Gerald Brown

Dr. Gerald Brown, the cat doctor, died on Feb. 8 of complications from cancer. He was 69.
The New Jersey native received a bachelor’s degree from Michigan State University, and graduated summa cum laude from the university’s school of veterinary medicine. He served as an Army lieutenant from 1959 to 1961, stationed in Chicago, where he remained after returning to the private sector.
When medical research found that cats are severely stressed by contact with dogs they don’t know, Brown opened the City Cat Doctor Feline Medical Center, one of the first “cats only” clinics in the United States. For the next 30 years, he cared for the Windy City’s cats when they were ill, neglected or abused. He volunteered surgical services at the Chicago Anti-Cruelty Society and donated the profits from his practice to local animal shelters.
Brown also shared advice on the raising and care of cats in monthly columns for Today’s Chicago Woman and Pet Times, and as a contributor to the “Chicago Vets on Pets” feature in the Chicago Sun-Times.