Meet Our Team
Mary Szymkowski, DVM
Dr. Szymkowski is the owner of The Cat Hospital. Born and raised in the Chicago area, she earned a BS in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science with highest honors from Northwestern University in 1985, then a MS in Computer Science from UNC Chapel Hill while working as a Software Engineer and Project Manager at IBM in Raleigh.
Following her heart into veterinary medicine, she joined the NCSU Veterinary Teaching Hospital to lead the design of their first online medical records system while taking pre-medical classes at Meredith College. She earned her DVM from NCSU in 2001, contributing to a published article in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association and completing a rotation in Radiation Oncology at UNC Hospital.
Her professional memberships include the American Association of Feline Practitioners, the Veterinary Wound Management Society, the International Veterinary Academy of Pain Management, the AVMA, and the NCVMA. Her special interests are feline medicine and surgery, wound treatment, cancer care, and geriatric medicine.
Dr. Szymkowski has been a pet therapy volunteer at WakeMed Hospitals since 1993, visiting patients every Thursday with her dog Ivey. She is an avid runner who competes regionally from the 800m to the half marathon with the Carolina Godiva Track Club.
She and her husband Lindsey share their home with dogs Ivey and Peppermint Patty, and cats Marigold, Tony, Clark, Maurice, Celina, Amelie, and Wall-E — plus occasional rescue and rehabilitation animals.
Margaret Edwards-Seal, DVM
Dr. Edwards-Seal has been a companion animal veterinarian for over 20 years, graduating from the NCSU College of Veterinary Medicine in 1995 with an undergraduate degree in psychology from the University of Virginia (1987).
During college she worked summers at a veterinary hospital in Williamsburg, VA, where her mentor encouraged her path to vet school. She joined the Oncology Service at the NCSU Teaching Hospital in 1989 as a research technician, earned her prerequisite classes, and entered the veterinary program in 1991. Between her first and second years she attended a Leadership Training Program at Cornell where she researched Duchenne muscular dystrophy in Golden Retrievers.
She is a member of the AVMA and the NCVMA, and serves on the Board of Advisors for Wags4Tags, which pairs military veterans with PTSD or traumatic brain injury with trained support dogs rescued from high-kill shelters.
Dr. Edwards-Seal recently focused her practice on feline medicine, appreciating the unique care and special bond cats and their families share.
In her spare time she enjoys training her dogs in agility and obedience, playing with her cats, hiking, cultivating a small flower garden, and maintaining three freshwater aquariums.
Rachel Davis, DVM
Originally from the Chicago suburbs, Dr. Davis moved to North Carolina from Maryland in 1997 and graduated from NCSU College of Veterinary Medicine in 2001. She has since worked in small animal practice in Chatham County and Cary. Her interests include dentistry, client education, pain management, soft tissue surgery, and wound care. She has completed extensive continuing education in feline dentistry.
Rachel and her husband Clark live in Cary with their daughter, their dog Edie, and cats Sid, Pygmonkey, and Fuzz Button. In her free time she enjoys swimming, reading, knitting, and sewing.
Stacy — Veterinary Assistant
Stacy came to us as a client first — now she works both behind the scenes and up front. She has been a groomer in the area for several years and brings that hands-on animal care experience to everything she does here.
Stacy has a Yorkie named Jackson and several cats: Arlin, Thomas J, Javelin, and Voodoo. She is also a dedicated Mets fan.
WRay — Veterinary Assistant
WRay is our weekend and holiday anchor. He is here every weekend caring for our feline guests and is a true animal advocate — when he is not with us, he volunteers with Safe Haven for Cats.
WRay shares his home with two cats, Anime and Calliope.
Denise — Veterinary Assistant
Born in Maryland with 24 years of retail experience, Denise moved to North Carolina in 2011 to pursue veterinary technology. She graduated from the Veterinary Medical Technology program at Central Carolina Community College in 2014.
Denise has two dogs and three cats. Her hobbies include walking, reading, and playing piano.
Carolina — Veterinary Assistant
Carolina is an occupational therapist originally from Venezuela who moved to Durham to pursue her love of animals. She is fluent in English and Spanish, studies canine rehabilitation through the University of Tennessee’s veterinary program, and brings a warm, multilingual presence to the practice.
Carolina has two cats, Riley and Luke. Her hobbies include playing mandolin, guitar, and vintage instruments, and writing poetry.