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
A Bookstore for Lovers of Literature and Cats
#258: Jennifer Mowdy created The Literary Cat Co., a bookstore and “cat lounge" in Pittsburg, Kansas, to bring books and reading to people in a lower socio-economic environment, who otherwise might not have access to books — while surrounding them with adoptable cats from her local shelter.
How to “Cure” the Nighttime Crazies
#257: Stephen Quandt (https://catbehaviorhelp.com/) describes how you can get your “nighttime terror” (or early morning riser) to go from crazy to calm — and let you sleep through the night.
"Creamy" is Dreamy — The Versatile Cat Treat
#256: Sandra Grossman (https://www.thefelineconsultant.com/), who specializes in companion animal nutrition, explains the importance of feeding treats to your kitty that are good for her and also delicious, so that they are a huge incentive and a "big pay day" for trick training (meaning teaching your cat to do something you ask her to!)
A TNR Colony in Your Own Backyard?
#255: Mikel Maria Delgado says that cat ownership can be caring for a small colony in your own backyard, but she cautions that not all “loose cats” are unowned, so you need to try to find the owner by using social media or just asking around/posting notices in the community.
Goat’s Milk from Happy Austrian Goats!
#254: Sue Delegan from Brutus Broth talks about how they developed their Goat Milk product as the perfect hydrating treat for cats, in a unique shelf-stable tetra pack, by importing the triple-safety-tested milk from goats in Germany and Austria.
Pop Manga Cat Coloring Book for Adults
#253: Pop Surrealist artist Camilla d’Errico's (https://www.camilladerrico.com/) "Pop Manga CATITUDE Coloring Book (as she says, she's "the Stephen King of coloring books"!) gives adults who like to color inside the lines a chance to express their inner catitude using her big-eyed cat drawings as their guide.
What Can Old Cats Tell Us About Old People?
#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.
Yes! Let Your Vet Take Out Your Old Kitty’s Teeth!
#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.
Cat Sushi — Pure Yumminess!
#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.
Choose a Friendly Father to Get a Friendly Kitten
#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.