Cat Care by Cat People

Meet The Team

Dr Claire Zentveld, BSc, BVM&S, GPCertFelP, MANZCVS (Medicine of Cats), MRCVS

The main thing to say about myself is I LOVE CATS! I am a cat ‘owner’ first and a cat vet second (We don’t really ‘own’ them, perhaps I should say ‘cat servant’). I completely understand the emotional upset of seeing your beloved cat when it’s sick or in pain, and the difficulties of giving medication to a cat.
I graduated from Edinburgh University in 1999, with all good intentions of eventually working in wildlife conservation. As happens, life had other ideas, and the further education in Wild Animal Health just didn’t happen! All for the best, as working in small animal practice allowed me to be around the species I’ve always loved the most.

Over the years I gravitated more towards feline-orientated professional development, as well as forming an interest in ultrasonography. In 2013 I passed the exam for a General Practitioner Certificate in Feline Practice (GPCertFelP), and in 2018 I sat my exams for the Membership of the Australian and New Zealand College of Veterinary Scientists (MANZCVS) in the Medicine of Cats. This is the equivalent of a Masters degree and a highly regarded qualification in the Feline Medicine world. From 2016 to 2018 I worked as part of the internal medicine team at Optivet Referrals in Havant, gaining experience and insight into more complex medical cases.

I founded Vet2Cat in 2019 after having had the idea in my head for about 5 years, while still working in general practice. Seeing cats in their own environments is so rewarding from the point of view of the veterinary team: they are so much more likely to be more relaxed and behave naturally. Also assessing its environment and social relations with other cats can help with understanding and tackling issues, and this enables us to advise you on how best to help your cat.

Estelle Pitt, RVN, Head Nurse

Having grown up with various pets I always wanted to work with animals, so I started on my vet nursing path with a 2-week stint at a vet practice doing work experience whilst at senior school. I then joined the same clinic straight after my last GCSE exam in 1990as a practice nurse.

I later decided to train as a Veterinary nurse and qualified in 1997. I have worked in various small animal practices over the years, always with a very keen interest in cat care and welfare, especially the golden oldies.

I am the slave to Samual, a Bengal cross, who I brought home as a stray kitten in 2018. He is a terror at times but can also be the most loving of felines (within his own limits). He is currently my only feline baby as I am not sure he would share me with another!

My role as a veterinary nurse is to help cats train/teach their ‘slaves/hoomans’ to understand their special feline needs and behaviours so they can all live a healthy life together both physically and emotionally.  Cats have their own language which can be tricky to understand or read at times as they are good at hiding when they are unwell, so we are here to help you know when they need a little extra TLC.

Shannon Davies, Veterinary Care Assistant

I am the new Veterinary Care assistant for Vet2Cat. I have been doing this role for over 6 years across different veterinary practices. I always knew I wanted to work with animals as a career since I left school. I attended college to study Animal Management Level 3 extended Diploma, and then graduated from University with a foundation Degree in Animal Management Behaviour and Welfare. Since then I’ve had a lot of experience with all kinds of animals from domesticated, wild and livestock, along side living with my own family pets including cats, dogs, hamsters, fish and horses.

This job is very rewarding; caring and treating other owners’ pets brings me great joy and knowing we can help others with our skill set and knowledge.

Ally Waidson VN, Locum Nurse

Ally was the original Vet2Cat vet nurse, working with Claire right from the start. She is now studying Biological Science at Reading university, but you may still see her filling in for holiday cover. 

Amber Chard, Administrative assistant

Amber is our admin lady. You may not see her out and about on visits but she is busy behind the scenes, helping everything run smoothly. She doesn’t have her own cat but grew up with many felines in her family over the years.Amber enjoys spending time with her young family, her whippet Penny, and her New Forest Pony, Zar Zar (the latter two pictured here!).