The wait is over!

We loved checking out all of the videos that were submitted for our contest. It truly was heart-warming to see the bonds people have with their cats.

We are excited to announce the winner of the “My Cat’s Story” video contest. It was a tough decision because the judges had some wonderful submissions. It was so heartwarming to see the relationships the entrants had with their cats and how lives have changed with love.

The judges, Pam Johnson-Bennett , Marilyn Krieger and Steve Dale, all certified cat behavior consultants, felt the winner best showcased the relationship she has with her cat and the change in the cat’s behavior. The judges also wanted to highlight the two runners-up because they also did an awesome job of presenting their cats’ stories.

The winner will receive a $150 pre-paid VISA gift card, an autographed copy of THINK LIKE A CAT by Pam Johnson-Bennett, an autographed copy of NAUGHTY NO MORE by Marilyn Krieger, and the e-book GOOD CAT by Steve Dale. Additionally, the winner will appear in the TICA Trend magazine and also be featured in Bengals Illustrated.

The “My Cat’s Story” Winner is Lana Lingan and her cat, Handsome. Congratulations, Lana!

Judges’ Comments: We liked the story about Lana and Handsome because it clearly showed how Lana was able to transform a scared cat who was abandoned into a sweet, affectionate cat. Lana let the cat progress at his own pace, never forcing him, always encouraging him. We loved seeing the bonds that the two share. Clearly they enhance each others lives.

We had two runners-up who also shared their wonderful stories of how love, patience and understanding were rewarded with a strengthened bond with their cats and positive changes in behavior. Congratulations to both runners-up. We hope you enjoy their stories.

Runner-up Andrea Dorn and her cat, Mewdy Blue. Congratulations, Andrea.

Judges’ Comments: We like this video because not only did it showcase how an outdoor-loving cat can be transitioned to a fulfilled and enriched indoor life, it also shows how cats are very trainable. It was also heartwarming to see the strong bond Andrea and Mewdy Blue clearly have.

Runner-up Jason Girouard and his cat, Millie. Congratulations, Jason!

Judges’ Comments:
We were impressed with the dedication and patience that Jason and his family showed toward saving and socializing this young kitten who grew into a very loved member of the family.

A big thank you to everyone who spent the time and effort to enter our contest. We are very pleased!

This post originally appeared on The Cat Coach

I have started a weekly feature on the home page of my Cat Coach site. It is called Cat Bits & Bytes. In theory, I will be posting a cat behavior tip every week on the home page. The older cat tips will be moved to a separate page, so they won’t be lost forever when they are replaced each week with a new tip.

So far I’ve posted one tip. With a little bit of luck I will post a new one every week…. I should be able to do this…  Blogging about my new Cat Bits & Bytes tips will hopefully give me the incentive. In theory, I shouldn’t have a problem writing a tip every week since like clockwork, I’ve written one column a week since 2007 for www.catchannel.com. The difference between my new Cat Bits & Bytes tips and my catchannel.com columns is one I'm paid for the other I'm not.

Check it out! The first tip is focusing on a popular subject: Litter Box Maintenance.

This post originally appeared on The Cat Coach

Most of you know that I’m big on never letting cats outside. I know it’s a controversial subject, but in addition to healthier cats who live longer, I’ve noticed that people develop stronger bonds with their cats when they are inside 24/7. I think part of this is due to cat parents seeing more of their cat’s personality and individuality.

I am segueing away from the initial reason for this blog entry. Cats can be very happy living indoors 24/7.  All it takes is a little entertainment and enrichment. You can read more about it in USA Today and on page 6D of the printed version of USA Today.

This post originally appeared on The Cat Coach

Even though the intent of my blog is to focus on the wonderment of cat behavior, I am going to segue into another part of my life. Some of you know that I’m the coordinator for California Bengal Cat Rescue. I hate asking for help for a rescue situation, it just doesn’t seem right for me to use my blog for this. But I am…

Today’s blog is a plea for help, it’s a rescue blog.

I’m in the process of coordinating a major rescue. 35 Bengals are being surrendered to me. They come from a breeder who has been hit with severe economic hardship. She is surrendering all of her babies to us. It’s really hard for her to do this because she adores each and every one of her little cats, but she knows it’s the best thing for them.

Each of these lovely cats need to be spayed/neutered before they go either to foster homes or their forever homes. I have located a low cost clinic, run by Best Friends Sanctuary who can speuter them at a reasonable rate: $35 for the boys $45 for the girls.  We need financial help desperately! We have some funds, but not enough to cover all 35 of them.

We also need either hard plastic carriers donated to us, or money for 15 carriers. The carriers will be for transporting the cats in three groups to the clinic for their speutering.

We will also need help with transporting the cats to and from the clinic. The cats are in Lancaster, north east of Los Angeles. The clinic is in the Los Angeles area. I’m not sure but I think it’s about a one hour drive.

We also need foster homes and great adopters.

I have included pictures of 4 of the cats. As you can see, they are beautiful. One of the cats, Sandy, is a Supreme Grand Champion. Each cat has his and her own story, each cat is special and needs and deserves a great and loving home. If you can help us with this rescue, please send donations through PayPal to: donate@bengalrescuenetwork.org and write in the memo or subject head that it’s for California. We are a 5013C organization, so whatever you donate can be written off.

Thank you so much for helping.

I promise, my next blog will be about cat behavior.

This post originally appeared on The Cat Coach

I am going to be back on KGO Radio, on the Ronn Owens Show Friday, February 13^that 11:00 AM PT. Anyway... I think I am. Ronn's web site says he is going to be interviewing Jimmy Carter on "Friday February 12" at 11:00. I am assuming he meant to write Thursday...  So... with any luck and with a typo correction, I will be giving cat behavior tips, answering questions from the listening audience and having fun talking with Ronn Owens on Friday the 13th. You can hear the interview live either on AM 810, or on the KGO Radio web site by clicking on the listen live button on the right. Since this is a live talk program, please call the program and ask your cat behavior questions.

The call in numbers are listed on the call in number page on the KGO site.

I promise I will write an entry for the blog soon. I have a couple of deadlines that I’m working hard to meet.

This post originally appeared on The Cat Coach

I’m very proud of my movie star cats. I feel like one of those parents who can’t stop talking about their talented progeny. Maybe my car should wear a bumper sticker that proclaims that my cats are honor students.

Maulee and two of her buddies, Sudan and Jinniyha were on network TV last night helping solve the mystery of the purr. Thanks to modern technology, you can see them unravel the mystery on the web at CBS 5  .

The segment is called: Why Do Cats Purr?

This post originally appeared on The Cat Coach

I was interviewed today by Ken Bastida, the news anchor for the 6:00 CBS news. He came to my house with his cameraman, intent on interviewing me about purring. He wanted me to answer the enigmatic questions: why do cats purr? And how do they purr? I prepared all week for this interview, both cleaning the house and in researching the mystery of the purr.This, by the way, is why I haven’t posted on my blog all week.

Ken and his cameraman were here for about 2 hours. It was fun, but I don’t know how the interview went. Ken adores cats and spent a good portion of the time admiring and enjoying my cats. I really enjoyed watching him interact and seeing the admiration and love he has for cats. I also enjoyed hearing about his wonderful elderly cat. My cats are great around cameras and strangers. They enjoy performing, and spent part of the interview licking the camera and giving Ken kisses on request. I also did a little demo with a couple of the cats sitting on their stools, shaking hands and finding my keys. They did film it, but that’s not what Ken had originally intended on interviewing and filming me about. I'm not sure if we got enough footage about cats purring...

They will edit this down into about a 1.5 minute segment. It will be shown in about two weeks on TV CBS news at 6:00 PM and 11:00 PM.

This post originally appeared on The Cat Coach

We know that are fur kids don’t live as long as we do. We don’t want them to hurt or to be in pain… they share their lives with us and give us their love. Painful and awful as it is, I feel we need to be with them when they cross the bridge.

I will help Bok Choi cross the bridge today at 11:00. It tears me up to do this, but today he refused to eat even his very favorite food and I think he is in pain.

It’s time.

This post originally appeared on The Cat Coach

I have been getting many questions about cat behavior from readers of my blog. It's impossible for me to answer all of the questions. But... it just so happens... I am going to be the guest question-answerer on Petfinders Forum, starting the 10th of November through the 16th. So, please do surf on over during that time and ask questions about cat behavior and cat behavior challenges.

Thank you everyone for reading my blog, and thank you for commenting and asking questions. I wish I could answer them all.

This post originally appeared on The Cat Coach

I am going to be on TV this Friday night on CBS Channel 5 at 7:20 PM on a show called Pets Around the Bay. After it aires, I'm told that it will be available on line . The filming took about 5 hours a couple of months ago. They filmed me talking about cats and cat behavior and showed me clicker training a shelter cat. I am curious to see what they used in the segment.

This post originally appeared on The Cat Coach