Hello, I’m Debbie Ottway. I live in Suffolk with my partner and our four cats and placid, cat-friendly dog. I have always loved cats and, over the years have been privileged to share my life with many of them.

While working as a veterinary nurse in 1990 I became fascinated by animal behaviour, so I enrolled at university to study the subject in detail. While studying I also worked for Wood Green Animal Shelter at their Heydon Cat Rehoming Centre and was fortunate to be allowed to study the behaviour of the cats living there for my honours research project.

After graduation and some time spent in further behavioural research and teaching, I studied for my Diploma in Practical Animal Behaviour and Training with COAPE (Centre of Applied Pet Ethology). I became a CAPBT Practitioner and have worked as a cat behaviourist and freelance writer on animal science ever since.

I am fascinated by all animals—and am qualified as a dog behaviourist too—but my special interest is in the field of cat behaviour and welfare. I am a qualified clicker trainer, having studied under Kay Laurence, and have a special interest in the use of clicker training to help build the cat-human bond.