Welcome To Healthy Cat Guide!


Hi there! My name is Matje van de Camp and I am the founder and editor of Healthy Cat Guide. I have 28+ years of experience as a cat owner and have dealt with everything from scaredy cats to fierce hunters, from healthy cats that lived long lives to, sadly, more sickly kitties that were taken from me too soon.

Currently, I am the mother of a European shorthair named Lordi Rockstarr. She was born in 2006, when the Finnish rock band Lordi won the Eurovision Song Contest and she had a tiny mohawk when she was a kitten. She is a fussy eater and a bit on the nervous side, but overflowing with love and healthy as can be recently diagnosed with chronic kidney disease.

Lordi had a sister, a beautiful grey cat named Link (Linkl Princess, in full). They were both from the same litter, though likely had different fathers. Link was a bit bigger than her siblings when born and looked very different from them and their mother Zelda. In contrast to her sister, Link was always very confident and highly food-motivated, but had health problems all her life. Unfortunately, she passed away at 13 after suffering from pancreatitis for two years.

Going through the process of figuring out what was wrong with my cat and then finding ways to improve her health and quality of life really opened my eyes to the lack of knowledge and good information available to cat owners. Not to discredit my vet, because she was a great support to me through all of this, but I often left her office with many of my questions unanswered. So I did what any concerned cat parent would do and hit up Google.

The information I found online was scattered and often based on (well-intended) guesswork or mere anecdotal evidence. The sad truth is that our collective knowledge about cat health, safety and behaviour still has some way to go. And I’ll be the first to admit that I have made some mistakes in taking care of my cats in the past. If only they could talk to us in more than cute meows… That’s why I decided to start this blog and make it my mission to help cat owners like myself make conscious, well-informed decisions about the health and safety of their cats.

OUR MISSION: To help cat owners make conscious, well-informed decisions about the health and safety of their cats

How I Create Content

I have a background in academics, with a PhD in Computer Science (a nerd who likes cats, who would have guessed?). So I like to take a scientific approach to writing articles. I identify topics that are important for cat owners to know about and collect all the information I can find through various sources, including veterinary health professionals, scientific publications, and real-life customer experiences.

Whenever possible, I try to get my hands (and my cat’s paws) on any item before I consider recommending it to you. Finally, I summarise the information I find and write it up in a language that anyone can understand. I refer back to my sources whenever I can, so you can dive in deeper on any topic you wish to know more about.

I do not accept sponsorships, because I want this site to be a place you can trust to bring you real, unbiased advice that you can use to make the best decisions for yourself and your cat. That said, I do receive an affiliate commission for the products I recommend, should you choose to buy them through one of my links. This is of no extra cost to you and helps me to maintain the site.

Veterinary Disclaimer

I’m not a veterinary health professional. I’m an expert through experience only and will never pretend to have better knowledge than you or your vet about what is best for your cat. My advice is here for you to use as a guide, but please run any decisions about your cat’s health by a licensed vet first.

That said, one vet is not the other. As with humans, veterinary professionals may have differing opinions about a diagnosis or treatment options.

For example, one veterinary specialist suggested I put my cat through a round of chemo therapy as a way of diagnosing cancer, as opposed to actually examining her for tumors or leukemia first. Needless to say, I went for a second opinion.

You know your cat best. If you feel that the advice given to you – whomever it is given by – does not fit your situation, then don’t hesitate to look further.

What’s In It For You?

So why should you read Healthy Cat Guide? The main reason to read this blog, I would say, is because you want to take a cat-centric approach to taking care of your beloved feline and you want to be their best advocate in this world. If any of the following statements resonate with you, you are in the right place:

  • You see your cat as part of your family.
  • You are committed to being their “forever home”.
  • You want to do whatever you can to give your cat a long and happy life.
  • You want to know more about better cat care.
  • You are considering adopting a cat and want to know what you are getting yourself into.

If that sounds good to you, I look forward to having you read our articles and guides.

Matje van de Camp

Founder & Editor at Healthy Cat Guide