Introducing Katja Londa – Veterinary Surgeon

Katja Londa

By Jude Gidney.

Katja is joining with Saddleworth Life to offer a few articles concerning the health of your pets over the next few months. I caught up with her to find out more…

Please tell us a little about yourself

I’m a mobile Veterinary surgeon. I’ve lived in Saddleworth for 20years now, I started off in Dobcross for 2 years then Diggle since the turn of the millennium.

I’ve been working as a Vet for almost 20 years now. I used to work in a very busy small animal clinic in West Yorkshire. Over the years I’ve just seen so many pets that have been really really stressed out by their visit to the Vet and their owners being stressed out by the experience as well. I thought there must be a better way of doing this and it gave me the idea to start working solely as a home-visit Vet.

You set up and run Pet’s Relaxed. Please tell us about the service.

I offer relaxed consultations in people’s own homes. Appointments are 30-40 minutes long, that gives us plenty of time to talk through the pet’s problems and also allows the pets to get to know me before I start examining them.

Many of my patients are very nervous pets, who get extremely stressed out by visits to the vet clinic, but I also see people who have issues with either their own mobility, or that of their pet (it can be really difficult to get a large, arthritic dog into the car!).

I do most things that can reasonably done at a client’s home including check-ups, blood tests, and vaccinations.

I am particularly interested in a more holistic approach. Although I use conventional medications, I try to stay away from them where I can. I add in more natural therapies wherever possible such as acupuncture and herbal therapies. I’m registered with the ABVA (Association of British Veterinary Acupuncturists). I’m also on a Veterinary Herbal Medicine course at present. I’m very keen to help elderly, arthritic pets as much as possible (there is so much more that can be done than just painkillers!), to reduce over-vaccination, and to empower pet owners to feel confident in looking after their pet’s health.

I also offer home euthanasia. It’s a tricky one to talk about but I think everyone wants to be at home for the last moments for their pets. It’s a service I’m very proud of, it’s very calm and peaceful, and I spend as much time as is needed and never rush.

Having said all that, my service is always going to be an add-on service. There can always be situations where the pet needs a clinic such as for operations, inpatient treatment, tests and x-rays. These are all options I can’t offer. Also, I work daytime and week days only.

It’s very important that my clients are also registered with one of the local Veterinary Surgeries who then either have their out-of-hours service or they have provisions for emergencies, and who can offer xrays, operations and so on.

I work solely and don’t have a receptionist, so I may not get back to people straight away if they ring me, but my phone can take messages. I also make a point of turning my phone off when I’m visiting a client. Otherwise I respond to text messages and emails.

Tell us something else amazing that you do as a Vet

I’m involved with the charity Street Paws which is in operation all over the north of the country. We look after the health of dogs of homeless people. I’m heavily involved in working with them in Manchester. We make sure the dogs are fit and healthy and that they have vaccinations and flea and worming treatment.  It’s very rewarding.

Do you have your own pets and if so please tell us about them ?

I have a cat, Filou, who is 5, and a dog, Patch, who is 4. They’re both rescue animals. Filou was found riding on the metro in Manchester by herself and was handed into the Vets where my husband was working. We decided to take her home. She now runs the household even the dog! Patch is a border-collie cross and needs a lot of time and exercise and totally loves being in Saddleworth and on the Moors.

You must be a very busy lady. Do you have time for yourself?

My big passion is Tai Chi of which I am an instructor. I run 3 classes a week myself and go to a class run by another instructor as often as I can. I also love being outside, spending time with my kids and my husband. I also really enjoy cooking healthy and colourful food.

What do you love about living in Saddleworth?

Where do I start?! It’s so beautiful here and you can go out on a long walk and not meet many people but equally there’s quite a lot to do if I want to go out and socialise. You can be alone if you want but you don’t have to be lonely.

You are set to write some articles for Saddleworth Life. Please tell us briefly what we can expect

I’d like to talk about whole health, including dog and cat nutrition and how we tell if a food is good for them or not, over medicating our pets, what supplements to use or not, what to look out for in our elderly pets as they are starting to struggle a little and lot’s more. 

Thank you Katja for sharing and we look forward to your first article very soon.

Author: Jude Gidney - Editor

If you would like to share an interesting story, achievement, photo or something you just want to happily shout about please send it in an email to hello@saddleworthlife.com We'd ❤ to hear from you!!