Cat Chat®

#197: Luke Hollenbeck is a cat interpreter, helping people understand why cats pee on their pillow, in their shoes or in their laps! Cats don't need privacy to eliminate, they need safety. 

#196: Mikel Maria Delgado talks about the importance of vertical space and how a cat tree is central to a cat’s need to feel safe - but just like in real estate remember what matters: location, location, location.

#195: Luke Hollenbeck, a certified behaviorist with the Animal Behavior Wellness Center in Washington D.C., wants to help people find connection with their cats and the problem with negative vocabulary being thrown around about cats — which was evident in the Washington Post headline story "Your Cat Isn't Being a Jerk,” for which he was interviewed.

#194: Rachel Geller's free non-profit cat behavior consultancy All Cats, All the Time helps with issues like reintroducing kitties who got off on the wrong foot — walk it back to the beginning, starting with putting the newcomer in "the sanctuary room."

#193: Sally Williams started the Brodie Fund to help pay for pets' cancer treatments, then she created Mission Meow. When her own kitty Mr. Jones was diagnosed with cancer, rather than despair she decided to view treatment as “the gift of time.” 

#192: Dr. Elizabeth Hodgkins talks about a new drug that has just come out for cats with diabetes. It concerns her for many reasons: it is only partially effective, it has side effects serious enough to warrant an FDA "black box warning" (like those cigarette packs), plus it is very expensive. She and Tracie urge everyone to avoid creating diabetes in their cats by avoiding "kitty c...

#191: Emily Stein developed TEEF to help clean cats' mouths — which are teeming with “bad bacteria” that she refers to as “the Fungus Among Us,” especially for flat faced cats like Persians. She invented TEEF to “bring good bacteria to the party in a cat’s mouth.”

#190: "HOW TO TRAIN YOUR HUMAN: A Cat’s Guide" by Babas a clever guide from the perspective of a fairly snarky Italian cat about the strangeness of human behavior, featuring drawings by a famous fashion illustrator.

#189: Lisa Erickson's charming book “No Ordinary Cats” about the cats who have shared her life is told from their perspective in their "voices."

#188: Mikel Maria Delgado discusses Chapter Two of her new book “Play With Your Cat!” which explains how a cat is hard-wired to hunt and how play fulfills this fundamental need. For a cat, Play = joy.

#189:  Rick Du Charme talks about the cat clinic in Georgia that he opened to offer more affordable care, which he hopes to replicate in other towns for expanded accessibility.

#186: Mikel Maria Delgado talks about her new book “Play With Your Cat! The Essential Guide to Interactive Play for a Happier, Healthier Feline.” She explains why embracing and understanding the need for play in a cat’s life can be a game changer for them — and their people.

#185: Dr. Casey Locklear discusses the value of creating catios to give indoor cats a feel for the outdoors. Tracie suggests using the beautiful branches of expired coffee trees — often used for reptile and bird enclosures and safe for pets. NOTE: the discussion is about branches of coffee TREES no longer bearing fruit. This is totally different from the houseplant called a “coffee plant,” which i...

#184: Tracie invites listener Debra Blaine, a former human doctor and cat aficionado, to talk about how her SammyKat reluctantly accepted the introduction of Midnight, a kitty left behind to fend for herself in the winter by neighbors, who thought cats were “cold blooded” so they didn't mind freezing weather... and only needed to be fed twice a week!?

#183: Dr. Elizabeth joins Tracie to help a listener who has doubts about her veterinarian's decision to give prescription food to her cat. Are they missing something?

#182: Dr. Mikel Maria Delgado recommend getting a baby scale and weighing your cat regularly as a "health tracker" to note weight loss or gain, the impact of feeding changes, and even as an early warning of Hyper-T, a common treatable thyroid condition.

#181: Cat Behavior & Retention Specialist Rachel Geller praises the patient efforts of the man who adopted a super shy cat, Puma and gave the cat the time and space she needed to come out of her shell at her own pace.

#180: Dr. Elizabeth Hodgkins felt so bad for her feral porch cats — Tux and Boris — in the minus 13 degree weather in Idaho that she ordered a heated outdoor cat house for them, not even knowing if they would dare to go in it. Tux the tuxedo cat immediately took up residence! {Maybe your feral kitties need one if your climate is really cold, too?] 

#179: Does you cat exhibit symptoms of stress and anxiety like over-grooming to the point of bald spots, or episodes of sudden intense aggression? Dr Mikel Maria Delgado discusses when to talk to your veterinarian about behavior medication [psychopharmaceuticals], after your vet has thoroughly checked your cat for any health issues which could be impacting behavior.

#178: Dr. Casey Locklear discusses how Revolution Plus is a once-monthly topical you put on the back of your cat's neck that is an all-around protectant to keep her safe from ticks, fleas, ear mites, hookworms, roundworms, and the untreatable heartworm — and has been doing so safely for over 20 years. 

#177: Dr. Jennifer Conrad tells about how people can make a donation to put their cat in the credits of the upcoming documentary film "American Cats: The Good, The Bad, and The Cuddly," that supports The Paw Project to help end declawing.

#176: Corrine Bourgoin — the adoption supervisor and shelter operations manager at MSPCA Boston — talks about why she has achieved a "return-to-owner rate" that is 10 times higher than rest of U.S. 

#175: Hanna Fushihara works with cats and their people online at Noseworkcats.com, to create an olfactory treasure hunt for kitties. Be amazed at how enriching your cat's life deepens your understanding and love of them.

#174: Jen Glick makes jewelry from whiskers and fur, but not only from pets who have passed away. If you find a shed whisker from your kitty, the Whisker Lady can transform it into jewelry. 

#173: Sarah Brown's book "The Hidden Language of Cats — How They Had Us at Meow" is filled with astonishing truths about kitties' unique communication with us, not the least of which is that they don't meow at each other!