Learning the hard way and sharing it
If you met Cathy Thompson for the first time, you probably wouldn’t guess she’d spent more than three decades working with some of the biggest animals on New Zealand farms.
You certainly wouldn’t imagine she’d been chased by rampaging cattle, found herself perched on stockyard fences more than once to escape angry cows, or crawled out from beneath a Hereford bull with a broken wrist after being thrown onto concrete. Yet those moments are all part of the story of a veterinarian who built an outstanding career not through brute strength, but through skill, observation and determination.
“I’m tougher than I look,” Cathy laughs.
That quiet confidence has carried the Massey University graduate from being one of only nine women in her veterinary class in 1975 to becoming one of New Zealand’s most respected large animal veterinarians. An award-winning practitioner, author and mentor, her influence continues long after her retirement.
A farm girl at heart
Growing up on her family’s sheep farm in Canterbury, Cathy knew early on that life outdoors suited her.
“I preferred helping my father on the farm. I don’t even remember the layout of our farm kitchen,” she recalls.
The family rarely needed a veterinarian, so there wasn’t a particular role model who inspired her career. Instead, it was a brochure she came across while attending Oxford District High School that first planted the idea of becoming a vet. It seemed like the perfect fit for someone who loved working with animals and preferred paddocks to classrooms.
That decision led her to Massey University, where she graduated in 1975.
Back then, veterinary science looked very different.
“There were only nine women in our class. All our lecturers and demonstrators were male.”
Despite being in the minority, she never felt she was treated differently. “Being treated as ‘one of the boys’ at Massey before I graduated was helpful. We all had to do everything.”
Looking back, Cathy believes that experience gave her the confidence to step into a profession where few women had gone before.
Winning trust, one farm at a time
Soon after graduating, Cathy accepted a locum position in Dargaville, becoming the district’s first female veterinarian.
It didn’t take long for her to realise that some farmers weren’t quite sure what to make of the young woman arriving who was probably the vet.
One morning she was called to assist with a difficult calving. Before she arrived, the farmer declared, “A woman will be no good for this one.” When Cathy introduced herself, he looked up from his breakfast and said, “If my son can’t do it, you won’t be able to.”
Fortunately, the calving proved more straightforward than expected. By the time it was over, the sceptical farmer had abandoned his poached eggs and toast and was down on the concrete scrubbing Cathy’s calving gown.
On another occasion, she arrived to find several farmers sitting silently on the stockyard fence, simply pointing towards the cow that needed help.
“I guess no one had expectations. So I often surpassed them.”
Those early experiences taught her that earning trust wasn’t about proving people wrong, it was about quietly getting on with the job.
Learning the hard way
Large animal practice has never been for the faint-hearted. Over more than 30 years working with dairy and beef farmers, Cathy discovered that strength alone wasn’t what kept veterinarians safe.
Technique did.
Some lessons came the hard way.
She still remembers treating a sedated Hereford bull that suddenly tossed its head, throwing her onto the concrete and breaking her wrist.
“I always tied heads down after that.”
She was chased by cattle more than once and became very familiar with climbing things in a hurry.
Rather than dwelling on things going wrong, Cathy viewed them as lessons. “I guess I tried to see them as learning opportunities.”
She also learnt just as much from experienced farmers as she did from textbooks. She says, “The good farmers taught me a lot. I tried to listen.”
Over time she developed practical techniques that relied on positioning, timing and understanding animal behaviour rather than physical strength. All the knowledge would later become invaluable to generations of veterinarians.
Every day was different
After travelling overseas and starting a family, Cathy returned to large animal practice in 1987, joining the Hawera clinic of South Taranaki Animal Health Services, a predecessor of Taranaki Veterinary Centre. She would remain there for the next 31 years.
What kept her passionate was the unpredictability of the work.
“No two days were ever the same.”
One phone call might begin with, “Sparky is down the cliff.” Another: “Someone has cut my heifer’s throat.” Or perhaps, “Our cow is stuck in a power pole.”
“I loved those sorts of calls. You had to make things up as you went along,” she says.
She also developed lasting relationships with farming families, learning not only about their animals but about the people behind every farm gate.
She spent many evenings ringing farmers to follow up on difficult cases, often the only way to find out whether her treatments had worked.
“Farmers loved it. A vet asking for feedback.”
Looking back, she believes one of the most important qualities of a veterinarian has little to do with animals: “Loving animals isn’t enough. You have to get on with people too. If you don’t get on with people, they usually won’t let you look at their animals.”
Sharing what she learnt the hard way
Throughout her career, Cathy carefully documented unusual cases, photographed injuries and conditions, and collected bones and specimens from post-mortems to help explain diseases and treatments.
What began as a personal teaching collection eventually became something much bigger.
As Practitioner in Residence at Massey University, she discovered students were fascinated by her photographs and real-life stories. They weren’t just seeing textbook cases, they were learning from decades of practical experience.
That inspired Cathy to preserve what she’d learnt by writing The Practical Guide for Cattle Veterinarians and Veterinary Book for Cattle Farmers. Together, the books feature step-by-step techniques, case studies and over 1000 photos taken on real farms, helping both veterinarians and farmers work more safely and effectively.
“I wanted to share the things I had to learn the hard way,” she says.
Her message is especially encouraging for young veterinarians who might doubt whether they are physically suited to large animal practice.
“It helps to be strong, but brute strength isn’t needed if you use the right techniques.”
A legacy beyond the farm gate
By the time Cathy retired in 2017, she had earned the respect of colleagues and farming communities alike.
She received the Dairy Cattle Veterinarians Golden Glove Award for Outstanding Contribution, the Shepherd’s Shovel Award for Best Practitioner Case Presentation, and was invited to speak at veterinary conferences around New Zealand.
When her retirement celebration had to be moved to a larger venue because so many farmers wanted to attend, it became clear that her greatest achievement wasn’t measured in awards.
It was the relationships she had built over a lifetime.
Today, Cathy continues to influence the profession through her books and the many veterinarians who have learnt from her experiences.
Looking back, she believes the profession has changed enormously since she graduated. Women are now a majority in many veterinary classrooms, and farmers no longer think twice when a female vet arrives at the gate.
Perhaps that’s because pioneers like Cathy quietly changed expectations, one farm visit at a time.
Her advice to today’s veterinary students is simple: “Don’t get put off doing large animals just because you’re small,” she says.
“I survived.”