Southlake veterinarian loves business, medicine—and cats

Every part of Kitten to Cat Hospital in Southlake was built with cats in mind.

The wall colors are soothing and the hinges on its cages make little noise. The hospital even has curvy and comfortable scales designed especially for cats. Many of its patients will head right to the scales and make themselves at home.

"We are unique in that we cater to cats only," said owner Dr. Carrie Ann Mark. "They feel very comfortable here. The cats don't hear loud dogs barking or they don't smell dogs. It is very calm and soothing here. We even have quiet drawers in our desks."

Taking a tour through Kitten to Cat Hospital is like visiting a modern doctor's office or a dentist's place of business. Mark and her associates have the equipment to take care of any feline health need.

The operating room is equipped with a laser to make surgery minimally invasive. Mark also uses the laser to declaw cats, a procedure that is supposed to ease the patients' pain considerably.

She also uses ultrasound as a diagnostic tool, a recent advancement in veterinary medicine that is effective in early detection of disease in middle-aged and senior cats.

The hospital has the newest X-ray machine. Instead of producing negatives, the machine sends X-rays to be captured by a local desktop computer. They are stored in a cloud so that Mark can access them from home or elsewhere.

The dental section allows Mark to clean teeth and make extractions if needed. Dental X-rays are kept on file.

The in-house pharmacy is equipped with cat-only vaccines, every kind of shot a cat could require. In addition, the hospital has the equipment to do any needed blood work.

Mark said she loved cats from an early age.

"I helped my grandmother with her cats when I was a kid," she said. "I learned a lot from her."

She attended undergraduate school at Baylor University and majored in business and economics. She earned her doctorate in veterinary medicine from Texas A&M University. She recently became board certified in feline medicine with the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners, a rare certification that took three years to complete.

Before attending Texas A&M, Mark worked at a cat-only hospital in Houston. She has worked as a veterinarian in the Dallas /Fort Worth area since 2003. Mark is a diplomate with the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners.

"My passion is feline medicine," she said. "I enjoy every bit of what I am doing. I love the cats. I love keeping up and practicing the medicine part of it. I love running my own business."

Mark said she has wanted to own a feline-only hospital since she was in high school. When she opened Kitten to Cat in October 2012, she made sure that her staff shared her love of cats.

Her nurse has worked at feline-only hospitals since 1994 and has four cats at home. Her receptionist has more than 20 years of experience as a veterinary receptionist.

"We take great pride in our customer service," Mark said. "We follow up. We want the best for all our customers.

"We treat every cat as if it were our own."

Services

Kitten To Cat Hospital is one of the few feline-only veterinary practices in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

The most common elective surgeries performed at Kitten to Cat are spaying ($350) and neutering ($250). Other common surgeries are declawing and removals of tumors and foreign objects. The clinic also does microchipping.

For owners

Kitten to Cat employees said a big part of their business is educating owners. They give owners everything they need to know about their cats, including information on what toys to buy, cat litter, transporting cats, annual checkups, getting along with other pets and more.

Kitten to Cat is friendly to cat lovers as well as their pets. Waiting areas for owners are filled with books about cats and the walls are decorated with large cat photos.

Background

Dr. Carrie Ann Mark is a member of the American Association of Feline Practitioners, American Animal Hospital Association, American Veterinary Medical Association, Texas Veterinary Medical Association and the Cornell Feline Health Center.

Mark is married with three children. She has a rescued Ragdoll cat named Truffles.

Kitten to Cat Hospital, 711 E. Southlake Blvd., Ste.100, Southlake, 817-488-2272, www.kittentocathospital.com

Hours: 8 a.m.–5 p.m. Mon.–Fri. Early morning drop-off by appointment.