About Us

Our beloved felines can live healthier, longer, happier lives when humans are more proactive, by giving the cat a voice in their own care.

We believe animals deserve healthier, longer lives—and that starts with giving them a voice in their own care. Too often, signs of illness or pain in pets go unnoticed, especially in cats, who have a natural instinct to hide discomfort. Cats are the most common pet in North America, but only one in three receives regular veterinary care.  This gap inspired us to create a tool that brings more care to cats, even between vet visits.

We create predictive healthcare products to interpret animal behavior and subtle physical cues, with a focus on feline pain detection. Our AI-powered technology is built on rigorous veterinary science and validated feline pain scales, analyzing facial expressions to enable earlier and more accurate detection of pain. This helps pet owners and veterinary professionals act quickly—improving quality of life for pets everywhere..

Our Story

Sylvester.ai was founded by animal health entrepreneur Susan Groeneveld. Inspired by a personal loss and her experience across multiple animal health companies, Susan saw the urgent need for better tools to detect pain in cats. The heartbreak of losing her farm cat, Jack, who silently suffered, fueled her determination to change how the world understands feline health.

Work With Us

Meet the Team

  • Susan Groeneveld, BSc.(Ag)

    FOUNDER, CEP

    25+ years in animal health and tech. Co-founder of Cat Healthy. Award-winning entrepreneur.

  • Rachel Fisher

    OPERATIONS AND PRODUCT

    Operations and Product Lead with 15 years of experience in veterinary technology and SaaS products.

  • Mike Berg

    CTO

    Extensive experience leading multiple AI products across finance, energy, health and marketing industries.

  • Frances Valentine, Ph.D.

    LEAD ANIMAL BEHAVIORIST

    Expert in animal behavior and 20 years of experience working with shelter cats in North America’s largest no kill shelter.

  • Nadja Skale

    GROWTH AND MARKETING

    Expert in animal health growth and marketing, driving customer acquisition, brand awareness, and scalable growth. Former Marketing Director at Basepaws.

  • Kim Knapp

    BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

    Over 20 years of veterinary industry experience, including 8 years as a veterinary technician and 12 years in pharmaceutical and tech sales

  • Dr. Matt McGlasson

    VETERINARY INFLUENCER

    DVM, leading social media influencer with a science based approach

  • Elisabeth Madison

    CUSTOMER SUPPORT

    15 years experience in helping people connect with brands

Our Advisors

Our team is supported by a coalition of AI experts, veterinarians, data scientists, and operational leaders passionate about transforming pet and veterinary care.

  • Dr. Sheilah Robertson

    VETERINARY ADVISOR

    BVMS (Hons), PhD, DACVAA, DECVAA, DACAW, DECAWBM (WSEL), CVA, MRCVS

    Board certified in anesthesia and animal welfare by the respective American and European Colleges.

  • Anna Zamansky, Ph.D.

    ANIMAL PAIN & AI EXPERT ADVISOR

    Full Professor of Computer and Information Science at the University of Haifa, Head of Tech4Animals Lab developing AI solutions for animal behavior analysis. A leading expert in animal-centered AI and AI-based animal pain recognition.

  • Dr. Liz Ruelle

    VETERINARY ADVISOR

    DVM, DABVP (Feline); founder at Wild Rose Cat Clinic.

  • Kristin Wuhrman

    ENTREPRENUER & PET CARE INDUSTRY ADVISOR

    Respected leader and consultant in feline care and industry knowledge

  • Ellen Carozza

    FELINE-CENTRIC VETERINARY TECHNICIAN ADVISOR

    LVT, VTS (CP-Feline)

    Award winning, feline-centric veterinary technician with nearly 30 years of experience in veterinary medicine.

How We Work

Scientific Rigor

Our technology is built on validated science and trained on a vast, expertly and internally labeled dataset. Ongoing datasets continue to grow with strategic data licensing agreements with feline industry organizations.

Objective Assessment

AI reduces bias in pain detection compared to human observation.

Clinically Trusted

Used by veterinary clinics and integrated platforms for real-time, non-invasive pain detection and cat caregiver compliance.

Continuous Learning

Every image processed improves our models, making them smarter over time.