Skilled and compassionate cat nurses make all the difference

For Natalie Hunt-Sullivan, feline nursing is as much instinct as it is training. With more than a decade of experience, she’s developed a deep understanding of feline behaviour that guides her approach. “It feels like there’s just a certain sixth sense that cat nurses have,” she explains. Drawn to cats since childhood, partly because they’re “a little bit hard to read,” Natalie has always felt a natural affinity for their complexity.

Rather than relying solely on protocols, she views each cat as an individual and pays close attention to subtle shifts in body language, posture and energy. This ability to interpret and respond to what cats are communicating is foundational to the care she provides.

Natalie has seen a significant shift in feline care since her early training, where cats were often grouped with dogs and handled using methods now known to increase stress. Now, she advises avoiding heavy restraint, using quiet environments, medicinal support and gentle handling techniques tailored to each cat. For Natalie, it’s about adjusting behaviour in line with what works best for the patient.

Natalie firmly believes that the language used to describe feline behaviour directly influences how cats are handled and understood. Terms like “fractious” or “aggressive” can shape expectations before a nurse even enters the room, often leading to defensive handling and increased stress for the patient. This is why Natalie encourages her team to take a different view. “I like to use words like emotional, scared or anxious because it instils more empathy,” she says, noting that most reactive behaviour in cats stems from fear or pain.

Natalie also stresses that cats are highly attuned to human behaviour, and they often pick up on hesitation or anxiety. “If you go towards a cat thinking it’s going to attack you, you’re going to give off a ‘vibe’ that cats can feed off, and you run the risk of that occurring.” A calm, slow and confident approach allows space for trust to form and helps create a safer, more effective medical interaction. Allowing cats to come to you, and moving at their pace with positive interactions, sets you up for more success with feline patients.

For Cassie Hodda, being a great cat nurse starts with compassion. While technical skills are teachable, she believes empathy is what makes those skills effective. “Cats are emotional and very sensitive to their environment, to changes, to people,” she says. Understanding a patient’s emotional needs is just as important as meeting their medical ones, particularly when cats are in unfamiliar surroundings and at their most vulnerable. Cassie sees her role as supporting not just the patient but also the clinicians to ensure that care is consistent, gentle and attuned to each cat’s state of mind.

When asked about changes in the feline medical profession over the course of her career, Cassie notes the advances in the treatment of feline infectious peritonitis (FIP) as one of the most significant—and one that is particularly close to her heart. FIP was once considered a guaranteed death sentence with no treatment options, and Cassie lost one of her own kittens to the disease. Now, thanks to antivirals developed during the COVID-19 pandemic, cats have a much better prognosis.

Cassie has seen kittens admitted to Cat Specialist Services receive treatment and recover. “It has been amazing to be able to watch something that was considered a no-return point turn into something that can be treated.”

This work doesn’t happen in isolation. The entire nursing team shares a commitment to low-stress handling, personalised care and creating a calm, cat-centred environment. From thoughtful kennel design to pre-visit medication protocols, every detail is designed to make feline patients feel safe. “All of our nurses are literally cat crazy,” says Cassie. “I’ve never met a group of ladies so invested in cat care.”

Kristie Philippe believes the key to earning a cat’s trust is giving them space and time to settle. “Patience is the number one most important attribute of a great feline nurse,” she says. Even in a gold-standard, feline-only hospital, cats can feel anxious when their routine is disrupted. Kristie helps by mimicking familiar elements from home and creating predictability. One simple way to put them at ease is allowing them to exit their carrier on their own terms and explore the consult room.

Food plays an essential role in Kristie’s approach—not just as positive reinforcement but as a practical tool to minimise stress. “When they are food motivated, it means we can perform many tasks with minimal to no restraint,” she explains, including blood pressure monitoring, temperatures and placing IV catheters. Food is also used to disguise medication, helping to avoid invasive methods of administration.

Respecting boundaries and creating a quiet, low-stimulus environment that puts wellbeing first is fundamental to Kristie’s nursing approach. She adapts treatments to suit the individual cat, always watching for signs of stress or discomfort. If a patient shows hesitation, she doesn’t push forward unnecessarily. Pharmaceuticals, including sedatives like Gabapentin, are another important tool. “I will never fight with an anxious or energetic cat to perform treatments if sedative medication is an option,” she says.

Cats often hide signs of illness until they reach a critical point, so feline nurses frequently care for very unwell patients. Kristie is acutely aware of their fragility and the importance of keeping stress levels low. She finds purpose in advocating for these patients, especially those who struggle to communicate their needs.

Cat nurses at CSS play an active role in raising awareness around feline care—both within the clinic and across the broader profession. Through nurse seminars, mentorship and day-to-day conversations with clients, they help shift long-held assumptions and demonstrate the value of cat-specific handling and communication. By sharing what works, they’re helping to build confidence in others and improve outcomes for cats well beyond the hospital walls.

To learn more about our amazing team of cat-obsessed professionals or our extensive range of services and resources, contact us today. Vets can refer patients for treatment here.

If you are concerned about your cat, please reach out to our friendly team. Call us on 1300 228 377 or fill out the contact form below. In an emergency, please contact your local vet.

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