Meet the Purradise Ohana
Veterinarian
Dr. Eileen Lau, DVM
Owner, Veterinarian
Aloha, my name is Dr. Eileen Lau and I am delighted to announce that I am the owner of Purradise Cat Care, Inc. First, I’d like to take this opportunity to briefly introduce myself. A native of San Francisco, I was born to Chinese immigrant parents and raised in the Bay Area for the first 25 years of my life. My undergraduate studies were completed at UC Berkeley where I double majored in Biology and Music. In the next three years, I worked as a medical research associate at the University of California San Francisco, where I studied under a veterinary anesthesiologist.
I went on to attend veterinary school at Cornell University’s School of Veterinary Medicine, where I became the vice president of the Feline Medicine Club, president of Veterinary Students for Animal Welfare, and a student research associate for the Veterinary Anesthesia Department at Cornell University Hospital for Animals. While attending veterinary school in Ithaca, New York, I met my wonderful soon-to-be husband, and decided to follow him here to Oahu after graduating in 2011. We were married the following year, and currently live happily with two young boys, our cat Snowpudge, and two turtles in Waikiki.
For the past eight years, I’ve had the great fortune of working as a small animal veterinarian at Animal House Veterinary Center in Ewa Beach. There, under the direction of Dr. Celina Hatt, I honed my skills as a clinician and a surgeon. However, I have always been a lifelong avid lover of cats. It was no secret that my life goal was to open a veterinary practice dedicated specifically to the art of feline medicine and all things feline. When Dr. Sylvester-Palumbo agreed to sell her veterinary practice to me, it was a dream come true.
I look forward to getting to know all your four-legged furry family members. Honored and humbled that Dr. Sue Sylvester-Palumbo has entrusted me with the reins to her family feline practice of over 30 years, I am excited to embark on this journey, and am committed to upholding the highest level of care for your cats for the next 30 years.
Mathew Belcher, DVM
Veterinarian
Dr. Mathew Belcher provides Purradise Cat Care with veterinary relief services. He has been a relief veterinarian at the clinic for over 20 years. He is regularly on our schedule for surgical procedures and appointments. He offers great things to help you care for your cat at home, as well as providing excellent care to cats staying at our facility.
KELLY
Hospital Administrator
Kelly has worked in the veterinarian field in Hawai`i for over 10 years. During her free time, she volunteers at Spay and Neuter Clinics throughout the island. Kelly is a huge advocate for spaying and neutering your animals in order to reduce the overpopulation of feral cats in Hawai`i. She is the proud owner of 3 rescue cats, Alistor, Rat Trap Foot, and our Clinic Cat Associate, Milton. Kelly also owns and takes care of a variety of other animals, from dogs to pigeons.
FAYE
Client Service Manager, Animal Care Specialist
Always with a smile, Faye will assist with all your kitty needs. Her hardworking and caring attitude makes every visit better for owners and patients alike. She has been with Purradise Cat Care since October of 2014, and has a BS in Animal Science from the University of Hawai`i Manoa. She enjoys traveling and has been to places such as New York, Japan and Singapore.
CANDACE
Technical Service Manager, Animal Care Specialist
Candance manages hospital operations at Purradise Cat Care. She is a local girl, born and raised on this beautiful island of O`ahu, who loves to work with all animals, great and small! She feels so paww-somely furr-tunate to be working here at Purradise. Prior to Purradise, she worked in many professions. For a time, she was a dental assistant nurse for humans. She has also been an experienced veterinary nurse for over 10 years. As your technical service manager, she works each day to ensure the best quality medical care for your feline babies. In her spare time, she loves to travel with her husband, especially to Disney World, catching the latest movies, spending time at the beach, or going on incredible adventures with their 4 year old french bulldog, Bosco. They also have 3 furry guinea pigs, Juanito, Drax and Ziggy, who they adore as much as the 3 of them enjoy popcorn around the house.
LESLIE
Hospital Book Keeper
Leslie is the bookkeeper here at Purradise Cat Care, silently supporting our team who she is very proud to be a part of. Outside of her duties at the clinic, she's also a full-time mama to her daughters, Beri and Tedi, their two rambunctious Staffordshire Bull Terrier puppies, Chili and Bubbie, and helps to manage her husband's private training studio. The nine year age gap between her two daughters means her duties are often split between teenage drama and lunch mommy duties. However, despite the extra wrinkles, Leslie deeply loves her family, and has already started crying over the fact that her oldest will be leaving for college in a few months. In her free time, Leslie enjoys putting on air pods and exercising to 80's music, helping her daughter in her cupcake business, and being a short-order chef to her very hungry family.
MARIKO
Animal Care Specialist
In English or Japanese, Mariko will help care for your kitty. She is also our very talented surgical assistant, taking great care in monitoring important procedures. She has been with our clinic since August 2006. She loves all cats, and has her own pack of animals at home including cats, dogs and chinchillas.
DMITRY
Animal Care Specialist
Purradise Cat Care's Residential "Male Calico" - If your cat is undergoing anesthesia at PCC, chances are Dmitry's face is the last thing your cat will see before the gentle onset of sedation, and the first thing your cat sees as they wake up. When it comes to anesthesia, behavior modification therapy, and feline psychology - ask him anything! (We can't promise he can stop talking once he starts.) When he isn't skulking under the stairs or running anesthesia for your cat, he is probably playing music or painting with his four cats at home.
KYOKO
Kennel Technician
Kyoko was born and raised in Japan. After moving to Hawai`i, she started working with cats. She is part of the OG Purradise crew, as she was an employee here back when it was originally the Cat Clinic. Kyoko loves cats, and will be happy to take care of your fur baby when they come to visit us for a boarding stay.
Alieya
Kennel Technician
Alieya aka "Beans" came to us from Dallas, TX with her spouse & their chonky cat "ron" She worked there as a kennel assistant in a vet office for six years, in addition to working in other areas of pet care for almost a decade. She loves anything with four legs & they love her back...something else she attributes to her "rope toy hair"
NATASHA
Receptionist, Kennel Technician
Natasha was born and raised in Chicago, and spent a decade in San Francisco where she earned a certificate in image consulting. She is a professional jewelry designer, and earned a degree from AIPO. She has her own jewelry company called "That Girl’s Beads," and a small non-profit organization, "Bead It Back," which reuses beads to craft new and unique pieces. She is blessed with the amazing and adorable kitty, Momo, born in Chicago.
Aja
Receptionist
Fantastic new addition to the Purradise Ohana - picture and bio pending
Maricarmen
Veterinary Assistant
Maricarmen moved from Texas to O`ahu in July 2020 to be closer to her partner's family. She joined the Purradise Cat Care team in February 2022, and has a BSN from Texas A&M International University. She enjoys her time off relaxing with her cat, Buddy, and caring for her freshwater aquariums. Maricarmen está disponible para ayudar a todos los clientes hispanohablantes.
ZUKARI
Veterinary Assistant
Zukari was born in and raised in Brooklyn, New York, and moved to Hawai`i to pursue a higher level of education in Biology at Chaminade University. She has volunteered at several places in the state of Hawai`i, from the Honolulu Zoo to the Hawaiian Humane Society. She often spends her summer doing research. Just last year, she worked with Michigan State University in the Agriculture Engineering Department. Zukari hopes that her constant love for animals and hard work will one day get her into veterinary school.
ERIC
Receptionist
If you're lucky enough to find yourself on the phone with Eric when you call our clinic, you'll be happy to know that you can speak to him in English or Japanese. In fact, he majored in Japanese at the University of Hawai`i Manoa. Eric lived in Japan for two years, but was raised in New York. He is a huge cat fan, and will be happy to greet your fur babies with a smile at the front desk.
Brianne
Veterinary Assistant
Fantastic new addition to the Purradise Ohana - picture and bio pending
Jacob
Administrative Assistant
Jacob loves all animals! Having struggled with trust in his life, he enjoys earning a cat's trust in order to diminish any fear and anxiety it may suffer from, such as he has in the past. Jacob has past experience volunteering at cat rescue shelters, and has worked for Rover. He moved from Ohio to Hawai`i in 2021, and is very excited to join the Purradise Ohana to assist with the hospital's administrative work and social media.