Cat Cafe Podcast

What have Dr. Susan Little and Dr. Jolle Kirpensteijn been up to lately? In this special episode of the Cat Cafe Podcast, your hosts set aside their usual chats with expert guests and pull up a chair for a cozy, behind-the-scenes conversation. They talk about life as cat vets, retirement, travel plans, exciting new medicines for cats, and what's coming up next. Dr. Little shares the latest from her cats-only veterinary clinics in Ottawa, where three brand-new cat medications have just been approved in Canada. And Dr. Kirpensteijn has some big personal news! After more than 12 years with Hill's Pet Nutrition, he has retired and is now spending his time on the projects he loves most, including podcasting, teaching, and writing a new surgery book. Grab a cup of coffee, snuggle up with your cat, and join us for updates, reflections, and plenty of friendly banter! Thanks for tuning in to the Cat Cafe Podcast with Dr. Susan and Dr. Jolle! If you enjoyed today's episode, don't forget to subscribe, rate, and leave us a review. It really helps other cat lovers find the show. Follow us on social media for behind-the-scenes stories, fun cat facts, and the occasional bad pun. And remember: every day is better with cats, curiosity, and maybe just a little purring in the background. Until next time, stay curious, stay kind, and give your cats an extra chin scratch from us. The Cat Cafe Podcast: where cat lovers come to learn, laugh, and purr along.

Dr. Gorczyca works as an at-home end-of-life vet, helping pets and their families navigate saying goodbye in the comfort of their own homes. Join us for a deeply moving conversation about veterinary medicine, compassion, grief, and the extraordinary role pets play in our lives.

What if your cat's own body held the key to healing painful diseases?
In this special Cat Café Podcast episode, recorded at the AVMA Convention 2026, Dr. Susan Little and Dr. Jolle Kirpensteijn sit down with veterinary neurologist Dr. Rebecca Windsor, to examine one of the most exciting developments in veterinary medicine: off-the-shelf stem cell therapies for cats. This episode is sponsored by an educational grant from Gallant.
Can stem cell therapy transform the future of feline medicine?
Dr. Rebecca Windsor, DVM, DACVIM, is a board-certified veterinary neurologist with over 20 years of clinical experience. In 2025, she joined Gallant, where she currently serves as the Vice President of Veterinary Affairs. She wants to discover what the future may hold for regenerative medicine in pets!If you've ever wondered what stem cells actually are, how they work, or whether they could someday help cats with painful chronic diseases, this episode is for you.
You'll learn how stem cells naturally help repair tissues, why scientists believe they can reduce harmful inflammation, and how researchers are developing new treatments that could dramatically improve quality of life for cats living with chronic pain. The conversation also explores feline chronic gingivostomatitis (FCGS), a devastating inflammatory mouth disease that causes severe pain, difficulty grooming, and reduced quality of life. Can stem cells really help cats heal?

Learn more about Gallant: https://www.gallant.com/ 

Dr. Mike Lappin is back with an unplanned bonus episode, because the New World screwworm did not wait for anyone's content calendar. Confirmed in Texas and New Mexico for the first time in sixty years, this flesh-eating parasite is now a real concern for cat owners in the Southwest, and Dr. Lappin breaks down exactly what that means for your cat, what to watch for, and what treatments are now available following a wave of FDA emergency authorizations. We also get into H5N1 in cats, which has now been confirmed in more than 130 domestic cats across the United States, with a mortality rate that should get every cat owner's attention. An episode nobody planned but everybody needs.

Are we giving cats medications that don't actually help? Dr. Serge Chalhoub, a veterinary kidney and bladder specialist at the University of Calgary, joins the Purr Podcast to talk about the best ways to care for cats with urinary problems. He has a special interest in how cats' kidneys and bladders work, and in using bedside ultrasound -- think instant imaging right there in the exam room -- to get faster, clearer answers without putting cats through unnecessary procedures. Tune in to find out what really works -- and what might be nothing more than habit -- when your cat is having trouble in the litter box.

Pain in cats is notoriously easy to miss and dangerously easy to undertreat, and in this episode of the Purr Podcast, Dr. Susan and Dr. Jolle sit down with Dr. Tamar Grubb to unpack why. A diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Anesthesia and Analgesia with a research focus on multimodal pain management, Dr. Grubb brings both the science and the clinical wisdom to a topic that touches every cat owner and every veterinarian who has ever wondered whether their feline patient is truly comfortable. From the subtleties of recognizing pain in a species that evolved to hide it, to the latest thinking on anesthetic protocols tailored to the unique feline physiology, this conversation is as practical as it is eye-opening. Whether you share your home with a cat or care for them professionally, this is one episode you will not want to miss.

Have you ever had a vet tell you your cat is aggressive? You're not alone — and honestly, that label might be doing more harm than good. Today we're digging into what's actually going on when cats bite, scratch, or completely shut down at the vet, and what clinics can do differently to make the whole experience less awful for everyone involved.
My guest is Dr. Renee Rucinsky, a board-certified feline specialist, owner of Mid Atlantic Cat Hospital and Mid Atlantic Feline Thyroid Center in Maryland, and someone who has dedicated her career to understanding cats on their own terms. She lectures and writes on feline medicine regularly, and she has a lot to say about how we talk about — and treat — cats in clinical settings.

In this episode of the Cat Café Podcast, Dr. Katie Tolbert discusses feeding tubes in cats—devices that may look intimidating at first glance but are truly lifesaving tools for patients that refuse to eat. She explains why nutritional support is critical in feline medicine, how feeding tubes help prevent complications like hepatic lipidosis, and why early placement can dramatically improve outcomes. What seems scary to owners is, in reality, one of the most effective and compassionate interventions we have for cats that simply won’t eat.

Dr. Susan Little and Dr. Jolle Kirpensteijn kick off the new year with a mix of unforgettable true cat stories, behind-the-scenes podcast moments, and an exclusive first look at our 2025 podcast statistics. Joined by our Communications Manager, Stacey Gonzalez, we reflect on the most-listened-to episodes of the year, uncover surprising listener trends, and share a few insights that even we didn’t see coming. It’s part storytelling, part data dive—and all cats.