Being a veterinarian is not always easy, but the rewards of our profession are plentiful. This is especially true for Dr. Kathryn Slaughter-Mehfoud, who looks forward to making the horse world a better place.

A native of Lexington, North Carolina, Dr. Kat is living her dream as a veterinarian, a dream which started at a very young age. Of course, she owes much of her drive to her parents who were extremely supportive in fostering her passion.

A veterinary graduate of Western University, Dr. Kat went on to attain her master’s degree in Public Health from the University of Minnesota. And now she’s in the third year of an equine surgery residency at the University of Illinois.

Even though a residency in any field is a daunting task. Dr. Kat makes sure to keep herself balanced outside of work, a big part of that is focusing on her family.

Last year, she married the love of her life, Collins. The two met while she was pursuing her undergraduate degree at Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University. Now they are expecting their first child, due in November.

For Dr. Kat,, the sky is the limit and more is yet to come. What’s her plan? To continue pushing through the tough times, both big and small, and enjoy the simple things in life, most notably her growing baby bump.

We caught up with Dr. Kat to learn more:

How I met my husband: I met my husband the day I moved into my dormitory at Virginia Tech in 2009. After settling into my dorm room, I went to the Western Riding Team information meeting for tryouts. There he was, the man of my dreams. A stunningly good looking, sweet soul of a cowboy! Falling in love with Collins, was the easiest, most effortless endeavor of my life.

After graduating Virginia Tech, we split ways for a few years. However, your heart always goes back to what feels like home, and Collins is my home.

After veterinary school, we reconnected and instantly realized our passion for each other had never died. We recently celebrated our one-year wedding anniversary and we are anxiously awaiting the birth of our first child, in November.

How hard it was finding “the one” while pursuing a veterinary degree:

Some people have told me that veterinary school is the chief and sole priority; nothing else matters. But, that is not a healthy outlook on life. When you are on your deathbed, you will not say “I wish I would have studied more” or “I wish I would have worked more.” On your deathbed, you will likely say, “I wish I would have spent more time with my friends and family.”

Early on, I made the mistake that most veterinary students make, veterinary school was my chief priority and nothing else mattered. I not only sacrificed my relationship with friends and family, but also ate unhealthily and did not prioritize my wellness.

If you do not put your happiness first in veterinary school, it is extremely challenging to find “the one.” Once I started prioritizing my health and wellbeing, it was easy to find the person that was good for my soul.

Three tips for maintaining a long-distance relationship:

1. Travel, frequent travel! I did not let anything stand in the way of what my soul desired- even hundreds of miles.

The year before we got married, I lived in Illinois and he lived in Virginia and later in Maine. Every single weekend I had off call the first year of my residency, he either flew to me or I flew to him. Yes, it was a financial hardship. Yes, we were both exhausted from the constant air travel. Yes, we paid more than five hundred dollars for airline tickets for only 36 hours together. Would I do it again? YES.

Seeing each other often helped our relationship thrive! Our love grew stronger each time we had those precious 36 hours. Our mental and emotional health benefited, and it gave our relationship strength to keep doing long distance until he could move to Illinois.

2. Learn to communicate with each other. Collins and I rarely fight. In fact, we are one of those rare couples who have never had a screaming match. Yes, we have had disagreements, but they have been extremely mild and tame. We both realize we love each other more than anything, and it is not worth it to waste our time together arguing.

The lack of arguing about the small things helped blossom our relationship while we were long distance. When something does come up which bothers me, before I bring it up to Collins, I think to myself, “Does this REALLY matter? Is this a big enough issue that it could hinder our relationship in 5 years if I don’t bring this up?” My answer has only been “yes” a few times. With this simple test, arguing has not entered our relationship.

*If you want to thrive and not just survive a long distance relationship, your significant other needs to come first. Not your job, not your pride, not your friends. Make your special person a priority. Everyone wants to feel loved and wanted.

Doing a residency is hard. Being a newlywed and keeping your relationship healthy in combination is really tough. This is how I keep it all together:

I always start our day by making breakfast for the two of us. To have time together, we get up early at 5am. This gives us 30 minutes of sharing coffee and breakfast together before we go our separate ways for 12+ hours. Yes, it can be tiring, but I cherish all our morning breakfasts before the busy day begins.

Throughout the day, we are both terribly busy. We always text each other at least once, just to say “I love you” or ask how each other’s day is going.

Being a resident does not allow for a set dinner schedule. Sometimes we have dinner at 6 pm and sometimes at 9:30 pm. Either way, Collins always waits for me. I love how he also values our time together and will not eat dinner without me. After dinner, I always set aside 30 minutes to 1 hour for just the two of us. Collins reads to me, we watch Netflix, or we just talk. Yes, I have at least a dozen other tasks I could be doing, but I value our relationship more. The hour is worth it to strengthen our relationship.

Lastly, our day ends by going to bed at the same time. If I am studying late or with an emergency, Collins always waits on me. It is these “little” things that are actually big things we do daily to let each other know the other is always the first priority.

And now, I am adding a baby to the mix…what worries me most:

Overall, I am not concerned about becoming a mother while being a resident or during this pandemic. I have a wonderful support system from not only Collins, but also my parents and the University.

Honestly, my biggest concern is Collins will miss the birth. I am scheduled to be on clinics all the way up to my due date and Collins works an hour away. If the baby arrives early, I hope he will get to the hospital in time.

Pregnancy and a surgery residency, how I am staying safe:

Keeping myself and my baby safe is a priority for me. I wear a special anesthetic gas filter mask when I am around inhalant anesthesia. Also, I am never around any radiation. The University has been very understanding and helpful with keeping me away dangers.

My advice to others who are planning to have families:

Make sure you have a support system in place. Collins is certainly the best support, but my parents are also going to be an integral part of helping after I deliver. When I do need to be back on clinics, they are going to help, so our little girl has adequate care.

Why equine surgery:

I wanted to be a surgeon because there is nothing I enjoy more than being scrubbed into surgery and using my skills. The thrill I get when I go to colic surgery or scrub into an arthroscopic procedure is addicting. Equine surgery was an extremely attractive profession for me because I thrive under pressure, I am a critical thinker, and I love performing intricate procedures.

Best career advice I ever received:

“Do what you love, and you’ll never work a day in your life.” Yes, I could make so much more money if I were a small animal surgeon or a radiologist, but those specialties are not my passion. At the end of the day, I would not feel fulfilled. To live life to the fullest, you should always follow your passion, not the money. I am getting paid 1⁄3 of what new veterinary graduates entering general practice get paid, but I love what I do, and I am happy-that is what is most important to me.

How do I clear my head after a stressful day:

Running and strength training. I am an avid runner and I love to exercise with resistance and weight training. I log around 15 running miles a week and set aside time for a 30-minute leg day, arm day, and core day every week. The endorphins released after running and exercise help keep me in a regularly positive mood. Most days I have been on my feet for 12+ hours and it would be SO EASY to be a vegetable on the couch. As soon as I come home, I lace up my running shoes and get to exercising. I am not only happier after I exercise, but I also sleep a lot better too.

Advice for my younger self:

Advice I would give to my younger self is to have faith in myself and worry less. I have wasted a lot of time over the years worrying over various things. Worrying over would I get into veterinary school, worrying about achieving a residency, worrying about what other people think of me, worrying about ending up alone, worrying if I would be a competent veterinarian, and worrying about my appearance. My perseverance, humbleness, and endurance were the qualities which helped me achieve all these things. I wish I would have spent more time having faith in myself and less time worrying over false inadequacies.

My mission in life:

My mission in life is to be an amazing wife to my husband, be a gentle and loving mother to my children, and strengthen the human-animal bond through veterinary surgery. By performing surgery on horses, I hope to improve the equine patient’s quality of life with their owner, fostering the precious relationship between a horse and its rider.

You can follow Dr. Kat on her journey by following her on Instagram @dr.kat_thecowgirlvet