Meet the AdvoCATS

Lisa has worked as a veterinary nurse since she was 16, with a 6 year break running her own pet sitting service. The chance to help others keep their beloved family pets in rented accommodation inspired Lisa, as she believes they are truly family members, and has had to deal with the practical problems caused by surrendered pets ending up in rescues.

Carla is a qualified veterinary nurse, and also runs Life of Riley Homes, a property investment company that has the specific aim of offering rental properties to people with pets. She firmly believes that everyone, including animals, deserve a safe and quality home to live in.

Jan is not a fan of cameras! However she feels passionately that not enough is done to enable families to keep their pets wherever possible, and with 10 years negotiating experience behind her, is well positioned to work with tenants and landlords to try and facilitate this.

Zoe is qualified psychologist who lives with her husband and two cats, Cheech and Sanchez. She has had personal experiences both of the challenges of pet ownership in rental properties and of the positive impact that cats can have on a family’s emotional health and wellbeing. She also loves music and plays in several bands in Nottingham.

Karen has worked in Technical Sales for over 20 yrs and is also a trained Life Coach. She is a passionate animal lover and can’t imagine her life without a cat. Karen is also convinced of the mutually beneficial relationship between people and animals.

Holly runs her own small shelter, Holly’s Manky Moggies, for disabled, elderly and unwanted kitties, and as a long-time renter is ferociously passionate about improving renting with pets. She is a professional writer and often covers pet-related issues, as well as testing and reviewing all kinds of weird and wonderful cat gadgets.

Gary grew up with cats from a very young age to his mid 20’s and is currently the proud dad of Bobster (pictured) who was rescued after being trapped in a garage over a long hot summer. Working in the emergency services Gary understands first-hand the massive benefits to our mental health that having a pet at home can bring. Gary was in fact assisted himself by AdvoCATS, which inspired him to join the team in the hope that he can one day help someone keep their beloved pet in rented accommodation.

Jonathan is Jan’s husband, together they have 2 cat’s, Pixel and Sansa. In fact throughout his life he was barely been without a cat, it was only whilst in rented accommodation whilst studying in Swansea that he didn’t have a feline companion. Jonathan missed having a cat during this period, and wants to change the awful choice between companion or home to companion and home. Jonathan is pictured with Loki who lived to be a grand age of 24!

Luke and Lucy are a young professional couple who both work at Rolls Royce. Originally from Manchester, they have now lived in Derby for 3 years. They have one adopted cat called Flo, 5 years old, who they rescued from Cats Protection. Luke and Lucy enjoy getting outdoors and exploring new places, hopefully one day being able to bring Flo with them on a little lead!

Originally from Poland, Eva decided to move to the UK in 2006 and has lived here ever since. She decided to end her corporate career in Dec 2018 to focus on more important things in life than work: cats, travelling and family and personal development. These days she’s devoting most of her time to setting up a property investment business in Nottingham with the aim to help tenants with cats to find their rental home.

Elliot has been a cat lover ever since his family first adopted their black, furry cat Zebedee when he was nine years old. He joined AdvoCats as a Parliamentary Adviser in January 2022 after 18 months working for Andrew Rosindell MP, where he ran his animal welfare campaigns, including “A Pet in Every Home” and most recently the campaign along with AdvoCats to reform the Tenant Fees Act. His full time job is with the TaxPayers’ Alliance but he remains on hand to support AdvoCats in their ongoing parliamentary campaigns.

Meg has worked intensively with a large variety of animals for over 10 years, but has a particular love of cats. She is currently training as a Veterinary Physiotherapist and is passionate about the positive impact that animals can have on people’s happiness and mental wellbeing.            

Roger spent 34 years in the RAF and has had cats all his life, having also bred Foreign Blacks (now known as Oriental Blacks). Now retired, Roger relishes his role with AdvoCATS, developing happy cat-people relationships.

Emma works as a veterinary care assistant for a busy animal referral hospital, and has worked with animals since she was 16 years old. She enjoys her volunteer work with AdvoCATS, helping tenants and landlords gain knowledge on the importance of having a pet in your life.

Veroniki is currently studying for her Masters in intellectual property law, having already got a philosophy & law degree. She aspires to contribute to the overall aim of negotiating agreements between pet-owner tenants and landlords, so that more cats can have a home and less are left at rescues.