Our speakers are experts in their fields and passionate about feline welfare. Sarah Heath needs little introduction as a specialist in Veterinary Behavioural Medicine and will be speaking on various topics including chronic pain and its effect on behaviour. Danièlle Gunn-Moore is a Professor of Feline Medicine at Edinburgh University and is keen to examine conditions such as cognitive dysfunction and idiopathic cystitis, as well as discuss potential name changes of these conditions. Clare Rusbridge brings her extensive experience in feline neurology and Matt Gurney will discuss his ‘Zero pain philosophy’ and the relationship between pain and mental wellbeing.
There will be many more talks from our own ISFM experts on Cat Friendly Clinic, feline emotions and inappetent cats, plus sessions from our platinum partners.
BVSc PgCertVE Dip.ECAWBM(BM) CCAB FHEA FRCVS
Sarah qualified as a veterinary surgeon from Bristol University in 1988 and set up Behavioural Referrals Veterinary Practice in 1992. She sees clinical cases across North West England and wider afield through video platform consultations. In 2018 she was made an FRCVS for meritorious contributions to the profession in recognition of her work in establishing Behavioural Medicine as a veterinary discipline. She is an RCVS and EBVS® European Veterinary Specialist in Behavioural Medicine and an External Lecturer in small animal behavioural medicine on the veterinary undergraduate course at Liverpool University. In 2019 she gained her Postgraduate Certificate in Veterinary Education. Sarah has authored many papers, books and book chapters and in 2016 was co-author and co-editor of Feline Behavioural Health and Welfare published by Elsevier. She has a special interest in the interplay between emotional and physical illness in dogs and cats.
BVMS PhD DipECVN FRCVS
RCVS and European Specialist in Veterinary Neurology
Clare graduated from Glasgow in 1991 and following an internship in Pennsylvania and general practice in Cambridgeshire, she completed a residency and was staff Clinician in Neurology at the Royal Veterinary College. She became an ECVN Diplomate in 1996, an RCVS Specialist in 1999 and RCVS Fellow in 2016. She has researched Chiari-like malformation and syringomyelia (CMSM) for 25 years. In 2007 she was awarded a PhD from Utrecht University and in 2011 she received the J. A. Wright Memorial Award by Blue Cross Animal Welfare Charity. Clare joined the University of Surrey in 2013, continuing her clinical practice at Fitzpatrick referrals. For 16 years prior she operated a neurology and neurosurgery service in Wimbledon. She has authored or co-authored over 140 scientific articles in addition to several book chapters and co-edited a human medical textbook on syringomyelia. Clare is particularly interested in feline neuropathic pain, neurobehavioral disorders, and epilepsy.
BSc(Hon), BVM&S, PhD, MANZCVS (Feline), FHEA, FRSB, FRCVS, RCVS Specialist in Feline Medicine
Professor in Feline Medicine, Royal Dick School of Veterinary Studies and The Roslin Institute
Danièlle Gunn-Moore graduated from the R(D)SVS, University of Edinburgh, with the Dick Vet Gold Medal (1991). After a year in small animal practice she joined The Feline Centre, University of Bristol, initially as the Feline Advisory Bureau Scholar, then the Duphar Feline Fellow, and completed a PhD study into Feline Infectious Peritonitis in 1997. After a short period as Lecturer in Veterinary Pathology, University of Bristol, she returned to Edinburgh to establish the Feline Clinic and became Professor of Feline Medicine in 2006. She is interested in all aspects of feline medicine; she is an internationally recognised expert in her area, has lectured extensively and published over a 150 peer-reviewed research papers, plus many reviews and book chapters. In 2009 she was awarded the BSAVA Woodrow Award for outstanding contribution in the field of small animal veterinary medicine, in 2011 she was awarded the International Society for Feline Medicine/Hill’s award for Outstanding Contributions to Feline Medicine, in 2012 the Royal Dick students voted her “The clinician I would most like to be”, in 2016 FECAVA awarded her “Increased Vocalisation in Elderly Cats” the most original paper in the European Journal of Companion Animal Practice that year, and in 2017 she became a Fellow of both the RSB and the RCVS. She shares her home with her husband Frank, a tiny little 20 year old black cat called Sheba-Ardbeg, and a one year old Maine Coon boy called Brora (named after a Scottish single malt whisky).
BVSc CertVA PgCertVBM DipECVAA FRCV
Clinical Director at Anderson Moores Veterinary Specialists
RCVS and EBVS® European Specialist in Veterinary Anaesthesia and Analgesia
Matt an internationally respected British anaesthetist. A specialist in anaesthesia and analgesia, Matt trained at the University of Liverpool and now works at Anderson Moores Veterinary Specialists in the UK. Matt is passionate about pain management, lectures on the subject globally and is the author of many international anaesthesia publications. Matt is President of the European College of Veterinary Anaesthesia & Analgesia and a Co-Founder of The Zero Pain Philosophy.
Karen is a lecturer in Veterinary and Animal Ethics at the Royal Veterinary College (RVC). Alongside this, she is a resident with the European College of Animal Welfare and Behavioural Medicine specialising in animal welfare science, ethics and law, an area of research she became interested in after completing an MSc in applied animal behaviour and welfare, and an MA in medical ethics and law. Karen has a background as a clinical vet in both the UK and New Zealand where she trained, as well as experience in numerous countries working as a volunteer vet, in particular being involved in feline neutering campaigns. She has always had a strong interest in animal welfare and a special interest in cats, which she built on with six years in an advisory position at Cats Protection working in shelter medicine and as a teaching fellow at the School of Veterinary Medicine at Surrey University where she led on feline welfare, veterinary ethics and shelter medicine teaching. Karen remains heavily involved in animal welfare charities as a trustee, including as a Trustee Director for iCatCare, consultant and educator.
Head of ISFM
Nathalie graduated from Massey University, New Zealand in 2002. In 2012 she sat the Membership exams for the Australian and New Zealand College of Veterinary Scientists in Feline Medicine and is a RCVS Advanced Practitioner in Feline Medicine. She received a post-graduate diploma in international animal welfare ethics and law from Edinburgh University in 2016 and completed a PhD in the ageing of cats at the University of Liverpool in 2021. Nathalie’s areas of interest are all things feline including feline health screening, musculoskeletal disease and age-related disease. Nathalie joined ICC as Head of ISFM in August 2020.
BVetMed(Hons) CertSAM DipECVIM-CA MANZCVS FRCVS
Sam graduated from the Royal Vet College in 2002 and completed internships in private referral practice before starting a Feline Advisory Bureau Residency at Bristol University. She was awarded the RCVS Certificate in Small Animal Medicine in 2006 and the European Diploma in Veterinary Internal Medicine in 2009. In 2011 she became an RCVS Recognised Specialist in Feline Medicine and in 2019 was made a Fellow of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons for outstanding contributions to the profession. Sam is the Feline Specialist Advisor for ISFM, and the ISFM Academy of Feline Practitioners Lead. She also works in clinical referral practice at Lumbry Park Veterinary Specialists in Hampshire, is editor of the BSAVA journal Companion and is an examiner for the Membership of the Australia and New Zealand College of Veterinary Scientists (Feline Medicine). She is an editorial board member for the Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery and has authored 2 books and numerous book chapters as well as publishing a number of papers on both canine and feline internal medicine.
Aarti graduated from the University of Liverpool in 1999 and has spent the majority of her career in primary care practice in the UK, Australia and New Zealand. During this time she pursued her passion for cats to gain membership to the ANZCVS in Feline Medicine and has examined for the ISFM nursing certificate and diploma. Recently, Aarti joined the Clinical Standards and Quality Team at Linnaeus and she is also a Trustee Director for iCatCare.
Linda is a Veterinary Technician Specialist in Behaviour and Oncology, and is an ASAB-accredited Certificated Clinical Animal Behaviourist (for cats and dogs). She is a passionate Veterinary Nurse, and welfare-focused animal trainer and behaviourist, who, through years of working with cancer and internal medicine canine and feline patients, became interested in learning more about welfare and behaviour within the clinic, and how this could fit in alongside excellent veterinary care. The animal health and wellbeing benefits of the essential veterinary-behaviour connection is now central to Linda’s work.
Linda currently runs Inspiring Pet Teaching, dividing her time between seeing clinical behaviour cases, working alongside pets’ vets, and providing continuing education for veterinary and training/behaviour professionals. She also works part-time in the Cat Advocacy team at International Cat Care.
DipAVN (Medical) RVN, VTS(ECC), Cert CFVHNut, ISFM DipFN
ISFM Programme Manager
Sarah qualified as a Veterinary Nurse in 1995. Following 11 years in 1st opinion/referral practice, Sarah moved to the University of Bristol Vet School to work in the intensive care unit. During her 7 years in this role, Sarah obtained both the Diploma in Advanced Veterinary Nursing (Medical) and the Veterinary Technician Specialist in Emergency and Critical Care. After a further 7 years as a Veterinary Marketing Executive at Royal Canin (during which she gained the Certificate in Canine and Feline Veterinary Health Nutrition), Sarah joined International Cat Care in 2017 to look after the nurse distance education courses. In 2020, Sarah moved to the role of ISFM Programme Manager looking after the Cat Friendly Clinic and Cat Care for Life programmes as well as running the webinar programmes, creating and updating content for the online veterinary nurse courses, and providing advice across the charity on veterinary nursing matters. Sarah is also the managing editor for ISFM’s nurse journal Feline Focus and has had several articles published in nursing journals as well as having lectured at many veterinary congresses and events including BSAVA, BVNA and LVS.
Head of Cat Advocacy at International Cat Care
Sarah has a keen interest in the behaviour and welfare of the domestic cat. After completing a degree in Zoology and Psychology (University of Bristol, 2001) and a Post-Graduate Diploma in Companion Animal Behaviour Counselling (University of Southampton, 2006), Sarah specialised in cats and was awarded a PhD for investigating ways to improve the welfare of cats housed in rehoming centres.
Sarah spent several years at the University of Lincoln as a Research Scientist working on numerous projects including investigating novel ways to improve feline welfare, and furthering our understanding of feline behaviour and the cat-human relationship. In 2015, Sarah decided to concentrate on the application of research and joined International Cat Care as their Feline Behaviour Specialist to help develop their work in the areas of feline behaviour and welfare. In 2019, Sarah moved to the role of Head of Cat Advocacy within International Cat Care.
She also is a Visiting Fellow at the University of Lincoln where she remains involved in several feline related projects. Sarah has had numerous radio and TV appearances, covering many aspects of feline behaviour and welfare. She has published a NY Times Best-Selling book with John Bradshaw entitled The Trainable Cat which details how training can be used to improve cats’ well-being.
Project Manager – Cat Friendly Homing, International Cat Care
Vicky is a registered veterinary nurse and retired clinical animal behaviourist, having spent over 23 years specialising in cats. Vicky has lectured all over the world on cat behaviour to veterinary and lay audiences. Vicky is also a qualified and registered person-centred counsellor.
Vicky is the author of seven best-selling books on cats for the general public, several peer-reviewed papers for scientific journals and co-author of veterinary textbooks and published guidelines.
She is a slave to the demands of JP, her Burmese.
BVMS(Hons) MVM PhD DVC DipECVIM-CA(Cardiology) FRCVS RCVS Specialist in Veterinary Cardiology and EBVS® European Specialist in Veterinary Cardiology
Professor of Veterinary Cardiology at the University of Liverpool Small Animal Teaching Hospital
Jo has worked at the University of Liverpool since 2004. She has also worked at the University of Glasgow, her alma mater, where she also did her internship and residency training, and the University of Edinburgh, where she also did her PhD, researching familial dilated cardiomyopathy in Newfoundland dogs. This led to a post-doc position, attempting to find a gene implicated in DCM, which was not successful, but she learnt some molecular genetics skills. Jo has also worked in general practices in Hereford, Canterbury and Glasgow over her career. Jo holds the UK Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) Diploma in Veterinary Cardiology and is a Diplomate of the European College of Veterinary Internal Medicine- Companion Animals (ECVIM-CA)(Cardiology). Jo is current chair of the cardiology specialty for ECVIM-CA and serves on the ECVIM-CA executive board. She enjoys teaching, inspiring the next generation of veterinarians and veterinary cardiologists. She holds Senior Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy. She is active in clinical research and she is author or co-author on over 80 publications in peer reviewed literature. She was awarded Fellowship of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons in 2017 for meritorious contributions to clinical practice. She lives with her husband and two cats, both of whom have preclinical hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.
DVM, PhD, Dipl. ECVIM-CA (Cardiology), EBVS® European Veterinary Specialist in Small Animal Cardiology
Vassiliki is in charge of the cardiology unit at the Centre Hospitalier Vétérinaire Advetia, a private hospital based in Vélizy Villacoublais, near Paris (France). She works together with a clinical assistant and provides referral cardiology consultations.
Vassiliki graduated from the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of the “Aristote” University of Salonica, Greece, in 2001. After working as a general practitioner in Athens for a couple of years, she moved to France, which is now her country of adoption. In France, she did a residency training at the Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire d’Alfort, at the Cardiology Unit, while participating in different research programs, some of them in collaboration with the INSERM 955 unit on myocardial infarction. After finishing her residency, she did a PhD on the variability of different echocardiographic modalities and blood pressure measurements in collaboration with the École Doctorale SEVAB, Université Paul Sabatier, in Toulouse and held the position of clinical teacher at the Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire d’Alfort from 2008 to 2018. During this time, she had mainly clinical and teaching duties, but was also involved in clinical research for 20% of her time. She is co-author or author on over 60 publications in peer-reviewed literature. In 2018 she left academics and joined the Advetia referral center. She is a cat lover and about 65% of her cardiology cases concern cats. Vassiliki had always loved teaching and continues to share her knowledge through different seminars and conferences in congresses.
Dr Maria Linou is an Aristotle University of Thessaloniki Veterinary School graduate and holds a PhD from
the University of Athens Medical School. She is a member of the Diagnostic Department of the Hellenic
Pasteur Institute (HPI) responsible for veterinary services and laboratory tests of zoonotic infectious
diseases, a member of the HPI’s Office of Development and the coordinator of the HPI’s One Health
committee. She has been an active practitioner at her own pet clinic in Athens since 1995, primarily
working with dogs and cats.
She is the President of the Hellenic Veterinary Medical Society and the General Secretary of the Hellenic
Scientific Society for One Health. Her main interests focus on the implementation of the One Health
concept through a multidisciplinary and cross-sectoral approach through scientific and social activities
towards veterinarians, researchers, health professionals, decision makers, government and public.
Martha is an RCVS Recognised Specialist in Feline Medicine and co-owner of the Oxford Cat Clinic, a
first opinion and referral cat-only veterinary clinic in Oxford. She combines her full-time role in
specialist feline practice with a commitment to providing continuing education for veterinary surgeons
and nurses, focussing on practical approaches to diseases that are commonly encountered in day to
day veterinary practice. While her clinical work at the Oxford Cat Clinic is with referral medical cases,
she is closely involved in the day to day running of the first opinion practice, which keeps her
grounded in the realities and practicalities of general practice.
Dr Dennis Turner was born in the USA, receiving a Doctor of Science degree from the Johns
Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health (Dept. of Mental Hygiene) in human and
animal behavior in 1974. From 1975 to 2011, Dennis held the post of Senior Research
Associate and Lecturer, Head of the Companion Animal Ethology Group at the Zoology
Institute of the University of Zurich. During this time (in 1992) Dennis became a Swiss
citizen. Since 1991 he has been the owner and director of the research and continuing
education Institute for applied Ethology and Animal Psychology (I.E.A.P.) near Zurich.
Since 2000, he has also held the Dr. Habil. PD-title at the University of Zurich (Vetsuisse
Faculty), Venia legendi: Behaviour of Small Animals. Dennis was the Head of the Small
Animal Behavior Clinic at the Animal Hospital of the University of Zurich for 10 years to
2009.
Dennis also served as the President of IAHAIO from 1995 to 2010 and was founding
secretary of ISAAT (the International Society for Animal Assisted Therapy) from 2006 to
2015.
Dennis is currently the co-editor of PAIJ, People and Animals: the International Journal for
Research and Practice, and has also previously been co-editor for companion animals, for
Anthrozoös and Animal Welfare. He is author of numerous peer-reviewed research articles
and book chapters about domestic cat behavior and the human-cat relationship, including
the 3 editions of The Domestic Cat: the biology of its behaviour, as senior editor with the late
Patrick Bateson, FRS.
Dennis received the inaugural IAHAIO Lifetime Distinguished Fellow Award in 2021.
Professor Katrin Hartmann graduated from the College of Veterinary Medicine at the LMU Munich, Germany, in 1987. She completed her doctoral thesis in 1990 and her habilitation thesis (PhD) on antiviral treatment of FIV in 1995 at the Clinic of Small Animal Medicine at the LMU Munich. Since 1999, she is Diplomate of the European College of Veterinary Internal Medicine – Companion Animals (ECVIM-CA). She stayed as Clinical Instructor and Assistant Professor at the Clinic of Small Animal Medicine at the LMU Munich until 2001. From 2001 to 2003, she worked as Associate Professor of Internal Medicine at the Department of Small Animal Medicine at the College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, USA. Since 2003, she is Head of the Clinic of Small Animal Medicine at the LMU Munich, Germany, with the rank of Full Professor. From 2009 to 2016, she additionally was
Director, and since 2016 she is Vice Director of the Centre for Clinical Veterinary Medicine at the LMU Munich which was founded in 2009.
Professor Hartmann is author of many papers, proceedings, abstracts, and book chapters. She has lectured at numerous international meetings and congresses. Her research interest is infectious diseases in cats and dogs, with a special focus on virus infections in cats.
2003 Graduation from Vet School (Lyon vet school, France)
2004-2016 Different positions in a CRO (MDS Pharma Services/Ricerca/WIL Research): Attending veterinarian then manager of veterinary services
2016-2018 Pharmacovigilant in a Public Pharmacogivilance Center (CPVL – Lyon vet school, France)
2018-2021 Manager of French Pharmacovigilance Service (Boehringer Ingelheim – Animal health)
Since 2021 Clinical Manager in the Vaccine Pets Clinical team in Saint-Vulbas, France, conducting development studies for pet vaccines
Born and grown up in Darmstadt, Germany
2003 Graduation from Vet School (University of Gießen, Germany)
2003-2013 Doctoral student, Postdoc, Assistant lecturer at University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Germany, Department of Pathology; focus on neuropathology and diagnostic service; Diplomate of European College of Veterinary Pathologists (DECVP)
2013 joining BI AH at R&D site in Hannover, Germany
2013-2020 Head of Pathology within the Clinical department, conducting research and development studies for swine and poultry vaccines
Since 2021 Clinical Manager in the Pharma Clinical team in Ingelheim, Germany, conducting research and development studies for pet therapeutics and vaccines
Dr. Quimby is board certified in small animal internal medicine and completed a PhD studying feline CKD and was on faculty at Colorado State University until 2017. She is now an associate professor of small animal internal medicine at the Ohio State University. Current research areas include the study of renal pathophysiology, novel treatment strategies and evidence-based supportive care strategies. She has an interest in feline clinical pharmacology focusing on improving supportive care and quality of life in cats with CKD. Dr. Quimby has received the International Renal Interest Society Award and the AVMF/Winn Feline Foundation Research Award for her contributions to nephrology and feline medicine. In 2021 she was selected to serve on the IRIS board.
Dr. Dottie Laflamme received her DVM, MS in ruminant nutrition, and PhD in nutrition and physiology, all from the University of Georgia. She completed her clinical nutrition residency as an ALPO Postdoctoral Fellow in Clinical Nutrition. Dr. Laflamme is a Diplomate and past-President of the American College of Veterinary Nutrition. She is an author on over 250 scientific and technical publications; and has been a speaker at a number of veterinary, research, and continuing education programs worldwide. She worked for Purina (first Ralston Purina, now Nestle Purina) in the Research and Development Department from 1990 until her retirement in 2015. Her research focused on therapeutic nutrition, especially obesity management, and geriatric nutrition. She currently works as an independent consultant. Dottie lives in the Blue Ridge Mountains of western Virginia.
Dr Marge Chandler is an independent consultant in small animal nutrition and internal medicine, Clinical Nutritionist for Vets-Now Referrals, Glasgow, and Internal Medicine Specialist for Moorview Referrals in Newcastle. She has a BS from California State University, and a MS (Animal Nutrition) and DVM from Colorado State University (CSU). After several years in mixed practice, she did residencies in small animal medicine and clinical nutrition at CSU and Massey University, NZ. She is a diplomate of ACVIM (Small Animal Medicine and Nutrition), member of the ANZCVS (SAM), Chair of the FEDIAF Scientific Advisory Committee, founding member of the European Veterinary Nutrition Educators Group, and Co-Chair of the WSAVA Global Nutrition Committee.
Four days of thought-provoking and practical talks, masterclasses, symposia, and lively Q&A sessions. Find out about the range of CPD that is on offer during the congress.
ISFM & Hill’s working together for better feline veterinary care
