Cat Talk Radio

Why should you care if house cats are domesticated? Because the answer to that provides information on how and why they behave the way they do - and what they need, both emotionally and physically, to thrive in your home.

Separation anxiety is rare in cats, but can happen, and can be the cause of behavioral issues. A recent study gave insight into some of the things that can help cats to feel secure while you're away. In this episode, Molly and Dewey talk about the signs of separation anxiety in cats and some of the things you can do to help it.

Several of you have asked how to deal with cats who are finicky eaters. This episode talks about some of the reasons why cats suddenly go cold on food and what you can do about it.

Prey play might be the single most important things you do for your cat. Yet many of you say, My cat's not interested. Molly and Dewey talk about techniques for engaging your cat in prey play, why it's so vitally important, how often you should do it, and a special piece about doing prey play in a shelter setting. Everyone who owns a cat should listen to this podcast.

One of the routine things I do in a behavior consult is evaluate the cats' resources. Especially in a multi-cat household, if there aren't enough resources, often intercat aggression will break out. In this episode, Dewey and I talk about what resources are and how to know you have enough.

You know them; the cats who bite people. It might be fun and cute when they are tiny kittens but when they grow up, it can be very dangerous. Molly and Dewey talk about three biting cases - two from listeners and their own current foster. They discuss several different circumstances and reasons for biting and some of the things you can do to help stop it.

One of our listeners, Alina, emailed with questions she has about living with her deaf cat. She asks, How do I communicate with my deaf cat? How is his behavior different from a hearing cat? Does his excessive purring and vocalization have to do with being deaf? Molly and Dewey dive into these questions and also discuss how to train deaf cats and more!

A listener from Italy emailed us saying she'd listened to our podcast on reducing stress for your cats and asked that we address how to reduce stress for shelter cats. She thought this topic would be beneficial for other volunteers, such as herself. We made a list of 12 things you can do to help the cats at your shelter. Whether you currently volunteer, are thinking about volunteering, or can donate items to your local shelter, this episode should give you some effective and unique ideas!

Cat-to-cat aggression is one of the most common behavior calls I get. It is also one of the most common reasons cats are returned or surrendered to shelters.There is definitely a right and a wrong way to introduce a new cat to your cat. When the steps are not done correctly, you can have a feline relationship that is never mended. Often people will say, I just let the new cat out to see what would happen. They'll work it out. but that is not a good foundation for relationship. In this podcast we talk about the proper steps to introduce a new cat, the timing, signs to watch for before you move to the next step, where most people fail, and much more.

Cats rarely show pain or stress to avoid appearing vulnerable to potential predators. So how do you know if your cats is feeling stress? Molly and Dewey talk about what causes stress in cats, signs that your cat is feeling stress, and things you can do to destress your cat.