Meet the team who love cats as much as you do

Managing Editor

Jeff Butler

Jeff has been involved in shaping future content topics and partnerships for over a decade. His involvement revolves around behind-the-scenes work, including maintaining and enhancing key pet partnerships, analyzing traffic data, and ensuring the site remains a trusted and informative hub for all things cat.

While he doesn’t currently have a cat, Jeff is an animal lover and is dad to three boys (and a fur-baby Gary).

Writer & Cat Lover

Danielle DeGroot

Danielle graduated from Colorado State University Global with a Bachelor’s Degree in Communications and a specialization in Marketing. Her work has supported multiple small businesses, brands, and larger organizations, including the University of Denver.

Danielle is a lifelong supporter of rescue pets and has adopted almost every animal she has ever met that needed a home. Danielle is an expert in product reviews, pet food, cat names, pet behavior, and breeds. She is a mom to three cats: Zaphod, Twilight, and Roxy. She likes to take them out for walks on leashes because they love the outdoors so much.

Writer and Cat Lover

Tara Maurer

Tara is a writer for Love Your Cat, specializing in health and nutrition. She holds a B.A. in Multimedia Journalism from Simpson College and has worked in the wellness industry for 6+ years, advising pet parents on supplements for their furry friends. Along with feline nutrition and wellness, Tara is particularly interested in communication between cats and their human companions—and the turmoil resulting from a communication breakdown. She is constantly testing methods of behavior modification and play therapy on her two cats, Luna and Lucy, including the use of clicker training, communication buttons, and interactive toys.

Writer & Cat Lover

Sally Jones

Sally has over 25 years of professional research, writing, and editing experience. She holds a BA in English from James Madison University and an MA from the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Journalism & Mass Communications. Her work has appeared in several notable media outlets, including The Washington Post, Entrepreneur, People, Forbes, and Huffington Post. She has nearly a decade of experience testing and reviewing pet products and writing about pet health and behavior.

Sally is a lifelong cat owner and has rescued many felines in need of a good home. Even in college, she and her roommate snuck a stray kitty into their dorm room. She currently is a mom to three kitties, Lola, Bambi, and Monk.

Licensed Insurance Professional

Michelle Schenker

Michelle is a licensed insurance professional (license #19494757) with an MBA from Vanderbilt University. Since 2007, Michelle has specialized in pets, focusing on pet insurance. She has run over 2,000 pet insurance quotes, reviewed hundreds of policies, and canvassed the industry for all the latest news, trends, and updates. This focus allows her to provide pet owners with the most comprehensive and valuable advice.

Michelle expert advice and opinions have appeared in media outlets, including Newsweek, The New York Times’ Wirecutter, Forbes, People, Reader’s Digest, and more. Michelle has always lived in a home full of pets, including today as a co-parent to two rescue pups, Barley and Lily.

Writer & Pet Insurance Expert

Kimberly Alt

Kimberly is a writer and content strategist for Love Your Cat, specializing in pet insurance consulting. She has written and edited professionally since 2010. In 2014, Kimberly began researching pets and discovered her passion for pet insurance. She strongly advocates for insuring pets and knows insurance is a complex subject for most.

Kimberly has read hundreds of pet insurance policies (including the fine print), ran more than 3,000 pet insurance quotes, engages in frequent discussions with pet insurer representatives, and conducts mystery shopping to gain an unbiased perspective and explain how companies differ and their strengths. Her passion is teaching others about the pet insurance industry and helping them make informed decisions for their pet insurance needs.

Kimberly has a B.A. in Multimedia Journalism from Simpson College. Kimberly’s work has appeared in many brands, including The New York Times’ Wirecutter, Reader’s Digest, Forbes, People, Woman’s World, and Huffington Post. Kimberly is the parent of a rescue Coonhound mix, Sally.

Content Marketing & Design

Sadie Cornelius

Sadie graduated from the Moody School of Communications at the University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelor’s in Advertising and a business concentration from UT’s McCombs School Of Business. She has covered dog-related topics for Canine Journal since 2012. Her dog advice and expertise have appeared in many notable media outlets, including The New York Times, Forbes, People, Reader’s Digest, Apartment Therapy, and dozens of regional news organizations. Sadie’s love of pets started from an early age with her childhood cocker spaniel and cats and is a dog mom to a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Georgie.

Writer & Cat Lover

Stella Vickers

Stella is an animal enthusiast but has a special place in her heart for feline friends. She also loves books, computer programming, and spending time with her cat, Patches. Her love of cats was inspired by The New York Times bestselling series Warriors by Erin Hunter, which she’s been reading since third grade.

Writer and Animal Lover

MJ Shaffer

MJ Shaffer has a Master’s from North Carolina State University and a BA from Duke University in North Carolina. She currently teaches High School English after shifting from a career as a cellular switch technician. An avid equestrian in her youth, she now runs a small Kiko goat herd guarded by two Livestock Guardian Dogs and Citrine, one very tough little orange farm cat. At home, she caters to her daughter’s cat, Spotts, and three feral turned house kittens presented to her by Frank, the stray who came to stay. Over the years she has been lucky enough to have parrots, koi, and other small animals in her life. In her free time, MJ enjoys researching all things animal and literary.

Writer

Yani Perez

Yani is a freelance writer, theatre lover, educator and cat lover. She grew up with many kinds of animals such as fancy pigeons, dogs, bunnies and cats. This was partly because she along with her family rescued animals which is a practice she continues today. She is an avid animal advocate and enjoys helping others learn about animals and hopefully love them too.She has worked in veterinarian clinics, doggy daycares, the zoo and the ASPCA. She currently has two cats, Dos and Oso which she adores!