Hi there! My name’s Cristina Vulpe and I’m a certified veterinarian. I hold a PhD in veterinary oncology (abdominal cancer in dogs, to be more specific). I’ve been in love with animals ever since I can remember and I’ve always loved cats more than anything, but that doesn’t mean that I discriminate. All animals are wonderful and I’m sure many pet parents will agree with what I’m about to say – that they can be far better friends than humans, at times.
In my life, I’ve had lots of pets, probably also because my dad’s a vet, too, so my parents were more or less lenient with regard to allowing me to pick up strays and bring them home. I never had the opportunity to have a dog since we lived in a two-bedroom apartment, so there wasn’t enough space for that.
While I was growing up, I had very mild asthma, so keeping pets was a huge no-no. Fortunately, with the right treatment and care, it turned into an asthmatic bronchitis and then it disappeared. Mind you, that happened after years and years of treatment. So, when I was in the 6th grade, my parents finally allowed me to have a pet – it was a cat that my dad brought home one evening, a stray. Here’s a picture of him.
That cat was my companion for thirteen years before he disappeared and while we had some issues regarding training (using the litter box, to be precise), I loved him to bits. There’s another reason why I became so attached to him, not just because I loved animals. My parents were more or less strict about me getting good grades in school, so playtime was limited and only while I was on the spring or summer break was I allowed to go out and play with other kids. Naturally, because I became a loner and I just had my books and Mitzu (my cat), he played an important part in my overall development and later on, in my love for all animals and cats, in particular.
I went to Vet School, got my degree, worked in the field for seven years, got my PhD, and then things changed and I ended up working in a completely different domain, one that was more financially secure. I’m a project marketing manager now and I love my job very much but what I never lost was my interest in veterinary medicine and my love for animals.
Right after getting my PhD in 2015, I adopted a cat (the white one from the featured image). Without any exaggeration, she has become one of the creatures (humans included) I love most in the world – she’s sweet, cuddly, devoted, clean, and extremely well-behaved, and I got her from the streets one chilly November evening. The featured picture is the cat on the first night she spent at my place. She’s easily scared so I always have to make sure that she feels safe. Meowie.
For a while, I thought of myself as a failure because I had studied so much to be a vet and I ended up finding a completely different calling. My lovely cat has taught me that you can love animals no matter what you do, and since one of my greatest passions is educating people about cat and dog health, I eventually decided to create this website. This is the only page where you’ll get to read something about me. I want all of the other posts to bring you, as a cat parent or lover of cats, a lot of value, especially when it comes to diseases you can prevent with minimal effort. While I was working as a vet, there were many times where I had to explain to pet parents time and again various things. I realized I had become accustomed to our ‘terminology’ so much that it was difficult for me to explain to people what was wrong with their pets in a plain, simple language. This site is where I’ll do just that. I’ll try to help you as best as I can so that you understand the health problems that cats can suffer from and most importantly, how you can prevent them.
For this website to exist, I might have to monetize it at one point, although I don’t see that happening too soon. If that does occur and I end up recommending cat products and supplies, I want you to know that I will always (I give you my word) remove the ones that you yourself have tried and could have caused any issue in your cat. Just leave a comment, I’ll do my homework, and I’ll remove the product recommendation as swiftly as possible. My intention is to promote healthy products, not those that could harm cats in any way.
I have worked in affiliate marketing for many years and I’ve often had to go against my beliefs and write about items that weren’t as good as they were marketed. This is my site, so I will never recommend a product that could harm an animal. Ever.
I truly hope you’ll enjoy the time you will spend on My Feline Buddy, and if you ever have any questions or an idea for a new article, don’t be afraid to use the contact form to get in touch with me. I’ll also do my best to answer all comments as fast as I can.
You can find some of my other work below:
My author page at The Pet Friendly House
I’m also a member of the team at Tuxedo-cat.co.uk & Pigeonpedia
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Get in touch: ourfelinebuddy (at) gmail (dot) com.