Calling all cats

Grace White, DVM is the owner of All Cats Healthcare Clinic, a local small animal hospital. She shares how the Master of Science in Management (MSM) program helped combine her love for animals and passion for business.

Dr. Grace White (BS ’11, MSM ’13, DVM ’17) didn’t know she’d end up in feline medicine. Until six months before she graduated from veterinary school, White had every intention of becoming an equine veterinarian.

White fell in love with horses at a young age. Growing up in Ocala, Florida, she took every opportunity to be around horses. While in high school, she volunteered with a therapeutic riding center, which turned out to be a formative experience.

“That experience was instrumental in jump-starting my desire to be a veterinarian and to help the animals that brought so much joy to the clients and to my own life,” she said.

Following her passion, White went to UF to complete all three of her degrees: a bachelor’s degree in Animal Science, a master’s degree in Management (MSM) and a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree. After completing her bachelor’s degree, however, White received two rejections from the veterinary school. To help her realize her dream, White decided to pursue an education in business.

“I pursued a master’s in Management after I completed undergrad because I knew if I went into veterinary medicine, I wanted to own a practice,” she said. “Veterinary school is notoriously hard to gain admission into, so I applied to the MSM program after my second rejection from veterinary school. This program set me apart from the thousands of other applicants and set me on a path to becoming a practice owner soon after graduation.”

In addition to her love for animals, White has always been passionate about small businesses. Throughout her childhood, she watched her grandparents and parents operate their own print and sign shop. From them, she learned the rewards of hard work and the responsibility of employers to their employees.

“Since my parents are small business owners and the practices I worked for prior to veterinary school were all privately owned, I knew that I wanted to one day take on that challenge,” she said.

Along with helping her get into the veterinary program, the MSM program helped White learn essential tools needed for owning and operating a business.

“I am fond of the MSM program because it exposes you to a wide array of topics in business,” she said. “It is a great program for those of us who don’t wish to work for big companies but want to gain an idea of what we need to know regarding our own small businesses, or for combining non-business degrees with the knowledge to turn those degrees into companies.”

Equipped with entrepreneurial knowledge, White was accepted into the Doctor of Veterinary Medicine program and started on the path to feline medicine. Even though she was still in love with horses, White decided to keep them as her hobby and swapped to small animal medicine, where she would have more freedom to choose where she could practice medicine.

“What I enjoy about feline medicine is that I can specialize in a species and focus on honing specific skills,” she said. “This is what I liked about equine medicine, as well, and it transferred well to feline medicine.”

Although she has always adored animals, White admitted that she wasn’t a cat person until she met the feline that changed her life – Boo.

“A stray cat showed up on our porch in undergrad and she never left,” White said. “Boo changed my life, the trajectory of my future and the cats of Gainesville’s future.”

In her junior year of veterinary school, White did an externship with Dr. Patti Gordon at All Cats Healthcare Clinic and joined the practice as an associate after graduating in 2017. The clinic was established by Dr. Gordon in 1993 and was one of the first feline-exclusive practices in North Central Florida. Now, it is one of the few privately owned small animal hospitals left in Gainesville.

“Dr. Gordon built the practice to what it is today, and I am thankful every day that she established it and built its amazing reputation in the community,” she said.

In 2021, White purchased All Cats Healthcare Clinic and continues to run it while practicing veterinary medicine. Since she joined, the practice has grown substantially. White is currently planning for an expansion of the practice, set for 2023.

Now, White is just as passionate about feline medicine as equine medicine.

“Cats were unique in veterinary medicine for a long time,” she said. “In recent years this has changed and there is a lot of growth in the veterinary market to improve feline healthcare and provide a better quality of life from kittenhood to geriatric. I love the constant innovation in this sector of veterinary medicine and the people and owners who are dedicated to them and their health.

“Cats are also just so darned cute.”

To aspiring business owners, White offers advice and encouragement.

“Take the risks. It’s not an easy journey, but it’s a rewarding one,” she said.