Client Service Coordinator:  Janet Bennett

Janet graduated from the University of Florida in 2006 with a major in Psychology and a minor in women's studies.  Her concentration in behavioral psychology and animal communication inspired her to become a partner in a non-profit animal rescue in Gainesville, Florida. This love of animals followed her to her new home in Austin where she soon became part of the staff here. While an admitted canine enthusiast, she jumped at the opportunity to learn more about feline behavior, and what better place to learn that the Cat Hospital of Austin?

Janet shares her home with three FIV+ cats: Elektra, Emania, and Blackie.  The cats decided to share Janet's attention with her dogs providing they have exclusive access to a water bowl free of doggie drool. They have also agreed not to eat her fat-tail gecko, Mr. Mojo, and she is grateful.

Janet's email address is: jbennett@CatHospitalofAustin.com

Client Service Coordinator:  Amanda Dunsky

Amanda has worked for the Cat Hospital for over three and a half years, and is quite familiar with our clients and their cats needs!

Ever since she was a little girl, Amanda loved cats and adopted  her first cat, Mallory, six years ago.  Mallory has visited the Cat Hospital of Austin since kittenhood so that she could receive excellent veterinary care.  Since then, she has adopted twin Siamese brothers named Dublin and MacGregor. They all live happily together with their sister, Maya the dog, and Amanda's boyfriend Cory.

Amanda has lived in Austin since she was about 1 year old.  She graduated from McNeil High School in 2003. She looks forward to continuing to assist you with all your feline needs.

Amanda's email address is: adunsky@CatHospitalofAustin.com

Hospital Administrator:  Courtney Crump

Courtney is originally from Albuquerque, New Mexico and moved to Austin in 1984.  Her first career path was in the world of business with a company called Radian, but she really wanted to work with animals.  She became a veterinary technician in 1995 and has enjoyed working in the veterinary field ever since.

In 1998, she began working with Dr. Percival at another veterinary hospital and demonstrated management skills as well as superb technical skills.  Because of Courtney's leadership ability, Dr. Percival hired her as the hospital administrator for the Cat Hospital of Austin.

Courtney currently shares her home with two dogs, named Mandy and Spunky.  Mandy is an 8 year old border collie/lab mix and Spunky is a 12 year old Cocker Spaniel mix.  Even though she owns dogs, Courtney is a confirmed cat lover and is eager to meet all the patients that come through our doors.

Courtney's email address is:  ccrump@CatHospitalofAustin.com

Veterinary Nurse: Jessie Morris

Jessie is a 2004 graduate of Nebraska Wesleyan University with a major in Elementary Education and a minor in Music. Having lived in small-town Nebraska her whole life, she decided it was time for a change. She moved to Austin in January of 2005 and started her career in education. A few months down the road, Jessie realized this was not the path for her. She had always loved animals, so she started her new career path at an animal shelter. Jessie still loved her work after a year, so she decided to try the animal hospital scene -- and is still happy with her decision!

Jessie currently has two animal children of her own: Charcoal, her spunky black kitty, and Allegra Francesca, an Italian Greyhound.

Jessie's email address is: jmorris@CatHospitalofAustin.com

Veterinary Nurse:  Lucy Ransdell

Lucy came to work for the Cat Hospital when she decided to turn her passion for animals into a full-time gig. She is originally from Buddy Holly’s hometown of Lubbock, Texas, and even spent several years at the Buddy Holly Center handling public relations and coordinating special events. More recently, she worked with leaders of the Texas music community at the regional office of the GRAMMY Awards in Austin. Lucy is also a former team leader for AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps, a national service program, where she traveled for two years with teams of ten young adults performing community service projects with organizations like Habitat for Humanity and the American Red Cross.

Lucy shares her home and heart with her FIV+ kitties, Stella and Sasha. The newest addition to the family is Bodhi, a Chihuahua/Dachshund mix (also known as a Chiweenie), who tries to fit in with the kitties as best as he can.

Lucy's email address is: lransdell@CatHospitalofAustin.com

Office Manager: Taz

Taz adopted the Percival household in 1994.  She was only about 4 months old when she decided to camp out on the Percival doorstep in Houston.  At this time, she was covered in dirt and was bathed and bathed.  We even tried to bathe the black spot off her head and black ring on her tail away, but quickly discovered it was part of her coloring.  We searched for her original owners but no one was ever found.  Even after all the baths, she decided she still wanted to be a part of the Percival household.  Now, she is our office manager at the Cat Hospital of Austin.  Her primary job responsibilities include holding our paperwork down for us and testing cat food samples.  She also makes sure that Taz’s Treasures are stocked with the most stylish collars and that the toys will provide hours of fun.

Taz's e-mail address is: taz@CatHospitalOfAustin.com

Assistant Office Manager: Gizmo

Gizmo is the assistant office manager, because Taz is definitely the boss and has seniority.   Gizmo is a 3 year old spayed female cat.  She has a couple of unusual features.  One is that she is a polydactyl (which means she has too many toes on her feet, as shown in the picture).  Her other feature is that she is an unusual color known as a torbie.  This means that she has markings similar to both a tortie calico and a tabby cat.  She convinced us to adopt her by jumping into Dr. Percival’s lap anytime the doctor was trying to type at the computer.  It was Dr. Percival’s way of avoiding too much paperwork.  We hope you enjoy meeting Gizmo.

Gizmo's e-mail address is: gizmo@CatHospitalOfAustin.com

Administrative Assistant:  Nutmeg

Nutmeg is our administrative assistant who will often be seen holding down the counter at the reception area.  She has a sad story in how she came to us at the Cat Hospital.  She was a patient here for 2 years and was diagnosed as epileptic.  After her epilepsy was managed with daily doses of medication, her owners were killed in a motorcycle crash.  No one was left to take care of Nutmeg, so she was brought to us to see if we could find her a home.  Since she requires twice daily medication to control her seizures, and frequent check-ups, Dr. Percival decided it would be best for her to be an addition to our staff.  Nutmeg does have an occasional seizure and her medication makes her a little unsteady on her feet.  She does seem to be making herself at home and has adjusted to her new surroundings at the Cat Hospital.

Nutmeg's email address is:  nutmeg@CatHospitalofAustin.com

Cat Hospital Mascot: Taxi

Taxi is a very sweet and purring cat that was found at the IRS office in Austin.  When she was first found, she was very scared of people.  A good Samaritan was able to gain her trust and she became a very loving kitty.  This good Samaritan brought her to us to find a new home for her, since the IRS tax office is not really a safe place for such a friendly feline.

When Taxi arrived, Dr. Percival immediately noticed that she had an old scarring of her ear from a problem created by ear mites.  She also had an active case of ear mites that were irritating her.  We started treating her for ear mites and intended to perform a surgical procedure to help her ear stand up straight.  Pre-anesthetic bloodwork that was run told us that Taxi has an early form of kidney disease.  This means that anesthesia for a cosmetic procedure was not really a good idea.  Instead, we placed Taxi on a special diet to help her kidneys function as well as they possibly can.  Now Taxi has a permanent deformity of her ear, but it gives her added character. 

Taxi is a "special needs" kitty because her reduced kidney function may shorten her life span, and it requires her to eat a special diet. This also explain her hair cut, a trim called the "lion shave", which helps keep her presentably clean. Taxi is such a special girl that Dr. Percival decided to keep her at the clinic full-time as our mascot. Next time you visit the clinic, you can probably find her sunning in Minnie's room, showing off her latest trendy hairstyle.

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