
We also had pet bunnies, hamsters and goldfish.
I was 17 years old when in school we had to talk to our guidance counselor about our future. I had absolutely no idea what I wanted to do. I went home one Wednesday after school and did what anyone would do, fill out one of those online job indicator questionnaires. Later that day I called my mom at work telling her I wanted to be a veterinary nurse.
I graduated in Belgium with a Bachelor degree in agriculture and biotechnology in 2010. I pursued my career by moving to London, where I became a qualified and registered veterinary nurse with the Royal College of Veterinary Science.
Throughout my 13 year nursing career I’ve always said my dream job would be a cat only clinic. When I saw the job advertised earlier this year I jumped at the opportunity and here I am.
I have recently become a mon to a little fluff monster named Turtle Squish Cupid. He is the love of my life. I have taken it onto myself to take him everywhere with me. If you see a cat on a lead in St Kilda it's probably myself and Squishy. I pride myself in treating every cat that walks through the door like my own fur baby. I want them to be as happy and as comfortable as they can be at all times. Fortunately I do have my sister that lives here. She has two gorgeous felines, Roger and Margeaux, who I love being auntie to and have been long time fans of The Cat Clinic. The rest of my family lives on the other side of the world and I miss them dearly.
I am a keen traveller and try and be out and about as much as possible. I try and make everyday count and fill my life with new experiences
I have always had animals in my life. My first memory of a pet was our ginger and white male cat ‘Raffles’. He was a beautiful and proud cat and taught me to be kind and gentle and to respect animals. Then ‘Gypsy’, another ginger boy followed, and the love affair continued. He was my boy, even though he was the family cat, as I always felt our bond was especially special and pure. He lived on my lap when he could. He was always found curled up in my room on my bed. I was born with a sympathetic heart for animals, although I have and will always love cats above all else, I am an animal lover through and through. So, with this history in mind, it was to no one’s surprise who knew me well, that I would eventually end up following this love into Veterinary Nursing then into The Cat Clinic. I have 2 fur babies:
Harry is my youngest fur boy. He is very mischievous as a typical ginger boy is expected to be! He is always looking to play or run or chase anything and everything that crosses his path, including his sister, which she never appreciates. He is very loving and loves his food! Ruby is the only girl I have ever had the privilege of owing as I had only had boys growing up. She is a most intelligent and proud cat, who appreciates daily conversation and head rubs.
Despite being a cat lover from birth (unavoidable with the surname Katz), it took me years to discover
that veterinary nursing was an actual proffesion! In my late 20's I started volunteering on weekends,
caring for felines at my local animal shelter and quickly began to ponder how I could get paid to do such
a wonderful and rewarding job. I sought advice from my cat's vet - Dr Richard at The Cat Clinic Prahran
and was lucky enough to leave with a junior nurse position. I left my career in fashion behind and
enrolled in a veterinary nursing certificate. That was back in 2007, and I'm still here!
My goal in every interaction I have with cats, is to quickly assess their personality and demeanour so I
can approach and handle each patient in a way that best minimises the stress of an unfamiliar
environment - I want to make each cat feel safe, loved and comfortable as well as giving them the best
chance for health and recovery. I also love working with and learning from the vets as I find the medical
side of the job incredibly interesting.
My husband and I were a happy family of six, with our four felines - Ragdoll's 'Rupert' & 'Bellatrix',
Burmese 'Ari' and Singapura 'Bert' before we introduced a 5th human child - our daughter Birdie in 2015.
Since 2018 we were devestated to one-by-one lose three of our furry children to lymphoma and heart
disease, and then lose our daughter's sweet new Singapura kitten 'Kylo Shark' to FIP (before treatment
became available). With all that loss, I am very familiar to the grieving process of saying goodbye to a
much loved pet. Gladly, as of 2022 we have welcomed a beautiful rescue Ragdoll 'Peaches' and the
silliest, funniest most captivating alien of Cornish Rex 'Khensu' to our clan.
I consider the whole Cat Clinic team an extended family and feel incredibly proud to have trained and
work in such an exemplary clinic with such knowledgeable and caring staff. Aside from my love of cats, I have many diverse interests, from literature, film & televison, to art, fashion and food. I've also co- authored two cookbooks with my chef husband, the first featured our old Ragdoll Rupert on the cover and the latest is entirely plant based - in line with my 'reducetarian' values.
I always wondered why people put so much emphasis on people medicine and not enough on our non-human companions, so inherently I had to strive to do my best to help out our furry friends. Every day it seems like I keep adopting more and more cats, so of course when I heard about a cat specific veterinary clinic I just had to do what I could to be a part of the team!
A huge goal of mine (which I’m sure everyone should relate to) is to help every single cat I meet be the healthiest and happiest little one they can be, from kitten to senior. Working at the Cat Clinic has been an evolution from being a crazy cat dad, to a dedicated cat health professional.
My partner Jessie and I have 7 (YES - SEVEN) little furry kids running around Benson, Bronson, Coco, Dakota, Horace, MJ, Nala and Romeo. I absolutely love my furry friends dearly and I’m more on the fence of I’m currently their pet and not the other way around. Everything we do seems to be for them as they have more toys and furniture in the house than we do
When I finished high school, I wasn’t too sure what I wanted to do for a living. I studied English for a year and then my partner and I decided to go and have an adventure in Australia. When I arrived, I thought I would start from scratch and try to work with animals. I found a job as a cat attendant in a cattery and I loved it. When the Cat Clinic was looking for a nurse I applied straight away, but as they were looking for an experienced nurse, they offered me a position as a cat attendant in their cattery with the possibility to evolve and work every now and then at the clinic. I knew I wanted to dedicate most of my day to doing something that I have been passionate about since I was a kid and am still as passionate today as I was then. I love taking care of cats and Australia made that dream possible.
Personally, I can’t think of a better way to look after our feline friends than to have a facility dedicated to their wellbeing. I want the best for each and every cat. Being as gentle as possible and making friends with them, I want to reassure them if they are scared.
I share my life with my partner, and my two beautiful ragdolls Pixel and Backup. They are my family and my world; the rest of my family is back in France.
They mean the world to me. I have waited pretty much all my life to get my own cats as half of my family were allergic to cats. I guess being 17.000km away from my family was far enough to get my own cats. I can’t remember when I first fell in love with ragdolls, but it became an obsession.
In my spare time I bake all sort of cakes and pastries. I am also very crafty and love creating things for my cats. I ride my motorbike whenever I am not too lazy to put on my gear on!
I think I was always destined to work with animals and have loved them for as long as I can remember. My dad worked for Parks Victoria and he would often bring animals home for us to take care of, including – koalas, echidnas, seabirds, possums, even a seal. I have always been a cat person and even loved them before I could talk. When I was very young I used to point at cats and try and imitate their sounds – because I didn’t have any words to describe them.
Before I went to university, I volunteered at the RSPCA in cat quarantine. It was hard work and a big eye opener, but it was also very rewarding, and I loved it. I was desperate for all the cats to pass the test and go to loving homes and would spend lots of time trying to help them to open up. My brother told me about the first ever cat only clinic in Melbourne and told me that I should put my resume in, even though they weren’t advertising a job. Thankfully I did, they called, and I was hired soon after. I loved it from the moment I stepped through the door and haven’t left after 17+ wonderful years.
My goal with every single cat that I meet is to calmly approach them and try to make them comfortable. I understand it’s hard to be in a different environment especially at a veterinary clinic. I believe that every cat deserves to be given the time and space to trust you – obviously, that won’t happen instantly, so we need to be patient and understand that each cat is different and needs to be approached accordingly, but always with love and kindness.
I have one cat called Dimity. I used to foster cats for a rescuer and Dimity was one of them. I knew she needed special attention as soon as I saw her. She was rescued when she was 10 months old and was absolutely terrified of everything! I knew she needed someone special to look after her as she was so timid.She is still timid but also such a sweet cat. She used to walk into the room I was in and start purring. She just loves being loved and demands pats all the time. It takes her a long time to trust someone but when she does, she loves you with all of her heart. Unfortunately she isn't the brightest girl, but I love her anyway. Dimity means the absolute world to me. I could not imagine my life without a furry foot step behind me. Dimity and I have been through so much together and I couldn't have done it without my beautiful girl by my side every day. She makes me so happy and brings smiles to my face every day with her cute antics and sweetness.
I love the simple pleasures in life like picnics, walks, the forest, a good book, coffee, movies, and the winter months when I can curl up with a blanket and my girls.
