Influential Woman · Veterinary Medicine
Laura Catena
President, Founder and Operator: Veterinary, Animal Handling, Safety, Personal Protective Equipment, The ArmOR Hand Glove Company
Pittsburgh, PA
Her Story
About Laura
My career in veterinary medicine began in 2008 when I graduated from veterinary school and started working in emergency veterinary medicine. My professional path took an unexpected turn when I was bitten by a cat on my left-hand thumb, which led to a severe infection that overtook my body. I spent weeks in the hospital, was discharged on IV antibiotics that I took for months, and underwent 9 months of physical therapy to regain the use of my hand. This traumatic experience became the catalyst for developing the Armor Hand Glove, a specialized safety tool for animal handling. I created this product because all we had available in veterinary practice were welding gloves, which were very bulky and nobody would wear them because you couldn't restrain animals properly, safely, or compassionately. Today, I balance my work as a practicing veterinarian with running my small business. My day-to-day involves working with distributors, doing outreach, managing the website, handling e-commerce sales, and filling orders for customers in the US, Canada, and internationally. It's truly a small business where I manage it all. The product has grown through word of mouth because it's very unique and there's really nothing like it on the market. Looking ahead, my goals for the next 5 years include expanding the business and continuing outreach efforts. While I have a huge following of veterinarians, I want to expand into zoo employees and groomers, where I see a lot of growth potential.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Laura
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to having a deep understanding that our profession deserves to be protected and that we deserve to have safety tools that we will actually use and wear. When I developed my gloves, I just knew a problem existed, and I felt like I had the solution to help solve it. That's sort of what kept me motivated. For so many decades in veterinary medicine, we always relied on gloves from other professions to use to restrain our pets, and I just had this understanding that this needs to change and there's so many things that we need to do better. That's really what motivated me. I also believe strongly in overcoming challenges. If things are not going smoothly or things don't come easy, it doesn't mean that it's a project to abandon or to give up on. I think that we can learn a lot from challenges and come out on the other side stronger in so many regards. Even when facing a big road bump or a block, it's important to just keep going and recognize that small progress is important.
02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I think veterinary medicine is such a rewarding career for so many reasons. I've met amazing patients and owners as well. These are pets that I've been treating since graduating vet school, and you really do form a relationship and a connection with them, which has been very valuable to me. Every day is different. It's not like you go into practice one day and the next day it's going to be the same thing. There's always a variety of cases, and some are more challenging than others, so I kind of like that aspect of it. It's never a dull day. There's always room to learn and grow, which is also exciting.
03What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
I would say, first, definitely being a hard worker. Second, treating people with kindness. I think it's important to have empathy for other people. In my business as somewhat of a leader, I would say it's really important to treat people with kindness and respect, and for people to be open to come to you if they're having a difficult time with something, or anything, just to really be supportive. That's definitely one of my most important values. I'd also say one of my strong values is overcoming challenges. If things are not going smoothly, or things don't come easy, it doesn't mean that it's a project to abandon or to give up on. I think that we can learn a lot from challenges and come out on the other side stronger in so many regards. If you're facing a big road bump or a block, just keep going. Small progress is important.
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