My Story

As a child, I wanted to be a zookeeper from an early age.  I went to UW-Madison intending to study wild cats.  As I learned more about myself, I realized that companion animal medicine was a better fit for my personality.

I entered the veterinary field having a love and understanding of cats in a world where most professionals speak dog.  I understand and celebrate the subtlety and beauty of the feline mind.  Even as a natural introvert, I found that I was in my element when talking to people about their cats.  In the world of veterinary behavior, I found my calling.  From my first veterinary job at a cat clinic where I assisted with veterinary behavior consults, I moved to managing a team in a mixed animal practice.  I then moved to my current position where I have created and developed our low stress handling program for cats and dogs.  

As I’ve watched the field of low stress handling evolve in the veterinary field, I have realized that there is a niche area of cat care that I can fill.  Many cat behavior specialists excel at explaining the concepts of feline care in a clinical way.  This is scientifically educational but can be hard to translate into practical use.  On the other side of the equation is the cat pet parent who loves their cats but finds them hard to understand.  Caught in the middle are those veterinary staff who have a natural understanding of dog behavior but find cats to be unpredictable.  With Calm Cat Counseling, I have designed programs to bridge these gaps.