Introducing the Catsters: Dr. Karyn & the Five Felines That Allow Her to Share Their Home

Hi, I’m Dr Karyn Kanowski, and I am very excited to be able to share my knowledge and experience about the eccentricities of all things feline. What makes me qualified to tell you about cats?

• I am an experienced Veterinary Surgeon, and have worked for over 13 years in Small Animal Practice
• I have shared my home with cats my entire life, and currently have five cats and five dogs, and believe it or not, they all get along!
• I love cats, but even more, I love helping cats and their people live happier, healthier lives

I could tell you a bit more about myself, but let’s be honest, you really want to know more about my cats. So here goes:

Introducing My Five Fabulous Felines:

1. Clutch

First, there’s Clutch. Yes, it’s a pretty unusual name. Clutch was a stray who was brought into my veterinary clinic nine years ago, and I instantly fell in love. He was such a confident, affectionate, chilled out dude. His name came about after I was giving my (now) husband a hard time about him wanting to use the name Axle. I said that we should go with another, less commonly used car part, so what started as a joke ended up sticking! Clutch identifies more as dog, and gets really annoyed if we lock him away with the other cats. He enjoys finding weird places to sleep and keeping us company in the bathroom.

2. Cyril

You might be aware that there are two main classifications of fish: Osteichthyes, the bony fish, and Chondrichtyes, the cartilaginous fish. Well, I like to call Cyril my cartilaginous cat! He always seems so floppy and squishy, and rarely assumes an upright posture! He loves to lay on my hands whilst I type, sit on my chest when I read, and perch over my shoulder when I eat, particularly when I am eating pizza!

3. Alex

Cyril’s brother from another mother is Alex. He enjoys teasing the chihuahuas, chasing flies, and he has a little trick I like to call the “somersault of happiness”. When he’s in a super happy and affectionate mood, he rubs the wall, the floor, and ends up rolling over his head in a somersault. He is a shy boy, so it is a sign of great privilege when he decides to offer this to a new person. Other things Alex enjoys doing is copying his big brother Cyril, and doing weird things with his front legs.

4 & 5. Zelda and Zazzles

Zelda and Zazzles are our female felines, and are particularly affectionate with our two labradors. Zelda (black) makes a bit of an embarrassment of herself with how she throws herself at our yellow lab, Bailey. Zazzles (tortoiseshell), on the other hand, likes to snuggle in with Poppy, the black lab.

I look forward to sharing the ups, downs, and everything in between, of feline health and behavior, with plenty of input from my clowder here at home.