Cat Chat ®

#252: They have been studying geriatric cats at Penn Vet at the University of Pennsylvania and Dr. Carlo Siracusa — Chief of the Animal Behavior Service — talks about how their study might give us clues to healthier aging for humans.

#251: Tracie tells about an old friend who wrote to her because the woman’s veterinarian had recommended removing some teeth from her 17 year old kitty, Thelma. She wanted Tracie’s advice: was it worth the investment for an old cat? Tracie’s own vet, Dr. Suzy Pence, explains why oral disease in cats is such a big deal to their health and welfare since the cat with gum disease is suffering already. The moral of the story? Taking care of your aging cat’s mouth is a moral obligation and you might be making her last years her best ones because she'll be pain free.

#249: Spyq Sklar, a co-founder of Earthly, describes how Cat Sushi came to be — from his visits to tuna processors in Japan and securing bonito flakes as cat treats.

#250: Mikel Maria Delgado talks about purebred cats and how limiting the gene pool for physical characteristics can lead to inborn physical problems. Selecting for appearance not for temperament can backfire.

#247: Meet Yosh, who traveled the world with his Bombay cat Simon, then decided to build his house for Simon’s pleasure.

#246: Cat behaviorist Rachel Geller, with her own nonprofit All Cats All the Time, has helped more than 1,000 cats and their people to have a better relationship and stay together — and she’s done it without changing her own style of patient insight and support.

#245: Behavior tips from cat behaviorist Stephen Quandt about living with a blind cat, whether blind from birth or she becomes so later. He recommends starting with a compressed space, giving them a chance to explore their litter box, food and “cat cave” safe space before you slowly expand their physical world.

#244: Dr. Mikel Maria Delgado published a research project with other feline experts in England to ascertain what keeps people from playing with their cats? Turns out, changing human behavior is harder than changing that of kitty cats! 

#243: Cat behaviorist Stephen Quandt [CatBehaviorHelp.com] describes how he adopted blind Jenny as a kitten and realized she had “sight without vision” — she spent 8 hours nonstop roaming his entire apartment when he first brought her home, only resting once she had made a mental map of new territory. 

#235: Understand how a cat’s whiskers function, then Mikel Delgado tells you how to watch them to discover your cat’s feelings.

#228: Veterinary behaviorists are called "psychiatrists" in France, where Dr Claude Beata is one of a very small number of these doctors who are helping treat emotional issues in pets, including the use of psycho-pharmaceuticals.

#229: Dr. Mikel Maria Delgado discusses her scientific paper on whether cats play fetch.

#240: These two cat lovers have a loving following for a reason!

 #242: Matt McGlasson's delightful book "How to Rate a Cat: Rate Any Feline Friend From Their Boopable Nose to Their Sweet Toe Beans" features his hilarious Cat Rating System (CRS) that rates all aspects of cats. He has three special needs cats himself and says anybody who can should get one because they give us a great perspective on life: they never feel sorry for themselves and just get on with it, enjoying their lives. 

#239: It takes patience and time, but novelist Brian Porter explains how he made it work when he inherited a pair of cats after his mother passed away.

#227: Dr. Mikel Maria Delgado recommends a carrier the cat can enjoy as a resting place and bed that you keep out all the time in your home — not a soft-sided carrier but a hard-sided one (Sleepypod is her favorite — if you can afford one or put it on your wish list for Santa Claus!) 

#237: Wonder what your cat is thinking and feeling? The answers are in Lili Chin’s book “Kitty Language: An Illustrated Guide to Understanding Your Cat.” 

#226: Zazie Todd’s book “PURR: the Science of Making Your Cat Happy," has a nice checklist of what you should set aside in a bag for emergency preparedness if you have to leave in a hurry.

#241: Dr. Maria Mikel Delgado discusses how to care for outdoor cats in the winter by providing a warm and dry shelter and food (using the insulation of straw) — while also making the indoors more fun for your house cat, offering a heated bed inside and using tips from her book PLAY WITH YOUR CAT!

#234: Dr Hodgkins recommends finding a feline-specialist veterinarian who will know how to use broad spectrum antibiotics to deal with the kitten’s upper respiratory symptoms.