kittens

If you heard our show’s Episode 33 with Made By Nacho’s vet, Dr. Katja Lang, you heard Rita ask Dr. Lang why is there no mouse flavored cat food? It was a joke, but low and behold, we found some… Well, actually they are mouse flavored cat treats, made with cultured mouse meat. What is that, you ask?

Because Animals is a company that makes dog and cat treats made from cultured animal meat! NO animals are harmed; the meat is grown in a lab from a single sample from the mouse (or other animals) that goes on the live it’s best life. Listen as Dr. Shannon Falconer explains the mission of Because Animals, and why this innovative technology is good for the animals and also good for our planet.

EPISODE NOTES: Because, Animals

Rita and Linda spend many years running a bi-coastal Cats Only pet sitting company, Just For Cats Pet Sitting. Once the pandemic hit and no one was traveling, Rita decided to sell the remains of JFC to the awesome Cat Sitting Company, Meowtel, so she and Linda could focus on Cat Behavior. Now that people are traveling again, pet sitters are in high demand again, and cat-only sitters are busier than ever.

Linda and Rita interviewed one of Meowtel’s top cat sitters, Racheline Maltese, to find out why she does what she does for a living, and discuss why it’s so important to hire a sitter who specializes in cats to care for your furry felines.

EPISODE NOTES: Cat Sitter Questions

Kristen Levine knows all about life with pets. On her website and her newsletter, she shares helpful information about how to make life with our pets better, for them and for us.

Today, Kristen joins Rita and Linda to talk about helping your new cat adjust to his new home – your home. A topic that is near and dear to our hearts, Kristen is here to give us practical tips and guidance to becoming best friends with your new feline. Linda and Rita loved her advice, and they’re sure you will too!

EPISODE NOTES: Cat Tips, Tricks And Advice With Kristen Levine

Have you ever had a cat escape? Even indoor-only cats find a way to get loose when someone comes over. OR they find a hole in the window screen, and suddenly he’s gone! It's a horrible feeling of panic! Both Rita and Linda have had this horrible experience, as have most cat parents at one time or another.

What do you do when your cat escapes? How do you find them? Enter Kim Freeman! She is the Lost Cat Detective. Kim has written a book called How to Find Your Lost Cat” where she gives us some great advice about how to get your cat back indoors. Rita and Linda thought they knew how to go about finding a lost cat... But they were WRONG! Listen as Rita and Linda learn from Kim the RIGHT way to find your cat and to get him back inside.

EPISODE NOTES: Kim Freeman: Cat Detective

Did you ever see a girl who looks like Marilyn Monroe but can also rock a power tool? Meet Daralyn Kelleher, a comedian and YouTuber who does DIY woodworking and upholstery projects. Daralyn joins Rita and Linda to share her love of cats and the story behind how she got to make a cat couch for the a-meow-zing Mayim Bialik!

EPISODE NOTES: Feline Fur-niture

Every year in the United States, 134,400 cats are surrendered to county shelters because of behavior issues. Of course, that number doesn't include the cats that are simply kicked outside, left behind, or sent to private shelters. Unless neurological disorder is involved, a Cat Behaviorist can help you and your cat! If every cat parent reached out to a Cat Behaviorist, we could prevent 134,400 cats EVERY year from going into a shelter, and maybe never coming back out!

In this episode of 19 Cats and Counting, Rita and Linda chat with Pam Webster, a recent graduate from Animal Behavior College, to discuss naughty behaviors and what Cat Behaviorists are doing to help keep these kitties in happy, loving, forever homes!

EPISODE NOTES: 134,400 Cats and Counting

If you have cats, you have probably had to make some tough decisions at the end of his life, or you will in the future. It’s THE decision that every pet owner dreads. How do we know when it's time? Is it too soon? Did I wait too long? How do we do this in a way that's best for the cat and the human?

Linda and Rita had the pleasure of discussing this sensitive topic with Dr. Diane Eigner, VMD, MBA, CVPM, CHPV. She is the owner of The Cat Whispurrr and is also the President-Elect of the International Association for Animal Hospice and Palliative Care. Dr. Diane is here to tell us all about making these decisions, how to do what is best for our cats and ourselves, and the proper comforting way that euthanasia should be done.

EPISODE NOTES: When It’s Time

This week Rita and Linda chat cats with Michelle Fern, the host of Pet Life Radio's Cattitude podcast about what it's really like to have a multi multi multi cat household! How much does it cost to feed them? How many litter boxes do you need? Can you ever go on a vacation? Tune in for answers to these and many more cat questions!

EPISODE NOTES: Lots and Lots and Lots of Cats!

Rita and Linda are well known as the two (crazy cats) ladies. Imagine their surprise when they found a website named Two Crazy Cat Ladies!

Listen in as Linda and Rita chat with Jae and Adrienne, the other two cat ladies! Join them for lots of laughs and fun as well as learning about what cats need and how to do it in a healthier way!

EPISODE NOTES: Four Crazy Cat Ladies!

If you run a business, especially a cat-focused business, you know that your website is your calling card. But keeping your website updated with current and interesting content is often a challenge.

Meet Dan Reinhold, professional writer and founder of Copy for Cats. Dan provides content for cat-based business that is all about cats. He helps with website copy, newsletter creation, and even email marketing, all written to keep cat lovers enthralled and coming back to your website for more. Listen as Rita and Linda ask Dan how and why he started Copy for Cats.

EPISODE NOTES: Copy For Cats

When Rita and Linda stumbled upon animal communicator Lesley Nase, they had to find out more! Having no experience with animal communicators, they were a bit skeptical, but Lesley made believers out of them in no time!

Lesley has a natural ability to tune in to both animals and people and is doing a-meow-zing work to help people connect with their animals and form a stronger bond! She teaches humans how to connect with them on your own as well! Lesley uses her incredible gifts in the areas of animal communication, animal healing, shamanic healing, quantum energy, psychic medium, online education, speaking and wrote a book entitled "Who Paints the World".

Join Rita and Linda as they talk to Lesley and learn more about communicating with your fabulous feline!

EPISODE NOTES: How Many Times Have You Wished Your Cat Could Just Talk To You? “Tell Me What's Wrong!" "Tell Me How You Feel!"

We are thrilled to again welcome Peter Cohen, Founder of the non-profit Zen by Cat, as well as his kitty abode, House of Nekko (which means House of Cat). If you’ve visited the Zen by Cat Instagram or Facebook page, you’ve no doubt see how Peter’s 24 cats live in peace and tranquility in an environment that would make any cat drool with envy! Well, House of Nekko has been under renovation, giving the kitties and Peter a new space to hang our together.

Of course, the quest to help cat parents who need expensive treatment for FIP is Peter’s main focus. Did you know that Peter pays for those FIP Warrior T-shirts out of his own pocket? It’s only if a member donates that $10 a month for an entire year that Peter breaks even. That’s right, $9 (that’s 90%!) of each $10 monthly donation goes straight to the non-profit to help those FIP kitties! Join Linda and Rita as they discuss with Peter the House of Nekko, Peter’s loss of his favorite kitty, Cookie Monster, and how you can become an FIP Warrior and get that cool T-shirt! (Linda and Rita have one!)

EPISODE NOTES: Peter Cohen, Founder of House of Nekko and Zen by Cat

Started in 2011 by Amman Ahmed and Ricardo Henriquez, Relax My Cat and Relax My Dog were inspired by an incredibly cute dog called Rocky, and a cute cat called Mia. Ricardo and Mia both experienced a life of political unrest and violence in their local communities, leaving them less than relaxed.

Amman and Ricardo started making experimental music to see how it would help Mia and Rocky, and after loads of trial and error they now have a formula that works! RelaxMyCat.com and RelaxMyDog.com offers not just music, but also tv to help relax cats and dogs. The positive feedback they’ve received from the community shows that this music helps 85% of cats who’ve tried it. In fact, Relax My Cat has had a positive impact on over 10 million cats and dogs so far, including Rita and Linda’s cats. Listen as Rita and Linda introduce you to the wonderfully talented Amman Ahmed and find out how your cat can try Relax My Cat and Relax My Dog, too.

EPISODE NOTES: Amman Ahmed, Co-founder of Relax My Cat (and Relax My Dog)

Liz is a gifted comedian who has been doing stand-up since she was just 16! At 18, she was profiled in The New Yorker Magazine, at 22 she appeared on Comedy Central’s “Live at Gotham.” She recently appeared on Comedy Central’s “This Week at the Comedy Cellar,” NPR’s “Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me,” Hulu’s “Coming To The Stage,” AXS TV’s “Gotham Comedy Live,” and was profiled in the March 2015 issue of Runner’s World. Liz released her first special “Self Help Me” in May 2020, which is free on YouTube.

As a cat mom, and after telling one cat joke too many on stage (ha ha), Liz had the idea to write her first book, “Why Cats Are A*holes.” Join Rita and Linda as they talk with Liz about her career, her cat, and why she wrote this very relatable book about being a cat owner.

EPISODE NOTES: Liz Miele, Author, Cat Mom

Have you ever wondered if your cat is really happy? If he’s acting strange, is it because he is ill? After surgery, does he really need these pain pills or are you medicating your cat needlessly? Sylvester AI can tell you!

Join Rita and Linda as they talk with Miche and Sajna about this amazing software, called Tably, how it works, and how our own Linda Hall saved the life of her cat using Sylvester AI while we were testing it for the show! Linda’s story actually changed the target demographic for the release of Tably, so that not only can veterinarians use it in the office, but virtually everyone can use it at home, too. You don’t want to miss this ground-breaking show!

EPISODE NOTES: Is Your Cat Happy? Miche Priest and Sajna Massey of Sylvester AI Can Tell You For Sure!

Steve Dale knows pets. He is a celebrated Animal Behaviorist and animal welfare advocate, with not one, not two, but THREE radio shows! Rita had the pleasure of meeting Steve a few years ago at a conference about Cat Behavior. Steve is one busy guy, and we’re honored he made the time to be on our show! If there is one thing Steve is passionate about, it’s the health and well-being of all of our beloved pet companions. As a board member to the Every Cat Health Foundation (formerly known as The Winn Feline Foundation), everycat.org, Steve has his finger on the pulse of feline disease management breakthroughs as they happen. Every Cat is on the cutting edge of the development of treatments for and prevention of the various diseases our feline companions get. Join Linda and Rita, as Steve tells us about the amazing work of Every Cat, as he challenges Rita and “19 Cats” to get involved. With pleasure, Steve! Whatever we can do to help, we’re onboard!

EPISODE NOTES: Steve Dale- Animal Behaviorist, Animal Welfare Advocate

We’ve all heard that music soothes the savage beast, but what can soothe our family housecats? David Teie, a solo Cellist for the National Symphony Orchestra, has the answer. David has brought science and music together in a unique combination to create Music for Cats.

It took David over 4 years to create this music, which is intended to speak to cats in a way that only their brains would understand. In a quote from his website: “He contends that every species has an intuitive biological response to sounds based on their brain development and vocalizations.”

Listen to David explain this fascinating way to help your cats remain calm, cool, and collected, then visit www.MusicforCats.com and give your cats a soothing experience.

EPISODE NOTES: David Teie, Composer, Music for Cats

Darlene is a very old and very dear friend of Rita’s, who happens to share Rita’s love of cats and a passion for writing. As a cat (and dog) mom and successful writer, Darlene decided to create a series of children’s books, staring her very own cats!

Join Rita and Linda as they talk with Darlene about her real-life cats, her move cross-country, and how much easier her Litter Robot has made taking care of cat business! We’ll also discuss how she came up with idea for The Mischief Kitties series. Be sure to look up The Mischief Kitties on Amazon and read these enchanting books to your kids as you follow the cats though their many misadventures.

And then, once you’ve put the kids to bed, curled-up in the bed with your favorite purry companions and glass of wine, then pull out one of Darlene’s romance novels. Visit Darlene’s Author page for a complete list of all her books.

EPISODE NOTES: Darlene Tallman, Author, The Mischief Kitties

Cindy is a tireless cat rescuer, often spending countless dollars of her own to save and vet stray cats, and find then a loving forever home. Named after one of the kittens she could not save, Cindy started The Sunshine Fund, a (soon to be non-profit) rescue dedicated to those kittens who are in the greatest need of saving in the Houston, TX area. Join Cindy, Linda, and Rita as they talk about how this dedicated lady has become the advocate for needy kittens as she gets them ready for their new lives. Visit www.thesunshinefund.net to learn more about Cindy’s amazing work, and to donate money, time, or supplies to the kittens.

EPISODE NOTES: Cindy Long-Pace and The Sunshine Fund

The number two question Rita hears from clients is “how do I get my cats to get along?” Enter Dr. Sally Foote! Although Rita is quite experienced at multi cat integration, Dr. Sally is an expert, offering video step-by-step guides on how to go about those sometimes scary cat-meet-cat introductions. Join Rita, Linda, and Dr. Sally Foote as they talk about introducing cats and getting them to peacefully co-exist.

EPISODE NOTES: Dr. Sally Foote – Veterinarian and Animal Behaviorist