How a viral Dubai cat groomer became the internet’s ‘Calm Cat Whisperer’

Donnie’s career with animals began in the Philippines in 2005, when he started working as a veterinary assistant. “I’ve trained animal handling. I’ve trained as a cat groomer, dog groomer,” he says.

He spent years working in veterinary clinics before moving to Dubai in 2009 after applying for a job online. “I flew to Dubai, and then that’s where all started.”

Although grooming was not necessarily the grand plan, animals had always been a major part of his life. “Growing up, I love animals. I love cats, I love dogs, even reptiles,” he says. “I did not really expect that I will be in dog grooming or cat grooming, veterinary field.”

Maybe, he jokes, it was simply destiny.

“I think the universe just put me there. I think it’s my destiny. I’m destined to be a cat groomer.” His love for animals is difficult to miss. Donnie has tattoos of cats and dogs across his body, and has spent much of his life adopting stray cats and caring for animals.

“Sometimes I like animals more than humans,” he says, laughing.

So what should an ordinary cat owner do when their supposedly sweet pet suddenly turns into a tiny ball of claws? According to Donnie, the first rule is simple: don’t panic.

“The most common thing that people do, which is really wrong, when they have an anxious or stressed cat is they match the cat’s energy,” he says.

If the cat is hissing and trying to scratch, responding with a loud “No, no, no!” only adds to the stress. “You have to just stay calm,” Donnie says. “You should be the one transferring your calm energy to your cat, not your cat’s negative energy towards you.”

It is an approach that extends beyond grooming. Donnie says he treats every cat that comes through his doors like a baby and refers to their owners as “mom” and “dad”.

“I wouldn’t trust anyone with my child who doesn’t care about the animal or the cat,” he says.

There is also a deeply personal reason behind Donnie’s connection with anxious cats. He says that while he had always been good with animals, his understanding of them changed during a period when he experienced anxiety and panic attacks.

“I look at my cats and I start feeling them,” he says. “I started knowing what they’re thinking, sort of.” Helping anxious cats became a kind of coping mechanism for him too.

“When I receive cats here, I accept aggressive cats that need my help,” he says. “It’s like my coping mechanism to help them, as I am seeing myself through them.”

When a stressed cat eventually settles, Donnie says he feels a sense of calm himself. “Once we get over the anxiety and the stress, that makes me so relaxed,” he says. “It’s really fulfilling.”

The connection, he says, comes from recognising something familiar. “I just saw myself, like, ‘Oh, that’s me in a cat form.’”

The name “Calm Cat Whisperer” sounds like something a social media manager might spend three weeks brainstorming. Donnie says he simply made it up.

“I didn’t want to call myself anything,” he says.

He was also conscious that the internet already had its famous “cat whisperer” in Jackson Galaxy, while Cesar Millan had become synonymous with the “Dog Whisperer”.

But Donnie’s followers started calling him a cat whisperer in his comments anyway. “People are always commenting saying, ‘Oh, you’re the cat whisperer! Cat whisperer! Cat whisperer!’ So I decided, why not use it?”

Still, he is quick to reject the idea that he is some kind of self-proclaimed animal guru. “I’m not a self-proclaimed cat whisperer,” he says. “Even on my videos, I don’t say that I’m an expert.”

Instead, he describes himself rather simply. “I’m just a regular dude that does this with compassion, empathy and love for the animal.”

His videos have now reached audiences around the world, but Donnie says numbers have never really been the point. Even hitting major milestones has not changed how he sees himself.

“When I started YouTube and I reached 100K on YouTube, and I got my plaque, I’m really happy,” he says. He showed the award to his mother, father, siblings, wife and child, and they took a family photo with it.

For Donnie, that moment meant more than the number itself. “I don’t really get a lot of recognition of what I do growing up,” he says. “I’m not really looking for recognition or anything.”

His biggest reward comes from the people who walk through his door worried about their pets and leave smiling. “I’ve had clients here crying with their cats,” he says. “They feel so helpless and hopeless.”

Some have been told their pets are “demon cats” or that nobody can handle them. “So when they bring their cat to me and I’m able to help, that’s the best feeling in the world.”

But his community has told him that the comfort goes both ways.

People living with anxiety and depression have told him they find comfort in his videos. Parents of autistic children have told him they look forward to watching them. “I didn’t realise that I was doing it,” he says. “I was spreading this kind of vibe all over the world.”