She graduated from Cambridge University in 1992 and remained briefly at the university to work as a small animal anaesthetist, before moving into small animal practise in Canterbury, where she established a radio-active Iodine treatment centre for hyperthyroid cats. She gained the RCVS Certificate in Small Animal Medicine while in first opinion practice there before becoming Feline Advisory Bureau Resident in Feline Medicine at Bristol Vet School. She then moved to Oxfordshire to work in private practice again, gained the RCVS Diploma in Small Animal Medicine (Feline) in 2002, and with her friend and colleague Caroline Blundell, established the Oxford Cat Clinic in March 2006. She maintains a close link with the Feline Advisory Bureau and is an active member of their expert panel.