Most of our team members are cross-trained over several months so that each person can do at least some aspects of most positions (exam room nurse, boarding patient care, grooming, treatments, ICU nurse, radiology, reception duties, etc.)  Most nurses can help with anesthesia and surgery, but we keep a dedicated surgical nurse and doctor team (Rachel and Dr. Susan) for consistency.  Missy is the exception, in that she spends nearly all of her time at the front desk.  She would do an excellent job as a nurse, but she is fantastic as our head receptionist, so she mans the gate.  We strive to provide the best care for our patients by working as a team.  This page was created for you to get to know our team members so you are comfortable with the people who take care of your pets.  Each of our employees is a cat lover and will do their best for your kitty!!!

Click Here! Rachel James Click Here!

                                                     Hercules                                                                                                      Sebastian

                                               Weasley                                                                                                             Elliott

Images of Rachel's cats are courtesy of Steve Bartz Photography http://www.stevebartzphotography.com/

Rachel joined The Cat's Meow as surgical nurse after moving to Fort Worth from Arlington.  Previously she worked at The Cat Hospital of Dallas for 2 years.  She has worked in almost every job position in an animal hospital, from kennel work to surgical tech, radiology tech, exam room tech, and receptionist.  As surgical nurse, she maintains the surgery equipment including the laser, anesthetic machines, and instruments.  She also maintains detailed records of all anesthetics and pain medications.    Rachel is our primary dental hygienist and does the cleaning, polishing, and fluoride treatments on our patients' teeth.  In addition to being our Senior Nurse, Rachel is responsible for lab machine quality control, and oversees several major projects that require specific knowledge and skills.

Some of her hobbies include reading, spending time outdoors, growing orchids, and watching movies in addition to spending time with friends.  She especially likes science fiction and fantasy and what she calls "B" Movies (straight to video).  Rachel shares her home with her husband, Jeremy, and 5 kitties, Hercules, Sebastian, Elliott, Weasley, and Bunkie.  Hercules and Elliott are special little guys, as they are both positive for FIV.  Rachel takes extra precautions with them, ensuring that their teeth stay very clean, as FIV positive kitties are prone to gum disease.  Rachel can answer many questions about cats with FIV and multi-cat households with infected and non-infected cats, as she has first hand experience.

Environmental conservation is one of her passions (she's the one that got Dr. Susan involved).  Deeply committed to reducing, recycling, reusing, and trying to decrease waste, she drives a hybrid car and has an energy-efficient home.  Besides recycling and trying to purchase local and/or organic products, she walks the walk by communicating her opinions on environmental issues and animal welfare to people in positions to make a difference.

Click Here! Missy Powell   Click Here!

Missy and Scott on their trip to Mexico; summer 2007

Missy, Scott, and Austin (Scott's son)

Graci and Sassy

Before joining our tem, Missy had worked in the veterinary field for around 5 years.  She started out wanting to work with animals and was employed at a clinic helping in the kennels.  From there, she was transferred to the reception area.  We happened upon Missy after she had moved to the Fort Worth area and was at a part-time job outside of the veterinary field.  We met her and decided she would fit in, and we are certainly glad she joined our team.  She has been fantastic taking care of our front office.

As receptionist, Missy is often the first person our clients speak to on the phone and in the clinic.  She stays very busy answering phone calls, scheduling appointments, checking patients in and out, and acting as liaison between owners and doctors or staff.  She organizes numerous charts and forms, sends and receives faxes (lab results, medical records, etc.), and takes care of written and oral reminders (for clients and our team members).  There are so many miscellaneous tasks we ask her to do that there is not enough room here to list them all!  Missy is great at remaining calm and friendly and professional even when she is very busy, and she provides a stable foundation by taking care of the many front desk responsibilities consistently, efficiently, and completely.

Her main goal in life is to be happy.  She has a wonderful boyfriend, Scott, and shares a home with a cat, a dog, and two finches.  She collects things with dragonflies and Dallas Cowboys.  She likes fashion, celebrity news, and loves being outside.  Outdoor activities (swimming, camping, road trips, etc) are what she prefers.  She loves to vacation in Mexico.  Her life certainly sounds happy...hopefully she's living her goal!

Kris and her partner, Coy

Lil Dude & Norton

Calamity & Malibu (littermates)

Calamity is polydactyl and has a total of 28 toes! (most cats have 18)

Eliot

Tripod

Gulliver (who was acquired as an overweight cat; he is now much thinner than this picture)

Roman

Roman is a little miracle kitty.  He survived being hit by a car that fractured his palate!

Alley Kat

Chopper (the lap dog) and Harley

Pepper (a 23 year old Yellow Nape Amazon Parrot)

Born in Illinois, Kris finally made it to Texas, where it is hot and sunny, like she prefers.  She enjoys flower gardening, riding motorcycles, and just being out in the sunshine.  Her absolute favorite thing to do, though, is to curl up on the sofa with a good book, a cup of flavored coffee, and a kitty (or 2 or 3 or...)  Add a crackling fire in cool weather, and she's in heaven!  Aside from staying busy with those activities and work, she enjoys church and spending time with her pets.  She currently has 9 cats, 2 dogs, and 1 parrot.  She collects anything and everything to do with cats (even cats themselves!)

Professionally, Kris is a Registered Veterinary Technician and has joined us already armed with knowledge and skills.  She has worked at various veterinary hospitals as well as a veterinary emergency hospital, but she is very excited about limiting her time to only working with cats (her true passion).  She is using her skills as nurse in the exam rooms as well as helping during surgery and caring for the boarding and hospitalized kitties. She ensures that the surgery instruments are ready to use by managing the autoclave (sterilizing machine).  She also manages the radiology equipment and developer.  With lots of past experience under her belt in this department, Kris has taken on the daunting task of manager of inventory.  She has completely re-organized our pharmacy and will be maintaining not only medications and prescription diets, but also numerous supplies used in the clinic.

Kris is very personable and laid-back.  You will have no trouble talking her her about your kitty's health care (or just generally talking).  Please help us welcome Kris to The Cat's Meow!

Jeanene Robinson

Jeanene

Jeanene and her husband, Gary

Harley (Bull Mastiff) sporting his "Doggles"

Following several years in the human dentistry field, Jeanene was looking for a change and became interested in working with animals.  After many weeks of observing at different veterinary hospitals and deciding where she felt most comfortable, she joined The Cat's Meow team.  She was trying to locate a work environment where she could help pets and be happy.  Her love for animals is strong, as she has volunteered a lot of time and effort in finding homes for cats and dogs.  She currently has 1 dog (Harley, pictured above) and 1 cat (Frisco) and is fostering another cat.  She hopes someday to adopt a siamese (or part siamese) cat, as they hold a special attraction for her.

Jeanene, a registered dental assistant, has had experience in multiple areas of the dental field.  Besides general dentistry offices, she has worked for various specialty offices including a periodontist, endodontist, oral surgeon, and a facial cosmetic surgeon.  She is very busy outside of work as well, having volunteered time with nursing homes and Meals on Wheels.

Jeanene is very social and will enjoy working with you and your kitties when you visit.  She will try to help you in any way possible.  Please help us welcome her!

Addendum 3/08:  Jeanene has, unfortunately, moved away from Fort Worth...her husband received a promotion that involved moving to southeast Texas.  We will really miss her and wish them the very best!

For those of you wondering if Dr. Bean and Jake are related...yes!  He is her youngest son.

Born and raised in Fort Worth, Jake is back after a world adventure.  He spent nearly a year (2006) in New Zealand and visited Fiji and Thailand while he was in that area.  During his travels, he met his soul mate (and now wife), Alison (you may remember Alison; she worked as a receptionist at The Cat's Meow last summer).  After Jake and Alison's arrival back in North America (Alison is from Canada) in 2006, they lived in Fort Worth for a while then moved to Colorado for schooling.  They learned that they were expecting a baby and moved back to Fort Worth to be close to (Jake's) family.   Now they are settled into a recently-purchased house and have a beautiful, healthy daughter, Addison.

Jake hopes to become a teacher and administrator at the high school level in the future.  He is currently taking college courses in the evenings (after working full time at The Cat's Meow-busy man!)  Once these courses are over, he may begin school full-time in the fall.

He aspires to be a wonderful father and husband and hopes to travel more.  One goal he has is to learn to play the guitar.  His hobbies include fishing, golf, softball, hiking, camping, and spending time at the beach.

Tracy (with a lemur) and Ryan

Scooter, Salem, and Brooklyn

You will recognize Tracy instantly by her New York accent.  Even though she has lived in Texas for several years, her roots are up north.  Most of her experience in the veterinary field came from working at Bide-A-Wee, New York's largest and oldest non-profit adoption center.  Some of her volunteer work in NY included the NYC Mayor's Alliance; she continues to volunteer with the ASPCA Political Advocacy.

Tracy is very passionate about animals and their wellbeing.  She could spend hours on the ASPCA website and aspires to help improve Texas' animal cruelty and protection laws.  She has 3 rescue kitties, Scooter ("Cooties"), Salem, and Brooklyn.

Outside of the animal world, she also has varied interests.  She has taken some college courses in political science/international relations with a special focus on Russia (in fact, she can even speak some Russian!)  She also enjoys Irish history and culture and even created a website detailing Irish history in the 5 boroughs of NYC to help area genealogists better understand their ancestors' experiences there.  The site's research included help from the Museum of the City of New York.

Tracy is mother to a very intelligent son, Ryan.

Originally from Florida, we are glad Aprile made it to Texas!  She has an English Springer Spaniel (Brooke) and 3 black cats (Mama Girl, Mimi, and JT).

Aprile has an extensive background in sales and marketing but really wanted to work with animals.  After a discussion with her family, she decided to take the plunge and join the veterinary field.  She is anxiously pursuing veterinary technician certification.  She wants to make a difference where she works each day.

Outside of work, Aprile's goals are to be the best wife, mother, and servant to God that she can be.  She collects Angels and participates in prison ministry.  She likes Italian food, sweets, flowers, and arts & crafts.

Home

Health Information

Bulletin board

Our hospital

Our doctors

Our staff

Links

The Cat's Meow Veterinary Hospital

4948 Overton Ridge Blvd.

Ft. Worth, TX 76132

(817) 263-5287

(817) 263-5290 fax

© Copyright 2001 The Cat's Meow Veterinary Hospital.  All Rights Reserved.