Cat Chat®
Brought to you by Dr. Elsey's
CAT CHAT ® was Tracie’s own weekly, live call-in show on the Martha Stewart channel of Sirius-XM for 7 years – until the channel was canceled. Since 2015 it has been a weekly podcast carrying on her mission to educate and inspire cat lovers to optimize their relationship with their kitty cats by giving them the best possible nutrition and environmental enrichment.
Tracie’s frequent co-host is Dr. Mikel Maria Delgado of Feline Minds Cat Behavior Consulting and author of the new book Play With Your Cat! the Essential Guide to Interactive Play for a Happier, Healthier Feline.
Sponsored By:
Dr. Elsey’s, who developed America’s #1 kitty litter and also created a healthy dry and canned food for kitties called cleanprotein™ inspired by a cat’s natural prey.
Also sponsored by Cat Sushi, Catit Creamy & Fera Pets
Cat Tails Tell A Tale
#284: Mikel Maria Delgado discusses the variety of positions in a cat’s tail and how it reflects their feelings and mood, which is very particular to each kitty. Tracie likens deciphering cat tails to learning to read Morse code signals.
The Urban Kitty Living Large (even in a small apartment)
#283: Stephen Quandt (https://catbehaviorhelp.com/) suggests ways to make a cat-centric city apartment including a space-saving cat climbing tree that is suspended from the ceiling and a window perch.
Feline Purradise: the Lāna‘i Cat Sanctuary
#282: Keoni Vaughn, the Executive Director and caretaker of 767 cats (!) at the Lāna‘i Cat Sanctuary on the tiny Hawaiian island of Lāna‘i, explains its history and how they look after these previously feral cats (40% of whom become so tame they are adopted out to some of the nearly 20,000 tourists a year), while protecting a rare and vulnerable local bird population.
Ursula K Le Guin’s "Book of Cats"
#281: Jennifer Mowdy of the Literary Cat Co bookstore and cat cafe (where you can buy the book) joins Tracie to discuss this beautiful, quirky posthumous book of collected works (prose, poetry, drawings) relating to cats, from the late renowned science fiction author, Ursula K Le Guin.
Your Cat’s Kidneys Need Help!
#280: Dr. Michelle Dulake discusses the ingredients in her Fera Pets Kidney Support for cats: how it binds the phosphate in their diet, which is the culprit in most chronic kidney diseases. Tracie recommends that the sooner you start the supplement (and switch to an all wet food diet!), the better chance you have to stave off the inevitable kidney disease that affects all cats as they age.
Take the Lid Off That Litter Box!
#278: Mikel Maria Delgado talks about how very much cats dislike covered litter boxes — which might be aesthetically pleasing to humans, but can be scary for cats who feel trapped because there’s only one way in and out and no way to guard against intruders.
The Black Cat Detective Agency Series
#279: David Stirling wrote “The Cat That Followed Phantoms” and “The Cat That Chased Cadillacs” which Tracie compares to Richard Adams’ “Watership Down,” “Charlotte’s Web,” “Stuart Little" and “Alice in Wonderland,” introducing us to an utterly believable alternate feline universe in which cats have fully realized inner and outer lives in which they talk, wear nice outfits, solve mysteries, have interpersonal dynamics — and boil water for tea in their little kettles.
The Curious Kitten at the Chibineko Kitchen
#277: Jennifer Mowdy — owner of the Literary Cat Company book store and cat rescue — discusses this magical, allegorical Japanese best-selling novel by Yuta Takahashi, about a restaurant that appears only to those who need closure with a departed loved one and need to have one last meal with them.
They Have a Cat in This Fight
#276: Dr. Bruce Elsey talks about the $17 million he and his wife Kathy [a Multiple myeloma survivor herself] have raised over the years for the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation through their Dr. Elsey’s Fund to Cure Cancer — through litter coupon donations and an annual million dollar matching grant — because all cancer research helps find treatments and cures for every kind of cancer and the Elsey’s feel fortunate that their cat-centric company has been able to make a difference.
Have Cat, Will Travel
#275: Stephen Quandt (Certified feline behavior specialist in private practice (https://catbehaviorhelp.com/) working virtually with clients works in feline behavior and for the Animal Care Centers of New York City) gives recommendations on traveling with a cat, whether in a car or plane — for holiday travel, relocation or emergencies.