Katrina Breitreiter, DVM, DABVP (Feline) | She/Her
Dr. Katrina Breitreiter, or “Dr. Kat the Cat Doctor,” as some call her, is the owner of South Austin Cat Hospital. She graduated from Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine in 2013. Dr. Breitreiter began her career helping cats by working in shelter medicine and performing TNR for outdoor living cats in Austin, Texas. She then worked in small animal general practice for three years while pursuing advanced training in feline medicine through the University of Sydney. In 2017, Dr. Breitreiter made the decision to work exclusively with feline patients and opened South Austin Cat Hospital. In 2020, Dr. Breitreiter became the first veterinarian in the city of Austin to obtain board certification through the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners (ABVP) in feline practice. She is one of only approximately 80 feline specialists world-wide.
In addition to her work at SACH, Dr. Breitreiter is an active member of the American Veterinary Medical Association, Texas Veterinary Medical Association, Capital Area Veterinary Medical Association, American Association of Feline Practitioners, American Board of Veterinary Practitioners, and the Paw Project. She also serves on the advisory board for Williamson County Regional Animal Shelter.
Dr. Breitreiter is passionate about making the world a better place for cats. Her special areas of interest include internal medicine, pain management, feline behavior, and feline welfare. She has published work in the Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery and other scientific journals.
When not working, Dr. Breitreiter enjoys yoga, playing video games & board games, reading, and travel.
Sara Thomas, DVM | She/Her | Associate Veterinarian
Dr. Sara Thomas has been an associate veterinarian at South Austin Cat Hospital since May of 2020. She was born and raised in beautiful Austin, TX. After being heavily involved in the animal shelter world in Austin for several years, Dr. Thomas decided to pursue a career in veterinary medicine. Dr. Thomas finished her undergraduate degree at Texas State University, then moved to the Midwest where she graduated from Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine. She was known as the “cat person” in her veterinary class.
Dr. Thomas is an active member of the American Association of Feline Practitioners and she is currently finishing additional training in feline medicine through the University of Sydney. Dr. Thomas’ areas of interest include soft tissue surgery, dentistry, hospice and geriatric wellness. The human-animal bond is very important to Dr. Thomas. Educating, working with, and developing a relationship with cat parents is one of her favorite parts of being a veterinarian. As a fear-free practitioner, Dr. Thomas tries to make every cat as comfortable as possible while visiting South Austin Cat Hospital and truly believes every cat is a good cat. She’s never met a cat she didn’t love and Dr. Thomas looks forward to providing gold standard care for each and every cat she meets!
When not taking care of her feline patients, Dr. Thomas enjoys spending time with her husband, family, friends, and of course her six feline family members (Leo, Jack, Zooper, Papaya, Uma, and Indo). In her free time, she loves being outdoors, swimming in the river, and eating in one of Austin’s many delicious restaurants.
Sarah McDaniel, DVM | She/Her | Associate Veterinarian
Dr. Sarah McDaniel grew up just outside of Houston, Texas. She graduated with a degree in Animal Science from Texas A&M University and continued her stay in College Station to complete veterinary school. She graduated from Texas A&M University College of Veterinary Medicine. She started her career in small animal emergency medicine before transitioning to feline exclusive practice and joining South Austin Cat Hospital. Dr. McDaniel has been passionate about helping cats throughout her life. She grew up in a household with multiple adopted feline friends and learned a great deal about low-stress feline handling while working in a veterinary hospital during her undergraduate studies. She has continued to pursue her interest in feline medicine during veterinary school and in her career.
Dr. McDaniel is an active member of the American Association of Feline Practitioners, American Veterinary Medical Association, and Texas Veterinary Medical Association. She is committed to providing the highest quality care for her feline patients and clients. Her particular areas of interest include feline nutrition, internal medicine, behavior, and emergency medicine.
Outside of veterinary medicine, Dr. McDaniel enjoys working out, traveling, adventuring outdoors, and spending quality time with her two feline family members.
Linda Meola, DVM, DACVP | She/Her | Associate Veterinarian
Dr. Linda Meola grew up on the northside of Houston, Texas. In 1991 she completed her undergraduate degree in Zoology at the University of Texas at Austin, and in 1995, she received her DVM from the University of Minnesota in St. Paul. Upon graduation, she went back to Houston, Texas where she practiced small animal medicine for the next 12 years. In 2010, she completed a residency in veterinary pathology at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo in Washington DC, and in 2011, she received her board certification in anatomic pathology from the American College of Veterinary Pathologists (ACVP).
After her residency, she relocated to Little Rock, Arkansas where she worked as a pathologist for the state’s veterinary diagnostic lab, and from 2014 to 2018, she worked as both pathologist and laboratory director for the lab. Her special areas of interest include feline internal medicine, nutrition, clinical pathology, microscopy, endocrine disease, and infectious disease.
She is an active member of the American Veterinary Medical Association, Texas Veterinary Medical Association (TVMA), and the American College of Veterinary Pathologists. She also serves on the One Health Committee for TVMA.
At Christmas when she was seven, her parents gifted her with a Siamese kitten named Snowball, and she has been cat obsessed ever since! Snowball was a patient, affectionate and kind cat, and was simply the best cat a young girl could have. Snowball kindled her passion for cats, and in total Dr. Meola has cared for sixteen cats over the years. Her current feline companions include Bazzy, Dewberry, and Lil Bit.
She likes to spend her free time reading, listening to audio books, watching movies, dining out, snuggling with her cats, and spending time with friends and family.
Lauren Evans, DVM | She/Her | Relief Veterinarian
Dr. Lauren Evans is thrilled to be serving the cats of South Austin. Originally from Los Angeles, she grew up in a cat-loving family—her mother insists her first word was “kitty,” thanks to being surrounded by rescued cats from the very beginning. Her early interest in animal care began along the Southern California coast, where she volunteered with rescued aquatic birds affected by oil spills at the International Bird Research and Rescue Center.
Dr. Evans earned her B.S. in Health Promotion and Disease Prevention from USC before heading north to pursue veterinary medicine at UC Davis. Although she initially thought she might become a veterinary ophthalmologist, she kept a strong connection to feline medicine through her work with the Orphan Kitten Project. She graduated from UC Davis with her DVM in 2016 and completed a one-year rotating internship at Oklahoma State University.
After internship, Dr. Evans returned to Northern California to work in a reproduction-focused VCA practice, where she quickly realized her passion lay with not pregnant dogs but with her feline patients and their devoted caregivers—especially barn cat owners. In 2019, she moved to Orange County to work at Cat Clinic under an ABVP feline specialist, deepening her expertise in feline-only medicine. Over five years, she cherished building close relationships with clients and caring for cats whose families were deeply invested in their well-being. Dr. Evans is Cat Friendly Certified and a member of the Feline Veterinary Medical Association, and has attended feline-only conferences annually since 2019, driven by a commitment to continually improving the care she provides her patients.
In 2024, Dr. Evans relocated to College Station when her husband (a Davis classmate) began an internal medicine residency at Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital. She now works as a traveling feline-only relief veterinarian in both Texas and California, with a special appreciation for Cat Friendly Practices. Her professional interests include internal medicine—particularly gastrointestinal and renal disease—ophthalmology, obesity management, and caring for cats with multiple, often competing, medical conditions. Her goal is simple: to treat every patient with the same care and thoughtfulness she expects for her own cats.
Outside of the clinic, Dr. Evans enjoys yoga and meditation, Peloton bike workouts, international travel with her husband, and visiting national and state parks. They share their home with two beloved cats: Phoenix, a burn-injury survivor Dr. Evans adopted just before starting veterinary school, and Raindrop, a former hip-surgery patient she treated during her fourth year.