The Cat Vet

22/03/2024

Quick dash to the post office with a bag load of online book and catnip orders on route to the school run. Mums never stop. Have a good weekend everyone!😻

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08/03/2024

Celebrating everything it is to be a modern woman today! The highs, the lows and the Aunt Flo’s.

To all those fellow out there trying to succeed in so many different roles. It’s not easy! Don’t forget how amazing you are!! 🤩

And to those who are treading water and feeling less wonderful right now, know that this moment will pass. Your is still there, it just needs a polish, some TLC and the tincture of time.

Happy International Women’s Day everyone!

And as they say, behind every amazing woman is … an equally amazing CAT! 🐈‍⬛


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07/03/2024

🌎📖🤔🐈‍⬛ 💭 Happy World Book Day! The purrfect oppurrrtunity for you and your children to get to know your cat’s inner most thoughts and feelings.

Pick up a copy at your local or a special signed copy from my online shop www.thecatvet.co.uk/shop

04/03/2024

Twiddling your opposable thumbs this lunchtime?

Why not join me and John Darvall on BBC
Radio Bristol at 12:50pm for a Q&A chat about my favourite animals?

29/02/2024

This image is literally dazzling! Sorry couldn’t resist - a group of zebras is called a dazzle!

Why am I posting about tabby horses and not tabby cats?

Because it’s today. An entire 24 hours dedicated to raising awareness of people with rare conditions, such as Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS) which also affects cats.

It’s a cause very close to my heart, that always makes me think of the saying “When you hear hoof beats, think horses, not zebras”.

For anyone unfamiliar with it, it’s an old medical idiom that reminds doctors & vets to look for common things (horses) first when trying to diagnose a patient, rather than jumping to the more unusual, rare possibilities (zebras). It means that 9 times out of 10, the straightforward explanation is the right one.

I respect this to a degree, but at the same time, I loathe it. Because if like me, you are that 1 in 10 patient, it’s easy to get overlooked or lost in the system that is geared for “horses”.

Cats and most humans don’t tend to read medical textbooks, as anyone who has watched an episode of House will completely understand.

My personal experiences have really affected how I approach my feline patients. They’ve made me a more empathetic vet and always remind me that sometimes when you hear hoofbeats, it really is a zebra!

26/02/2024

The Stories of Cats event on at was fantastic! Even bigger and better than before. I’m sure I’m not the only one who had a wonderful time!

was very keen to find a nice hot air vent to lie on after such a big day.
No doubt he’s resting off the tasty tuna and mackerel loins that attendees got to take away.
A Cathedral full of cat crazy people - can you blame him?

23/02/2024

Tickets purrlease! 🎟️
My favourite tuxedo kitty 🐈‍⬛ has invited me over to talk at again for the annual Stories of Cats day this . 🐈‍⬛ 🎤

This time I’ll be speaking about the wonder that is the feline body. There’ll be lots of cute cat pics and even some spreads from my book .

📖 ✍️ you can also get your 🐾 on some signed copies of my book and my scentsational blend🪴🐈 ‘Potion No. 9’.

😻🫶🏼🐟 Plus, Applaws UK are kindly donating some bonus takeaway munchables - a bonus treat for attendees cats for keeping the sofa warm in their absence. 😆 Be sure to LIKE this post and FOLLOW to stay up to date with their new look cat food range.

Really hoping Hodge’s primordial pouch will swing its way down the aisle to me again like last year when he made his grand entrance right as I was opening my talk. Cats and their impeccable timing eh!

Can’t wait to meet some of you there. It’s sure to be a day! 😺

11/10/2023

This lunchtime I was chatting to John Darvall again on about how to calculate a cat (or dog’s) human equivalent age. Spoiler alert ‼️ it’s not the seven year rule you might have heard about!

📻 ⏪ 🐈‍⬛ You can find out exactly how old your cat would be in human years and why it’s so important to know this figure, by playing it back with the BBCSounds speaker app. I’m on just before 1pm.

02/10/2023

from Celine and Willie!

There goes my clean washing! 🐈‍⬛🧺🙄

23/09/2023

These little Welsh kitties, Peanut, Laica and Casper, are having a very happy indeed. 🥳

🐈‍⬛🌿 This is their second order of my scentsational organic blend.

Here’s what their Mum, Marta had to say about it…

“They like ‘Potion Number 9’ a lot. Definitely much more than other commercial catnip brands” ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

It’s promoted by leading international cat charities and loved by cats from all corners of the UK, even the ones who don’t usually respond to catnip! Resident kitty can’t get enough of it either!

You can get your paws on some and my book from my website shop
www.thecatvet.co.uk/shop

09/09/2023

Willie the Wondercat isn’t sure what this whole sleeping with one leg bent thing is all about but he’s prepared to give it a go anyway. everyone!

15/07/2023

Sky News Thanks for asking me to help spread the word about the awful situation in Cyprus. 😿 Vets have been dealing with coronavirus and the misery that is FIP since the 1960s, but we've never seen anything like this. Let's stop it from getting to the UK!

https://news.sky.com/story/deadly-cat-virus-in-cyprus-could-be-potentially-catastrophic-for-uk-12920884

Up to 300,000 cats have died in Cyprus in an outbreak of a fatal feline coronavirus, and experts say it may have spread to other countries.

07/06/2023

Having a day in the garden enjoying the sunshine and all my beautiful roses. They’re definitely my favourite flowers and this year they are even more spectacular than ever before.

They smell absolutely amazing and even better, they are totally nontoxic to the felines in the household, so I’ve cut some to bring indoors!

15/05/2023

This lunchtime, I chatted about my favourite animals with the lovely Vic Minett from BBC Radio CWR for her Vicapedia slot.

Do you think our pet cats prefer to live as loners or in a group like lions? If you missed the show, listen back
on the BBC Sounds app or online at

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/live:bbc_radio_coventry_warwickshire

25/04/2023

I spent part of my childhood growing up in Australia 🇦🇺 so naturally ANZAC day was always a big part of my life.

All these years later and two decades back in the UK and I still stop on the 25th of April and remember the important role our ancestors played in making this world a better place.

24/04/2023

At a loose end this lunchtime? Why not join me and John Darvall on BBC Radio Bristol at 12:50pm for a Q&A chat about my favourite animals

22/04/2023

When a family member who’s travelling overseas pings you a message to say they’ve just spotted your book in the window display of a local US .

Has made their day and mine! 🤩

Thanks for your support 😻📖🥰 and happy

31/12/2022

Anyone else out there think parties are so overrated 🤔🥂???

I’ve got a much more exciting NYE planned here… introducing my pack (cat-themed of course!) 😷🤒💊☕️🛌💤

Fun Facts - did you know that…
1) My cute pink cat vet stethoscope 🐈‍⬛ 🩺 is actually designed for use in infant humans 👶🏼

2) Lung crackles and wheezes sound the same in cats as they do in little humans and ! 🫁🩻

We’ve been working our way through the medical encyclopaedia’s ‘childhood infectious disease’ chapter all year in this house, so I guess it’s only fitting that we end it with a doozy. Such kind, sharing children I have 🥴

Roll on 2023! A fresh start I hope🤞☺️

P.S. Just in case anyone out there doesn’t already know although great for relieving fever and pain in humans, paracetamol (or acetaminophen as it’s called overseas) and ibuprofen are TOXIC to kitties!

#2022

25/12/2022

Happy everyone! 📦 🌲 🐈‍⬛

May your have plenty of boxes to cosy up in and opportunities to come out & enjoy the Christmas magic when they feel like it.

20/12/2022

Far and away my favourite card this year! with love for our crazy cat family! Time spent with cats is definitely never wasted!!

15/12/2022

- not long now until the big day. How has your tree fared with your cats? 🎄🎁🌟

Or maybe that should be how have your cats fared with your tree, because believe it or not, Christmas trees are a danger to cats!

There's more about that and other common Christmas hazards in my blog post

https://www.thecatvet.co.uk/christmas-hazards-your-guide-to-a-vet-free-christmas-new-year.html

14/12/2022

Excited to find out that my cat book is now available in a new French edition. Just in time for too!

Looking forward to helping a whole new community of cat lovers to better understand their cats & give them the best life together.

12/12/2022

Someone got a VIP front row seat to watch his on BBC News this evening just before 6pm.

Everyone’s talking about the new England football team mascot ⚽️ 🥅 🐈 and I was invited to chat about the reality behind adopting animals while travelling abroad and the factors to consider when considering bringing them home to the UK.

10/12/2022

This little lad, Q, is lucky to be alive after visiting a not-so-cat-friendly vet recently!

Q is twelve & hadn’t been himself lately, bumping into things & having difficulty finding his food bowl. His devastated human was told that he wouldn’t last the week & needed euthanasia.

🆘 🐈‍⬛ Knowing something wasn’t right with the whole experience, she reached out to me for a second opinion.

❤️ A simple inexpensive blood pressure check showed his blood pressure was sky high. He had severe HYPERTENSION.

The first vet was right … Q was at risk of not surviving the week - undiagnosed hypertension is as life threatening as inappropriate euthanasia!

🤯 🧠 👀 Just like people with hypertension, cats can suffer with things like strokes, banging headaches & bleeding into the eyes. It’s little wonder poor Q felt rotten & couldn’t see where things were.

❤️ HYPERTENSION is a common old cat illness, but the good news is that it’s one of the easiest, most affordable diseases to diagnose, plus there’s an easy to give medication to treat it. ✅

📖 Thankfully Q is now on the road to recovery (not the crematorium) & is back to reading his ebook copy of my book with his lovely human & his co-cats. 😻

TAKE HOME MESSAGES…

🐈‍⬛ Find a cat friendly vet - ideally one that home visits

🐈‍⬛ Trust your gut, if something feels wrong about the vet care your cat is receiving, then you are 100% entitled to a 2nd opinion

🐈‍⬛ Our cats can’t speak but they can tell us what they’re thinking or feeling by changing their behaviour. But it’s up to us to NOTICE this & make an effort to understand them better -just as Q’s human has.

🐈‍⬛ Old age is most definitely NOT a disease! As cats age they’re just prone to lots of different illnesses, just like we are. Improving your awareness of the important symptoms can help get quicker treatment, relieve suffering & avoid premature, unnecessary euthanasia.

09/12/2022

Oooooh it’s a frosty out in the copse this morning. 🥶🍂🍁❄️

No surprises, all fifty four 🐈‍⬛ 🐾 🐾 are tucked up warmly inside and the catflap hasn’t had any use for days!

07/12/2022

Had our annual Lewis Girls family wreath making session in on the weekend. Here’s my creation… it’s a mix of Victorian styling and of course my two passions cats 🐈‍⬛ and 🥀 plus a bit of homegrown holly, ivy, fir and eucalyptus from my sister’s garden and tied together with whole lot of love🌲🌿😻

Cautionary note - this is for hanging OUTSIDE the house as some of these plants are toxic to cats!

07/12/2022

Had our annual Lewis Girls family wreath making session in on the weekend. Here’s my creation… it’s a mix of Victorian styling and of course my two passions cats 🐈‍⬛ and 🥀 plus a bit of homegrown ivy, fir and eucalyptus from my sister’s garden and tied together with whole lot of love🌲🌿😻

Cautionary note- this is for hanging OUTSIDE the house as some of these plants are toxic to cats!

30/11/2022

I visited Southwark Cathedral giftshop on the weekend to sign my books 📚 & set up a new display for my scentsational new 🌱 catnip range.

Resident cathedral cat, Hodge, gave it his official seal of approval with a cheeky face rub … so much so, that he managed to lose a whisker in the process 😹

You can get your paws on some yourself by visiting the cathedral or from my online shop https://www.thecatvet.co.uk/shop

19/11/2022

It’s duvet snuggles season. Happy everyone!

17/11/2022

My two little snuggle buddies enjoying some R&R

Although cats are innately solitary creatures, the right combination of cats in a space means they may even get comfort from each other’s company.

Biggest takeaway … Cats CAN be IF they have plenty of space and separate places for all the essentials in life - eating, drinking, resting, toileting, scratching and playing.

Of course they may choose to share these plentiful spots if both parties are in agreement… but that’s for them to decide, not us and we should always been on the lookout for unrest or subtle conflict.

Have you got cats that snuggle together?