Tammy Owens

After Dr. Tammy Owens graduated from Ohio State University in 2009, she completed a one-year rotating internship in small animal medicine and surgery at Mississippi State University. She then spent two years working in emergency at a specialty hospital in Tucson, Ariz., before moving to the University of California (UC) Davis where she completed a residency in small animal clinical nutrition in 2014.

She became board certified in small animal clinical nutrition in 2015 while working on a master’s degree in nutritional biology at UC Davis.

Dr. Owens is an assistant professor at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine (WCVM) and operates its clinical nutrition service. Her research interest focuses on the natural diet of cats while her clinical interest is obesity treatment. She’s also passionate about education and the role of nutrition in patient care.

• BA (Biology), Bryn Mawr College, Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania
• DVM, The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine
• Clinical Nutrition Residency at UC-Davis
• Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Nutrition (small animal)

• Treatment of obesity
• Investigation into the natural feline diet, especially defining nutrient profiles and characterizing challenges in replication in a captive setting

• Khoo, A.W.S., Taylor, S.M., Owens, T.J.  2019.  Successful management and recovery following severe prolonged starvation in a dog.  Journal of Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care, 29(5): 542-548.  https://www.doi.org/10.1111/vec.12878

• Vernau, K.M., Marks, S.L., Kuhn, M.A., Culp, W.T.N., Owens, T.J., Diane Shelton, G., Siddiqui, T., Pollard, R., Belafsky, P.C.  2016.  Total laryngectomy for management of chronic aspiration pneumonia in a myopathic dog.  Canadian Veterinary Journal, 57(7): 761-766.

• Farcas, A.K., Larsen, J.A., Owens, T.J., Nelson, R.W., Kass, P.H., Fascetti, A.J.  2015.  Evaluation of total dietary fiber concentration and composition of commercial diets used for management of diabetes mellitus, obesity, and dietary fat-responsive disease in dogs.  Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, 247(5): 501-507.  https://www.doi.org/10.2460/javma.247.5.501 

• Owens, T.J., Larsen, J.A., Farcas, A.K., Nelson, R.W., Kass, P.H., Fascetti, A.J.  2014.  Total dietary fiber composition of diets used for obesity and diabetes mellitus in cats.  Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, 245(1): 99-105.  https://www.doi.org/10.2460/javma.245.1.99 

• Larsen, J.A., Owens, T.J., Fascetti, A.J.  2014. Nutritional management of idiopathic epilepsy in dogs.  Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, 245(5): 504-508.  https://www.doi.org/10.2460/javma.245.5.504

• Cooper, E., Owens, T., Chew, D., Buffington, C.A.T.  2010.  A protocol for managing urethral obstruction in male cats without urethral catheterization.  Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, 237(11): 1261-1266.  https://www.doi.org/10.2460/javma.237.11.1261