Natural Cat Health Masterclass

Dr Bruce Syme BVSc(Hons) graduated from Melbourne University vet school in 1991 with first class honours, after completing a 3 yr science degree with a major in molecular genetics. Bruce became a certified veterinary acupuncturist in 1995 and continued further studies in nutrition, herbal medicine and homoeopathy. Bruce has a wide range of interests in veterinary medicine, including both small and large animals.

Bruce enjoys using natural therapies, combined with traditional orthodox medicine, and has a special interest in nutrition and the links to chronic disease in dogs and cats, particularly in treating skin disease.

He currently owns and operates the Vets All Natural Animal Health Centre which includes a veterinary clinic (5 veterinarians, 8 support staff – emphasis on natural health/medicine), grooming, dog training, and a wholesale outlet for natural pet care products, foods and fresh meats. This practice is located in Barker St, Castlemaine, in central Victoria.

Bruce lectures often and gives a series of lectures every year on natural nutrition and supplements, to various breed clubs, training clubs, dog associations, organic farmers, and sustainable living groups. He has hosted the radio 3AK Saturday morning talk-back Pet Care hour on Melbourne radio. Bruce is a regular guest veterinarian for Totally Wild TV show on Channel Ten, and is a guest veterinarian for Dave and Kim (In The Mornings) TV Show on Channel Ten. He is a talk-back presenter on RRR Melbourne radio.

Dr Elaine Cebuliak BVSc, MACVSc (dentistry), CVA (Vet Acupuncture), Cert Chinese Herbs, CMAV A is a Veterinary Surgeon and Physician, and is also a qualified Naturopath, Medical Herbalist, Nutritionist, Aromatherapist, Reflexologist, Remedial Massage Therapist. She performs referral work, teaching, and running workshops. Elaine Cebuliak founded an Integrative Vet Medicine Practice in Brisbane in 2010 called “Animal Wellness”.

She has held many executive positions in the Australian Veterinary Association over the years including President of the Central Queensland Australian Veterinary Association branch, Newsletter Editor of the Australian Veterinary Dental Society, President of the Holistic Veterinary Association, Publicity Officer, Queensland Representative of the Holistic Special Interest Group of the Australian Veterinary Association. Previous Vet employment included RSPCA in Sydney, New Zealand locum work in Tauranga and Twizel, and various clinics in Townsville, South Australia and NSW.

Elaine has performed volunteer Veterinary work in Bali, The Cook Islands, and India. She helped set up a charity vet clinic in Bodhgaya, the Bihar province in Northern India, where she has ongoing communication. This organisation became registered as Vets Beyond Borders and has now become Internationally recognised as one of the leading groups in animal welfare in third world countries.

Dr Clare Middle graduated in veterinary science in 1979 in the first year of graduates from the then new Murdoch University in Perth, WA. She has worked as a small animal vet in Perth since then. She gained a certificate with the first Australian course of the USA based International Veterinary Acupuncture Society, in 1991.

When Clare’s two children did not respond well to normal medicine when they were babies in the 1980’s, she treated them homeopathically with great results, and so took a post-grad certificate course in homoeopathy for GP’s and dentists, as there were none available for vets then. Having trialled homoeopathy on her children, she deemed it safe and suitable for her animal patients and began using it in her vet practice. She then gained a certificate with the International Association of Veterinary Homeopathy from the first time this course was offered in Australia. In 1992, she bought East Fremantle Veterinary Hospital, where both Clare and her staff increasingly used several natural therapy modalities for their small animal patients.

In 1996, she was the inaugural president of the Integrative Veterinarians Association, newly formed as a special interest group of the Australian Veterinary Association. In the early 2000’s, Clare was the IVA rep on the AVA policy council to help set the Dog and Cat Vaccination policy for Australian vets, as a choice to allow a less frequent vaccination schedule according to scientific evidence (rather than the increasing tendency to vaccinate more frequently). Clare has a certificate in Veterinary Traditional Chinese Medical Herbology and a certificate with the USA Chi Institute in TCVM Food Therapy.

Dr Kim Kendall is Sydney’s best-loved and one of the world’s best known cat vets. She is a world expert in feline-friendly care, one of only two cat-only vets in Sydney and the only cat vet in Australia qualified in cat behaviour. Her research, vet practice and grooming and boarding centre, the Cat Palace on Sydney’s north shore, are all about cat-friendly, cat-centred care.

Dr Kim is an Applied Cat Behaviourist, with unrivalled experience in cats and the reasons behind the way they interact with us and with each other. Such a dedicated background in feline behaviour is highly unusual anywhere, and especially in Australia, with Dr Kim’s opinion being highly sought after all over the world. She regularly appears on panels discussing both cats and more general animal treatment and welfare and is considered one of the foremost feline experts around today.

Cats do get sick, there’s nothing any of us can do to put an end to that, but we hope the information we provide here can help at least to minimise or delay any of the all too many conditions and diseases which our felines can suffer from. Just small changes to the living environment and ongoing care can make a massive difference.