Posts by Stephen
I’m Feline Fine! Conquering Carrier Aversion When Traveling to the Vet or Beyond
I have a client whose sweet cat Felix loathes carriers. If her cat made a movie about this it might be called The Terror of the Moving Box! By teaching her this advanced training method and after a fairly short amount of time working with it, when she shakes the treat bag her cat now…
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Clicker Training Cats: Unlocking Your Cat’s Hidden Talents
When you think of training a pet, dogs probably come to mind first. But what if we told you cats are just as capable of learning tricks, routines, and even good manners—with the right approach? Enter clicker training: a fun, positive, and surprisingly effective way to bond with your feline and tap into their inner genius.…
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Why Does My Cat Groom Me? Is This Normal?
If there’s anything cats take very seriously, it’s their personal hygiene. And sometimes yours too! We talked with Stephen Quandt, CFTBS, founder of Stephen Quandt Feline Behavior Associates, LLC, in New York City to learn more about this cute and quirky behavior.
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Why Does My Cat Bite me?
Why Does My Cat Bite Me? If you’ve ever asked yourself this question, “Why does my cat bite me?” The answer can be for a number of reasons so a little detective work is needed. Aggression in cats can have various causes connected to how cats evolved, what their needs can be, stress in their…
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The Topic is Smelly: Enzyme Cleaners and Cat Urine
This is a smelly topic, but we need to talk about cat urine and enzyme cleaners. Your cat’s super-sensitive nose – knows where the urine is so if he has gone outside the box before, he will be drawn back to that spot again and again! The ASPCA estimates that up to 10% of cats…
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Get the Skinny on Cats and Weight Gain
Cats and Weight Gain If your rolly polly butterball is putting on the pounds, he or she is at risk for serious medical issues including diabetes, heart conditions (hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, which is a thickening of the heart muscle that is very serious), and degenerative joint conditions. Overweight cats may have a certain cuteness to them,…
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Stephen Quandt featured on NPR Morning Edition: StoryCorps
Do Cats Like Music?
Do cats like music? As I write this I’m listening to David Teie’s Music for Cats and specifically, “Lolo’s Air” and my cat Cricket perked up, stared towards the sound, and then went promptly to sleep. I think it is generally safe to say that cats perceive music as sound, but not as music the…
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Why Do Cats Hiss? A Complete Guide To Cat Hissing
Quotes from this blog appear in this article in Rover.com What role do vocalizations play in cat-to-cat and cat-to-human bonding and relationships – from meows and purrs to trills and hisses? Do sounds that mean danger, fear, or warning typically have different pitches or frequencies than sounds that are happy, inviting, or even neutral? Cats…
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Cats and Their Place on the Scale of Predation vs. Prey
Kittens at four to six weeks of age are often very similar. At four weeks they are just learning to explore the world and show virtually nothing of their adult personality development. When you look at all the variations in adult cat personalities, whether they are confident, nervous, playful, lazy, affectionate, independent, lap cat, non-lap…
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