Veterinairans: Dr Richard Gowan, Dr Amy Lingard, Dr Sally Coggins, Dr Carolyn O'Brien
Nurses: Sarah Bourke, Georgia Puttock, Jessie Scholes, Gosia Anderst, Audra Papworth, Melissa Mathieson
Support Staff:, Natalie Mutimer
Veterinarians
Dr Richard Gowan
BVSc(Hons) MACVSc(Feline Medicine) CMAVA
Feline Veterinarian
Richard graduated from the University of Queensland Veterinary School in 1998. He worked for one year in a large companion animal hospital in Canberra. Following this he moved back to Brisbane to pursue his ideal of working in a cat-only hospital at the Creek Road Cat Clinic. This is Australia’s largest and most respected cat-only hospital and home of Australia’s only Kidney transplant unit for cats. Over 5 years, he had the fantastic opportunity to work in a team of cat-loving Vets and nurses under the tutelage of Dr. Vic Menrath, Australia's first Feline Specialist.
He regularly presents lectures on feline medicine at Veterinary conferences and is actively involved in continuing eduction in all areas of feline health and medicine. He is a member of the American Board of Feline Practitioners and the Cornell Feline Health Centre. Richard has served as the President of the Melbourne Metropolitan Practitioners board and the Victorian branch of the AVA for the past 5 years.
His aim at The Cat Clinic is to provide high quality compassionate care exclusively for cats, as well as providing the most up to date and optimal choices for your cat’s health. Richard consults closely with Specialists in all aspects of Veterinary Medicine and surgery. Richard has a particular interest in renal medicine, ultrasonography and geriatric feline medicine. His real passion is long term pain & osteoarthritis management. He lectures routinely on this field in Australia and internationally.
Richard & Amy have four cats: Harper a talkative fat Tonkinese, Soy a mischievous sock eating Tonkinese, Stella a lively lithe tabby oriental and their most recent addition Stirling a brilliant little Russian Blue (THE BEST CAT IN THE WORLD). In his spare time, you might find him kayaking on the Yarra River, chasing a small white ball around a golf course or in any café that serves great coffee.
Richard's professional qualifications and post-graduate training include:
- Bachelor of Veterinary Science (Honours) UQ 1998
- Post graduate Distance Education course (Feline Medicine) 2000
- Membership of the Australian College of Vet Scientists in Feline Medicine in 2003
- President of the Melbourne Branch of the Australian Veterinary Association 2007-2011
- Board member for the Victorian Branch of the Australian Vet Association 2010 - present
- Regular lecturer for the Centre for Veterinary Education on Feline health
- Presented lectures in Portugal, Spain, Hong, Kong and China regarding pain management in cats
 |
 |
 |
 |
|||
Gordon RIP 2010 |
Harper |
Sabi RIP |
Soy |
Dr Amy Lingard
BVSc(Hons) FACVSc(Feline Medicine)
Specialist Feline Veterinarian
Amy graduated from the University of Queensland Veterinary School in 2001. After spending a year at a busy small animal hospital and emergency centre in Melbourne, she decided to pursue her passion for feline medicine and returned to Brisbane to work at the Creek Road Cat Clinic (where she first met Richard). Here she had the pleasure of working alongside Dr Vic Menrath (the first Feline Specialist in Australia) & Dr Marcus Gunew, 2 of Australia’s foremost feline veterinarians.
Amy commenced a Feline Medicine Residency at the University of Sydney Valentine Charlton Cat Centre in 2005 under the guidance of Dr Vanessa Barrs and Dr Julia Beatty, both renowned Feline Medicine Specialists. During her time at the University of Sydney Veterinary Centre, Amy completed a two-year Fellowship training program and accepted the position of Feline Medicine Registrar. Having completed her training, Amy moved to Melbourne to work with her partner Richard Gowan at The Cat Clinic Prahran.
Amy attained Membership of the Feline Chapter of the Australian College of Veterinary Scientists in 2006 and then passed her Fellowship exams in 2010. She has presented at many veterinary scientific conferences and published several articles in peer-reviewed feline medicine journals.
Amy is lucky enough to share her life with 4 cats (and Richard of course). Stella, Stirling, Soy and Harper.
Amy’s professional qualifications and post-graduate training include:
- Bachelor of Veterinary Science (First degree honours) at University of Queensland – 2001
- Membership of the Australian College of Veterinary Scientists in Feline Medicine - 2006
- Feline Medicine Residency at University of Sydney Valentine Charlton Cat Centre- 2006
- Feline Medicine Registrar at University of Sydney Valentine Charlton Cat Centre – 2007
- Fellowship of the Australian College of Veterinary Scientists in Feline Medicine - 2010
- Secretary of the Feline Chapter of the ACVSc
|
|
|
|
|||
Soy |
Harper |
Sabi RIP 2010 |
Dr. Sally Coggins
BVSC (Hons)
Feline Veterinarian
Sally graduated from Sydney University in 2007 and spent her first two years in practice working at busy small animal practice in Canberra. Having always adored cats, Sally began to focus on this passion in 2009, completing a distance education course in Feline Medicine.
She looks forward to furthering her knowledge of cats and will begin working toward sitting her Memberships with the Australian College of Veterinary Scientists in Feline
Medicine upon starting at the Cat Clinic in January 2010. Sally loves all aspects of feline practices and in addition to advancing her medicine skills, she also holds particular interests in feline surgery and dentistry. Sally has
one golden child… Mr Fox. Fox was a stray abandoned kitten that Sally acquiredfrom her first job. Fox is a very cheeky
Fox
and inquisitive kitty, with a particular infatuation for taps and mobile phone chargers.
When she’s not working or studying, Sally enjoys playing soccer, practising yoga, shopping and coffee. Sally's partner Toby, is also a vet. He is undertaking a residency in Equine surgery in Sydney. We hope he will join Sally in Melbourne soon.
Dr. Carolyn O’Brien
BVSc (Hons) MVetClinStud, FACVS (Feline Medicine)
Specialist Feline Veterinarian
Carolyn is currently on an extended maternity leave but has an active role in mentorship within the clinic. She continues to publish articles and contributes actively to many texts and publications. She also runs an International Feline Medicine Distance eduction course.
Carolyn O’Brien is a registered specialist in Feline Medicine. She graduated from the University of Melbourne 1994 and worked in private practice both in Melbourne and the UK for the first five years of her veterinary career. Carolyn then commenced a residency in small animal medicine at the University of Sydney in 2000. She concurrently completed a Masters in veterinary clinical studies in the epidemiology and treatment of cryptococcosis in cats and dogs. After her residency she stayed on at the University of Sydney as a Senior Registrar for a year then moved to the Veterinary Specialist Centre in North Ryde.
Carolyn gained her fellowship qualifications in 2004 and worked as a Senior Registrar in Small Animal Medicine at the University of Melbourne Veterinary Clinic and Hospital for 3 years. She loves all areas of feline medicine, but is particularly interested in critical care of feline patients, infectious diseases and cardiology where she has published many papers and regularly presents at seminars and conferences in Australia and overseas.
Carolyn is a co-founder and part owner of The Cat Clinic. She has taken timeout from clinical work to start a family and is currently undertaking a research PhD in mycobacteria infectious disease in human medicine.
She acts as a mentor and consultant at the Cat Clinic. She has 2 troublesome Burmese, Kits and Murphy & now 2 little babies to keep her even busier.
Nursing Team
Sarah Bourke
Senior Vet Nurse - Office Manager
Sarah is the newest member to the team and is our new Senior Nurse. Sarah has been a veterinary nurse for almost 5 years and completed her Certificate IV in Veterinary Nursing in 2008. She started her nursing career working in a local vet clinic, then moved into the world of Emergency and Critical Care at the Animal Emergency Centre. Sarah is also a qualified Occupational Therapist, although during her first job after graduating, she decided that vet nursing was more her style.
Sarah has had cats all her life and currently lives with four cats, two dogs and her fiancée of course! She has a cheeky brown Burmese called Milo, and three domestics, Jackson, Bodhi and Saffron who are all rescue cats. Jackson is a beautiful longhair grey and white who was from the RSPCA. He has starred in one of their calendars, on their Christmas cards and is the RSPCA poster boy for adopting older cats. Bodhi used to be Sarah’s sister’s cat, until she developed some behavioral problems. Sarah took her on and she is now the most affectionate cat in the house! Saffron is Sarah’s special ginger girl. She was found in a box at a local shopping strip with her brother and sister at three days old. Sarah took them all on, with the plan to rehome them when ready, except she fell in love with Saffron and wasn’t able to give her up! In her spare time, Sarah often takes on abandoned cats and kittens and raises them until they are ready to be rehomed. She also enjoys cooking, reading and spending time with her menagerie of pets!
 |
 |
 |
 |
|||
Milo |
Jackson |
Bodhi |
Georgia Puttock
Senior Vet Nurse
Georgia’s love of cats began in the crib, which she happily shared with a cranky adopted black & white domestic named Meowchic. Growing up with the surname “Katz”, cemented what became an obsession of sorts.
Georgia began volunteering with the cats at the ‘Save a dog scheme’ and realized that working with animals (specifically cats) was what she was meant to do with her life. After bringing her cats to the Cat Clinic for 3 years, her persistence paid off with a job as a vet nurse. She has completed certificate 2 and is currently studying certificate 4 in veterinary nursing.
Georgia now has 4 ‘children’ with her husband Tobie: Rupert and Bellatrix the beautiful ragdolls, and Ari a precocious lilac Burmese and the most recent naughty addition is Bertie a stubborn little Singapura.
In her spare time Georgia loves to read, spend time with her friends and devise new ways of convincing Tobie to let her add to their family. (4 is enough now Georgia).
 |
 |
 |
 |
|||
Ari |
Bertie |
Rupert |
Jessie Scholes
Senior Vet Nurse
Jessie's love of animals has always been apparent to anyone who knows her, she is always on the lookout for new animals to befriend while on her many walks.
Jess has in the past shared her home with 9 kittens and their mother, having found homes for all but one of them she continued living with “Louie” the beautiful tabby boy, Sadly Louie left home at age 4 and was not to be seen again.
Jess first brought her family cat Hati to the clinic in 2005. In 2007 she started as a cattery attendant and soon became an invaluable member of the nursing team. She adopted a beautiful little Burmese girl called Eva and then decided one burmese was not enough and adopted Ruby a lovely & "special" little girl.
In her spare time Jess loves to Dance, read many books, go to the movies and take walks in beautiful gardens and say hello to any curious kitties.
 |
 |
|
Eva |
Gosia Anderst
Senior Vet Nurse
Gosia has been at the Cat Clinic now for almost 2 years. Gosia has moved to Melbourne from Perth to fulfil her dream of working in a cat-only practice. She has been working as a veterinary nurse for Five years in small animal practice.
Gosia has completed her Certificate IV in Veterinary Nursing, and is planning to start studying for a Veterinary Nursing Diploma in Surgery or Emergency Nursing. Gosia has one much loved cat called Jezabel, 2 year old calico and white domestic shorthair girl. Jezabel handled the journey from Perth very well and is looking forward to settling in to her new home in Melbourne.
In her spare time Gosia enjoys reading, watching movies, going out with friends and playing computer games.
Audra Papworth
Vet Nurse
Melissa Mathieson
Cattery manager & Junior nurse
Melissa started at the Cat clinic just after it opened in 2005. She absolutely loves cats and has 5 cats – but they live with her parents. So, at this point she shares her life with a cute little black & white girl called Isobelle and her partner Damien.
Melissa has a very keen interest in feline behaviour. Melissa recently finished her honours thesis with first class honours in studying Lyre bird behaviour in the Kinglake area. If your cat comes home from the cattery looking content & even more beautiful, it is due to Melissa’s dedication to ensuring the cats don’t miss out on their regular cuddles and grooming whilst on holidays.
 |
 |
|
Isobelle |
Support Staff
Natalie Mutimer
Cattery Attendant
Natalee is one of our newest staff members having joined our team in April 2011. She worked at a local veterinary practice before gaining her position with us. Natalee shares her life with a menagerie of pets which include three cuddly domestic cats, two crazy dogs & one rascally rabbit. Her three naughty cats Tiger, Fluff & Brights were found by Natalee and her mother in a bin when they were only a few days old. Nearly 17 years on, she can't imagine life without her mischievous trio. When Natalee isn't working she is volunteering at the RSPCA, spending time with her friends, playing or coaching basketball or spending time with her extensive animal family