Vet's kitty kindergarten leaves cat owners purring

[Guest guest]

South China Morning Post Wednesday, May 18, 2005

 

Vet's kitty kindergarten leaves cat owners purring

RACHEL ZENG

 

Cats, like people, have behavioural problems if they are not properly

socialised when they are young. So a Glasgow-born veterinarian has

done something about it.

 

Not only did Margaret Bradley establish Hong Kong's first cat hospital

in Central, she recently set up a kitten kindergarten.

 

" While puppy parties are common, cats are neglected, " says the

41-year-old vet, whose practice is called Nine Lives.

 

Dr Bradley says that, just like people, mental happiness plays an

important role in cats' lives too.

 

" Kittens need to be socialised at a young age or they will always be

scared of new circumstances when they grow up. Contrary to popular

belief, cats can be trained to obey their owners too. "

 

Five kittens were in the first intake for the kindergarten, set up in

February, and while the felines were being friendly and frisky with

each other, the owners were taught cat care.

 

Like all new ventures, Kitten kindergarten is developing slowly, but

more owners are becoming interested.

 

Dr Bradley says treating cats needs a holistic approach, with each

animal's circumstances playing an important role. " The differences

may be subtle, but we may have to use different medicines or

approaches to treat them. "

 

Trained at Glasgow University in Scotland, Dr Bradley worked in a

veterinary clinic in London before arriving in Hong Kong in 1992.

 

" I saw an advertisement in a British newspaper for an animal doctor

in Mongkok. So I came.

 

" I fell in love with Hong Kong and its people. This city is a

rewarding place for vets. People here have very healthy attitudes

towards animal doctors. When their pets get sick, they want to know

why and what they can do to help. That's why we are much busier than

our counterparts in the UK. "

 

Dr Bradley is impressed by her patients' owners. They are so informed

that sometimes they ask her to get drugs from overseas, which they

have researched on the internet.

 

" Some western people may think people in [Asia] do not like animals.

But from my point of view, people here care as much if not more about

animals than western people do. "

 

After completing her contract with the Mongkok clinic, Dr Bradley

worked for the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in

1994, but she quit in 2003 to set up her own practice. She says she

left because putting down healthy animals was not good for her soul.

 

Making house calls are part of her busy schedule. " Many cats are

afraid of travelling. When I visit, I use my secret weapons - feline

pheromone and catnip spray. I spray myself with them and the cats

just love to get close to me. "

 

Dr Bradley and her four colleagues have treated more than 3,000 cats

since November 2003.

 

" Some people consider cats their children. When an old animal gets

sick, the whole family will be affected. I am quite upset when a cat

passes away, because I get involved in the whole situation too. "

 

Dr Bradley has met thousands of cats in her career. Some make her

laugh, some make her cry, while others really challenge her to come up

with ideas on how to calm them down.

 

But one factor that impresses her most is their will to survive.

 

Ms No Name, a Kowloon cat she met last summer, illustrates this point.

She had been attacked by a dog and her intestines were ruptured. Even

though she was in great pain, she was still very friendly.

 

" We had to remove several inches of her intestines. She stayed in the

clinic for several weeks and went home well. It was amazing.

 

" That's why people say cats have nine lives. "

 

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