Dr. Kate Hurley

Kate Hurley, DVM, MPVM

Dr. Hurley has been working in shelters since 1989. She has worked in almost every capacity of sheltering including: adoption counselor, kennel attendant and California state humane officer. After graduation from the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine in 1999, Dr. Hurley worked as a shelter veterinarian in California and Wisconsin. In 2001 she returned to Davis for further training as the world's first resident in Shelter Medicine.  During her residency, Dr. Hurley completed her Masters of Preventative Veterinary Medicine (MPVM) with an emphasis in Epidemiology.

Her advanced training in epidemiology was immediately put to the test when Dr. Hurley was called upon to investigate an unusually severe outbreak of Viral Systemic Feline Calicivirus. Her investigation uncovered the source of the outbreak, and her prompt consultation with veterinarians in the affected community was instrumental in limiting the spread of this disease. Working in concert with pathologists and epidemiologists from UC's school of veterinary medicine, Dr. Hurley has greatly increased our understanding of this emerging infectious disease. Her presentation of the results of her investigation won her the award for best research project at UC Davis' House Officer Day Seminar in 2003. Her findings have been published in Veterinary Clinics of North America, Veterinary Pathology and the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association.

Since completing the shelter medicine residency and undertaking the direction of the Koret Shelter Medicine Program, Dr. Hurley has become a recognized leader in the field of shelter medicine. She has worked extensively with shelters of every size and management type, and has consulted with shelters from all regions of the United States on subjects ranging from control of a specific outbreak to shelter health care programs and facility design. She assisted in developing guidelines for shelter animal vaccination in conjunction with the American Association of Feline Practitioners and the American Animal Hospital Association, co-edited the textbook "Infectious Disease Management in Animal Shelters" (Wiley-Blackwell 2009) and served as a co-author for the Association of Shelter Veterinarians "Guidelines for Standards of Care in Animal Shelters".

Dr. Hurley regularly speaks nationally and internationally on topics related to shelter animal health.  She was awarded "Shelter Veterinarian of the Year" in 2006 by the American Humane Association. Hurley loves shelter medicine because it has the potential to improve the lives of so many animals and make life better for the dedicated shelter workers who care for all those homeless pets. Her interests include population health, infectious disease epidemiology, and unusually short dogs.

Selected Publications: 
Newbury, S. P., M. K. Blinn, et al. (2010). “Guidelines for Standards of Care in Animal Shelters”, The Association of Shelter Veterinarians.

Miller, L. and Hurley, K.F., (2009)  “Infectious disease management in animal shelters” Wiley-Blackwell Publishing, Ames, Iowa.

Drazenovich, TL, Fascetti AJ, Westermeyer HD, Sykes JE, Bannasch MJ, Kass, PH, Hurley, KF, Maggs, DJ.. "Effects of dietary lysine supplementation on upper respiratory and ocular disease and detection of infectious organisms in cats within an animal shelter." “Effects of dietary lysine supplementation on upper respiratory disease and infectious organism shedding in cats within an animal shelter.”  Am J Vet Res

Hurley, K. F. and C. J. Baldwin (2008). “Developing Infectious Disease Policies and Procedures in an Animal Shelter”. Maddie's Infection Control Manual for Animal Shelters. C. A. Petersen, G. Dvorak and A. R. Spickler. Des Moines, Iowa, Colorfx: 66-79.

Pesavento, P. A., Hurley K.F. , et al. (2008). "A clonal outbreak of acute fatal hemorrhagic pneumonia in intensively housed (shelter) dogs caused by Streptococcus equi subsp. zooepidemicus." Vet Pathol 45(1): 51-3.

Pesavento, P. A., Hurley, K.F., Bannasch, M.J. et al. (2007). "Fatal Streptococcus canis infections in intensively housed shelter cats." Vet Pathol 44(2): 218-21.

Richards, J. R., T. H. Elston, et al.  The 2006 American Association of Feline Practitioners feline vaccine advisory panel report.  J Am Vet Med Assoc2006 229(9): 1405-41.

Paul, M. A., Carmichael, L. E., Childers, H., Cotter, S., Davidson, A., Ford, R., Hurley, K. F., Roth, J. A., Schultz, R. D., Thacker, E., Welborn, L. (2006). "2006 AAHA Canine Vaccine Guidelines." J Am Anim Hosp Assoc 42(2): 80-9.

Hurley, K. F. Feline infectious disease control in shelters. Vet Clin North Am Small Anim Pract 2005; 35(1): 21-37.

Pesavento PA, MacLachlan NJ, Dillard-Telm L, Grant CK, Hurley KF. Pathologic, immunohistochemical, and electron microscopic findings in naturally occurring virulent systemic feline calicivirus infection in cats. Vet Pathol. 2004;41(3):257-263.

Hurley KF, Pesavento PA, Pedersen NC, Poland AM, Wilson E, Foley JE. An outbreak of virulent systemic feline calicivirus disease. J Am Vet Med Assoc. Jan 15 2004;224(2):241-249.

Hurley KF. Implementing a Population Health Plan in an Animal Shelter; and Disease Recognition and Diagnostic Testing In: Miller L, Zawistowski S, eds. Shelter Medicine for Veterinarians and Staff. Ames, Iowa: Blackwell Publishing; 2004:211-235, 307-314.
Honors and Awards: 
2006 Shelter Veterinarian of the Year

American Humane Association, Denver, Colorado

2004 Co-recipient of the Alex Lewyt Veterinary Medical Center Award of Achievement. This annual award is presented to veterinarians who are dedicated to the humane treatment of animals and whose life saving work has made the world safer, happier, and healthier for all dogs and cats.

2003 House Officer Seminar Day Award     
Given for the best Small Animal research study at the 25th Annual House Officer Seminar Day at The University of California, Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine

1999 President, Phi Zeta Lambda Society 
University of California, Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine

1996, 1997, 1998, 1999 Theodora Peigh Award for Academic Achievement
University of California, Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine

 

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