Cat Chat®

#158: Tracie’s co-host, Dr. Mikel Maria Delgado, explains the anatomy of a cat’s whiskers and also what you can learn about a cat’s frame of mind from watching the twitch of those whiskers.

#157: Brian Porter (the author of “Dreams of Arcadia,” a novel about a country veterinarian) discusses the challenges of taking in 11-year-old kitties, who had spent their entire lives in one home with his mother, until she passed away.

#156:  Carolyn Rafferty created the Scoop Buddy — a simple clip to hold a plastic bag on the end of the litter box to catch the litter when cleaning.  Her company, Cat Savant, is a MissionMeow partner along with Tracie, supporting generous grants to cat rescuers.

#155:  A listener whose kitten had feline leukemia gets sick every 2 weeks with 3 really bad days. Dr. Elizabeth Hodgkins recommends finding a cat-focused vet to consider broad spectrum antibiotics to manage the upper respiratory symptoms.

 #0154: The simple answer is: Good grief NO! Dr. Mikel Maria Delgado discusses the myriad behavior problems that arise from cats who are not fixed, which optimally needs to happen before a kitten turns 5 months of age (when they can start reproducing --- kittens having kittens.) 

Christina Rutz (Full Circle MO Feral, St Louis) on winning MissionMeow grant to help them support volunteer TNR trappers

Dr. Mikel Delgado on the challenges of bringing a foster cat into your home, and problems it can cause with resident cat(s)

Jonathan Losos (“The Cat’s Meow: How Cats Evolved from the Savanna to Your Sofa”) on “the cat conundrum,” how most cats have changed little over time, others radically different

Dr. Mikel Maria Delgado on various ways cats deal with the loss of a housemate, some despondent, others exhibit no grief

Emily (Travel Cat) on the innovative kitty backpacks, cat-safe harnesses and related travel items to make it easy to take cat with you

DJ Bornschein (Catsbury Park, New Jersey) on MissionMeow grant allowing them to expand their TNR, Catsbury Lounge and adoption

Long-time listener Jean from Cincinnati (who bought "The Cat Bible" when she adopted cats, Iris and Lily) asks about feeding wet food only, gets recommendations for Weruva, Dr. Elsey's CleanProtein

Annie Butler-Shirreffs (Editor of “Catster”) on why cats chirp, the origin of the sound and what purpose it serves

Dr Mikel Maria Delgado on figuring out why your kitty walks all over your kitchen counter: food obsession, elevation, or social interaction

Dr. Mikel Maria Delgado advises you to “Ditch the spray bottle” if you don’t want to ruin your relationship with your cat, address cat issues instead

Annie Butler-Shirreffs (Catster) on anatomical wonder of a cat's tail, and 8 different tail signals Catster identified, including “question mark,” "tip twitch,” & “cat tail hug”

Dr Mikel Maria Delgado and Tracie give advice on what to never do with your cats

Dr. Mikel Delgado discusses things NOT to do with your cat, e.g., don't hit, squirt or throw anything, don't let kids pick up the cat, don't ignore changes in behavior, etc.

Annie Butler Shirreffs (Catster) on their recent article describing sounds cats make, including the Friendly Trill, Midnight Whine, Demonic Growl, Sleep Siren, etc.

Dr. Mikel Delgado discusses questions to ask to determine if your cats are roughhousing or having a real cat fight

Mission Meow founder/director Sally Williams invites Tracie (inspired by Cat Chat co-host Mikel Maria Delgado) to become a Mission Meow partner

Zazie Todd ("PURR: the Science of Making Your Cat Happy") on why touching your cat should not be your decision alone, respecting cat's personality and mood

Dr. Mikel discusses the sort of cats who thrive in a cat cafe environment, those who do not, and how to keep a cat cafe from becoming "petting zoo"

Mikel Maria Delgado discusses study in Paris, France looking at whether a cat's pet parent's voice means something to them

Mikel Maria Delgado (Mission Meow) on giving sizeable grants to feline non-profits to make a significant impact on lives of cats