Decoding Your Cat on WGN Radio
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Dr. Kelly Ballantyne is a Chicago-based veterinary behaviorist and a contributor to Decoding Your Cat . We spend time talking all things cats HERE on Steve Dale’s Pet World on WGN Radio.
Dr. Kelly Ballantyne
I explain how Decoding Your Dog came about, and because that book continues to sell so well, it’s no surprise the publisher gave the go-ahead for Decoding Your Cat. I wrote the introduction for both books.
food puzzle for cats
Dr. Ballantyne says cats are more often overlooked than dogs, and also more often misunderstood. And we dispel some of those myths, as we decode cats. We also discuss what is normal cat behavior, like scratching – it’s on us to provide what we feel are appropriate places to scratch and to teach cats to scratch at these places.
Dr. Ballantyne co-authored (with Dr. Amy Pike) the chapter called “The Feline Dream Home” regarding enrichment. And we discuss why enriching the environment of indoor only cats isn’t only a nice thing to do, but a necessary thing to do. But what is enrichment? Dr. Ballantyne breaks it all down and says we need to provide cognitive, physical, sensory and social enrichment. And she explains exactly what she means by all this.
food puzzles for cats can also be homemade
We talk about training cats. If even you can, why would you? I spoke a bit about Ricky our piano playing cat.
It’s Not Only What to Feed Cats – It’s HOW to Feed Cats
Dr. Ballantyne agrees that many feed their cats all wrong – and discusses how to do it, taking advantage of cats’ natural predatory skills. She explains that cats actually have a desire to hunt for their food. Introduce food puzzles, purchased or homemade, into your cats’ lives, she says.
Dr. Ballantyne discusses how enrichment and exercise is important; we have so many overweight and obese cats.