About the cleopawtra team

About cleopawtra

Cleopawtra Cat Services is owned and operated by Sarah Wendling (she/her) and was founded in 2005 in Toronto, Ontario.

Cleopawtra offers both grooming services and behavioural consults.

Sarah has been working with cats since 2005. She is a Supporting Member of the International Association of Animal Behaviour Consultants. She has completed the Fear Free Pets Groomer program and graduated from the Companion Animal Sciences Institute with a certificate in Feline Behaviour Science and Technology in 2024.

about Sarah

Sarah holding her cat, Sophie, a very fluffy calico

Sarah began her life in St. Thomas, Ontario. She has always had a love of animals and at various times in her childhood, she lived with rabbits, fish and a dog. One day, Spot, an orange tabby, decided that he’d like to make the Wendling house his house. Spot was Sarah’s first cat and he showed her what a beautiful, smart, entertaining and generally demanding species he represented. She has loved them ever since.

Sarah moved to Toronto to study film.  After graduating, she started volunteering at the Toronto Humane Society in the kitten nursery. It was here that Sarah discovered she really liked working with animals, especially cats, and decided to make animal care her career. She started Cleopawtra Cat Services in 2005 and she also worked at veterinary clinics as a veterinary assistant, receptionist, and hospital coordinator from 2006 to 2013.

In her free time, Sarah loves bad movies, video games, D&D, and of course, spending time with her cats.

office assistants

A very handsome black cat looking up at something interesting

Max

After two years of residence living, Sarah found her own apartment and promptly adopted her first "non-family pet", Maximus Quintus Sparticus, aka Max. Sarah was also studying Classics and thought a pretentious Roman name would be just the thing for her new kitty. Max has done a smashing job of living up to it by generally being the boss and growing into the best crotchety old man.

Max sadly left us on March 18, 2020, but the support, love, cuddles, and sass he gave for 20 years will never be forgotten.  

A fluffy calico sits in front of a sewing machine

Sophie

Sarah and Max were joined by Sophie several years later when Sophie was only a couple of days old. She was supposed to be a foster cat, but in the end, Sarah utterly failed at fostering and wound up giving Sophie a forever home instead. Sophie is as grateful as one could expect from a cat, which is to say she occasionally sits on Sarah’s lap and has dutifully hidden all of the household pens. She is a diligent supervisor of all leisure activities.

Sadly, Sophie left us on December 22, 2021 after a very courageous battle with cancer. We miss her floof every day.

A fluffy, one eyed orange cat looking into the camera

Jack

Captain Jack Sparrow-Harkness The Time Traveling Pirate Kitten arrived in 2012.  The Toronto Cat Rescue found him on the street and brought him into the clinic Sarah was working at.  He instantly decided that Sarah was going to provide him a home and Sarah is not one to argue with an adorable kitten.  He came in missing his left eye, but that in no way slows him down - he has proven to be a fan of destruction, mayhem, and "not helping", but he does it with maximum adorableness.

In spite of our best efforts, Jack passed away from kidney failure on December 22nd, 2022. His sweet personality and demands for snuggles are missed every day.

Trixie

Ms. Trixie Meowtel of the Legendary House of Pancakes joined us in May 2022. Trixie is an undersocialized kitty, but she’s come a long way from when she arrived. She’s learned that daily brushing is essential to keeping her formal fur up to company standards (and that the accompanying treats are delicious). She loves taking breaks from managing our social media to play with her toys while laying in bed. We’re all thrilled Trixie has decided to trust us and has made herself right at home.

Jake

Detective Jake Purralta joined Cleopawtra in March 2023 to provide some much needed investigative skills. His current cases include figuring out what is under the couch, why his food bowl is empty, and why the human is asleep when it’s clearly playtime. The rescue told us that Jake had been hit by a car before they found him, but if it wasn’t for the xrays showing the pins in his hips, no one would believe it. Jake is full of energy and love and we’re thrilled he’s joined the squad. Bingpot!