As the Bondi Vet and New Idea’s animal advice columnist, Dr Kate Adams is used to being around when the cat fur is flying!
But the popular vet is now having to contend with cattiness of a different kind – as one of the seven Real Housewives of Sydney!
WATCH NOW: The Real Housewives of Sydney Official Trailer. Article continues after video.
“It may be a bit of a surprise to some, but I have always loved all of the Real Housewives franchises,” Dr Kate, 40, tells New Idea from her beachside home in Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs.
“When I was invited to take part in the new Aussie season, I jumped at the chance.”
Initially, Dr Kate’s game plan was to lay low.
“I only knew one of the ladies (Caroline Gaultier) before filming started, so I planned on making some new friends and just being, like, a mushroom on the side,” she reveals.
“I didn’t want to be involved in any drama – but it hasn’t quite turned out that way!”
Along with Caroline, who she knew through her vet practice, Dr Kate stars on the second season of the reality series with Victoria Montano, Terry Biviano and Sally Obermeder, and Season 1 originals Krissy Marsh and Nicole O’Neil.
It may seem like an unusual move for a woman who studied veterinary science for six years and who also holds degrees in data analytics and marketing, but Dr Kate tells us she’s always been “bold and brave”.
“I like to challenge myself,” she adds.
She also readily admits she hasn’t been afraid to speak out on camera – most notably over the ‘Furgate’ saga involving Victoria, who wore a real fur coat on a visit to a wildlife sanctuary owned by one of Dr Kate’s closest friends.
“I’m very direct,” Dr Kate explains. “I’m not afraid to speak my mind. But also, what you see is what you get with me.
“I don’t pretend to be richer or thinner than I am. I’m not afraid to be me.”
After participating in five seasons of reality series Bondi Vet – about the busy practice she owns and works in – Dr Kate explains she was keen to portray a different side to her personality.
“Everyone knows I’m a huge animal lover,” Dr Kate says, just as her British Shorthair rescue cat Ada Squishy curls up around her feet.
“Now I’m also the first ‘housewife’ on the Australian series who’s not married, who’s single and who doesn’t have kids. I’m keen to show that I’m not a sad cat lady.
“I mean, I am totally a cat lady,” she continues. “But I’m very happy!”
In addition to her gorgeous cat Ada, Dr Kate has also given a home to fellow rescue cat Jimmy.
“They’re very good friends,” Dr Kate says with a laugh.
However, her own initial relationship with Jimmy wasn’t easy.
“He’d been abandoned at my friend’s cattery,” she explains.
“After a year, he came home with me. He was so anxious, I couldn’t pick him up. The first time I tried to, he swiped my face and busted open my eyebrow.”
Not that you’d think Jimmy was anything but an angel these days.
He barely leaves Dr Kate’s side during our shoot and even happily poses for a few pictures!
While the cats are very much at home in Dr Kate’s light and airy split-level townhouse, another furry friend used to also curl up on her couch.
Taking pride of place in Dr Kate’s lounge room is a huge portrait of her late, much-loved dog Benny, who passed away in 2022.
The shock of his sudden loss after a short illness is still raw for Dr Kate.
“Benny was by my side for 15 hours a day,” she says quietly.
“I got him when I first became a vet in 2007 and we travelled all over the country together. He used to give blood to other dogs.
“He was such a beautiful boy. To lose him so suddenly was a very big deal for me.”
Dr Kate says she’s not yet ready to welcome another dog into her life.
“Because I don’t have children, I think I channel every bit of my maternal instinct into my fur babies,” she explains.
“So many people have asked me if I’ll get another dog soon and I’m like, ‘that’s like asking me to get another child.’ I’m just not ready. Maybe one day…”
While she’s loved animals for as long as she can remember, becoming a vet wasn’t Dr Kate’s first choice as a career.
“I actually left school aged 14 and nine months, as soon as I was able to, to go off and try to become
a supermodel,” she says.
“I tried modelling for a year, then realised it was really hard to crack into, so I went back to school.”
Once she was back in her Perth classroom, Kate applied herself to studying and discovered she was an excellent student who aced her exams.
“I had lots of friends at school but I spent most of my lunchbreaks in the library,” she says.
“Even now, I’ve still always got my head in a journal of some kind. I think most vets are nerds actually!”
If Dr Kate is a nerd, she’s a glamorous one who absolutely loves fashion – she converted a bedroom in her home into a huge (and very enviable) walk-in wardrobe!
“There’s a lot of different sides to me, like most people,” she says.
“But I am exactly the same on-screen and off.”
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