In the fall of 1988, Dr. Joseph Openshaw opened Metro Cat Clinic, the first feline-only clinic in the state of Alabama and one of only about a dozen nationwide.  Since that time, cat care in Alabama has increased dramatically.  Today there are other feline-only clinics in Birmingham, and a large mixed animal practice has a for some years had a separate waiting room with its own entrance for its feline patients, but veterinary practices devoted only to felines are still rare. 

Dr Openshaw graduated from vet school at Auburn University in 1981.  After graduation he worked in a mixed animal practice in Tennessee until moving back to Birmingham and opening Metro Cat Clinic.  In 1994 he added Dr. Jackie Holmes, a recent graduate of  Mississippi State University College of Veterinary Medicine, as an associate vet.  She worked at Metro Cat Clinic from that time until 2009, when she retired to spend more time with her family.

Over the years Dr. Openshaw has mentored many veterinary students, some of whom either have opened or work in feline-only practices.  In 2007, after his asthma and allergies worsened to the point that he could no longer practice, Dr. Openshaw sold the clinic to Dr. Caroline Montgomery, who had worked part-time at Metro Cat Clinic for five years