Maybe you are the person every stray finds. This course is built for turning that into work: how cats think, how to feed and handle them well, and how to spot when one is unwell.
Catteries, shelters, grooming rooms and vet reception desks hire on how you are around an animal. This gives you the care knowledge behind that, from feeding to handling to health.
You may already handle cats all day and pick things up as you go. Biology, behaviour, nutrition and illness are set out here in order, so the guesswork drops out of it.
Why she hides. Why he stops eating. What a litter tray is telling you. Enrichment and welfare get a topic of their own, and it lands at home as much as at work.
Animal care work runs on people who can read a cat and keep it calm. The day is easy to picture. Feeds and fresh water, litter trays done, a nervous new arrival brought around, and an owner rung with an update.
Day to day care for cats in someone else's hands. Feeding, handling, enrichment and health checks are all covered here.
Running a boarding cattery, where safe handling and spotting a sick cat early do the heavy lifting.
Cats arrive stressed and unknown. Behaviour, enrichment and the ethics of shelter care all matter from day one.
Front desk work where you need to follow what the vet says and settle a cat in a carrier. The health topics carry that.
Advising owners on food, litter and care. Nutrition and dietary management sit right under those conversations.
Grooming a cat is a handling job first. Care techniques and positive handling are taught as topics of their own.
Roles where these skills are useful, not promised outcomes. Every role is different, and some need more study or experience. Animal welfare officer and behaviour specialist roles run through their own appointment and accredited training.
Ten topics, from cat biology through to hands-on welfare work.
Here is what stands out in this course.
Cat health management, plus medical conditions and treatment, are separate topics. You learn what feline ill health looks like before it becomes an emergency.
Behaviour and psychology sit next to biology and physiology. Reading a cat is a skill, and it is the difference between managing one and knowing what it needs.
Responsible breeding, adopting from shelters and community cat care are covered head on. If you are heading for rescue or shelter work, this is the ground under it.
Certificate of Achievement · The Career Academy
Issued by the college once you finish the course.
The course carries accreditation with the CPD Standards Office, so you earn CPD credits on completion.
A SEEK Pass link arrives in your learning platform with your certificate, so you can share it on your SEEK profile.
Send an enquiry and a course advisor gets back to you with the course guide and straight answers on whether it fits.
Start anytime. Pay upfront in one payment, or take the flexible weekly plan from $29 a week.
Ten topics online, with unlimited tutor support by phone and email in business hours. No exams at any point.
Complete the course and receive your Certificate of Achievement, your CPD credits and a SEEK Pass link to share.
None needed. There are no entry requirements. You start with cat biology and behaviour, so it builds from the ground up.
Around 80 hours at your own pace, with 6 months of access. There are no set class times, so it fits around work and family.
From $29 a week on a flexible plan. You can also pay upfront in one payment. Enquire for the current options.
There are none, ever. You work through the topics at your own pace, with tutor support behind you by phone and email in business hours.
Yes. Nutrition, health, enrichment and handling are taught for cats generally, so it lands at home as much as at work. Environmental enrichment and welfare has a topic of its own, and so do responsible breeding and adopting from shelters.
It is accredited by ICOES and the CPD Standards Office, which is accreditation for professional development. It is not accredited by NZQA, so it is not a national qualification. That is a different thing. For catteries, shelters and grooming rooms, what people judge you on is how animals respond to you.
Yes. There is a 10-day money back guarantee. If it is not right for you, you get your money back.
This course is delivered by The Career Academy, an online course provider in New Zealand. It has been running for over 15 years and works with more than 25,000 students a year.
The pet and animal care tutor is Rachel H, who has over 20 years in the animal industry. She has owned a grooming and training business, worked in veterinary clinics, and fosters and trains for rescue charities and shelters.
Courses run fully online at your own pace, with unlimited tutor support by phone and email in business hours. Career coaching comes with your enrolment, including CV help, interview preparation and a LinkedIn profile review.
Picture the morning the cat that hid from everyone walks out to you first, and the room notices.