Cats to Whales and Back; A Behavior Nerds Journey

I knew I "wanted to work with animals" by 2yrs old and my favorite animals were cats and whales. My family and friends readily confirm I was trained by my cat, Love, when it came to detailed behavior observation and studies of vocal behavior. Honestly, not much has changed. After 15 years and a MS studying killer whale social behavior and its relationship to vocal learning, I found myself unable to give up my first love of working hands-on with animals and began working for San Diego Humane Society in 2018. I’m currently the Community Animal Training Manager, overseeing a team of CAT's and all the public facing behavior support services and training classes for dogs & cats including our online Shy Cat class for fearful cats. I have a passion for working with fearful and poorly socialized animals, training using choice and a cooperative/fear free approach, and talking about behavior. I receive daily training from my cats, Amethyst and Sapphire, who appear satisfied with my progress most of the time. 

Experienced with:

✔️ oral medication administration - pills

✔️ oral medication - liquids

✔️ eye medication

✔️ ear medication

✔️ topical medication

Cat Sitting with Fear-Free Techniques  

I have been cat sitting privately for folks for about seven years. During that time, I've picked up on subtle behavior cues that indicate medical concerns - both small and significant. I am experienced not only in different skills such as giving medications and performing nail trims, but I am also adept in fear free methods to make it a positive experience for the kitties. Examples of my husbandry training work can be found <here>. The videos are scattered throughout the playlist, but you'll see several nail trim videos, different types of medication, etc. 

I have two purrbabies of my own. Amethyst & Sapphire are 2.5 year old sisters I brought home from SDHS at 6.5 weeks old in 2022. We started training the very next morning and they're perfect wonderful babies and my whole world. Amethyst is the clever velociraptor type who cuddles on her own schedule but cuddles hard when she does. Sapph is the "it may be 10000 degrees but I would still like to be on top of you no matter what position you're in and be snuggled until you're ready to die from heat stroke" type.

I first met the Tabby Manor crew when I was a speaker at Cat Camp in 2023. Blanca, one of the other Tabby Manor sitters, happened to take one of my classes with her kitty Rupert too! It only made sense that I join Team Tabby as a cat sitter to do more of what I love! It's a good use of my skills and a little supplemental income will help me give my girls their best lives. I look forward to meeting you and taking care of your kittos!

- Juliette