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PODCAST

Hiss & Tell: Cat Behavior and Beyond

Kristiina Wilson

Welcome to "Hiss & Tell" a cat podcast where we delve deep into the fascinating world of feline behavior with your host, Kristiina Wilson, MA, CCBC, a professional animal behaviorist with years of experience in understanding our feline friends.Each episode of "Hiss & Tell" features insightful discussions with a diverse range of guests, including leading veterinarians, renowned social media cat personalities, dedicated researchers and scientists, talented cat photographers, experts in cat

science pets & animals

All Episodes

50:51

Why We Keep Underestimating Cats With Dr. Monique Udell

Hiss & Tell: Cat Behavior and Beyond ·

2026/07/10

Send us Fan Mail Cats have a reputation for being mysterious, stubborn, and “low maintenance” but that story falls apart fast when you look at the science. I’m joined by Dr. Monique Udell, professor at Oregon State University and director of the Human Animal Interaction Lab, to unpack what research reveals about feline cognition, cat communication, and the everyday ways cats pay attention to us. We talk about why dog cognition has dominated the spotlight, how early psychology research actual...

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58:51

Why Pet Loss Hurts: Grief, Love, and the Cats We...

Hiss & Tell: Cat Behavior and Beyond ·

2026/06/22

Send us Fan Mail Grief gets policed in ways we rarely admit, and pet loss is where that policing shows up fast. When someone says “it was just a cat,” they’re not only dismissing your relationship, they’re dodging the reality that love creates responsibility and loss. I’m joined by journalist and author s.e. smith to talk about their upcoming book, *All My Dead Cats and Other Losses*, and how pet bereavement can open the door to deeper, more honest conversations about mourning in the United S...

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47:55

What Your Cat's Litter Box Behavior Is Really Telling...

Hiss & Tell: Cat Behavior and Beyond ·

2026/06/11

Send us Fan Mail Cat pee on the rug. Poop beside the box. A cat who “always used it before” and suddenly won’t. Those moments feel personal, but they’re usually biology, stress, or a litter box setup that isn’t working anymore. I’m joined by Dr. Jacklyn Ellis, Director of Behavior at the Toronto Humane Society, to get uncomfortably specific about what cats are doing in the litter box and what they’re trying to tell us. We unpack the science of feline elimination behavior, including how resea...

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36:17

Cat Anxiety, Aggression & Medication with Dr. Sagi...

Hiss & Tell: Cat Behavior and Beyond ·

2026/05/26

Send us Fan Mail Cat aggression, overgrooming, and litter box “problems” are easy to label and surprisingly hard to solve, especially when we treat the behavior as the diagnosis. We sit down with veterinary psychiatrist Dr. Sagi Dennenberg to get underneath the label and into what’s actually driving the cat’s behaviors: fear, anxiety, frustration, learned patterns, pain, and even underdiagnosed skin disease. We talk about why behavior and physical health are inseparable in cats, including ho...

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38:48

Cat Body Language & Stress Signals with Dr. Serenella...

Hiss & Tell: Cat Behavior and Beyond ·

2026/05/12

Send us Fan Mail Your cat is “telling you” what they feel. The problem is that most of us are listening with the wrong cues. I sit down with Professor Serenella d'Ingeo, an animal physiology and behavior researcher, to unpack what the science of feline communication actually says and why humans routinely miss stress signals that are right in front of us. We talk about why cats can seem aloof or unreadable compared with dogs, including their different domestication history and the fact that c...

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52:57

How to Help Your Cat Live Longer with Dr. Kevin Toman

Hiss & Tell: Cat Behavior and Beyond ·

2026/04/28

Send us Fan Mail Your cat isn’t “fine” just because they’re quiet! Cats are built to hide pain, and that’s exactly why so many chronic issues like kidney disease, dental disease, arthritis, hypertension, and even heart disease get missed until they explode into a crisis. I sit down with veterinarian Dr. Kevin Toman, who has 40 years in practice and now focuses on pet longevity science, to talk about how to help cats not only live longer but live better. We dig into the subtle at-home signals...

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53:48

How to Find a Lost Cat with Cat Detective Kim Freeman

Hiss & Tell: Cat Behavior and Beyond ·

2026/04/14

Send us Fan Mail Your cat is missing and everyone has advice, but a lot of it can make things worse. I sit down with Kimberly Freeman, a professional lost cat finder who has reunited cats with their families across nearly every state and more than 24 countries, to lay out what actually works when a missing cat disappears into stress mode. We dig into lost cat behavior: why cats often hide in silence, why they may not come when called, and why a friendly cat can still hiss or bite when you fi...

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54:41

Inside the Science of Cat Happiness with Dr. Zazie Todd

Hiss & Tell: Cat Behavior and Beyond ·

2026/03/31

Send us Fan Mail “My cat is being difficult” is one of the most common lines I hear as a clinical feline behaviorist, and it’s usually pointing to something deeper than “bad behavior.” I’m joined by Dr. Zazie Todd, psychologist, animal behavior expert, psychologist and author of Purr: The Science of Making Your Cat Happy, to unpack what’s really going on when cats swat, bite, hide, scratch the wrong things, or seem moody and unpredictable. We get practical fast: how to set up your home for f...

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59:03

All Cats Are Cute: Music, Cats, and the Art of Being...

Hiss & Tell: Cat Behavior and Beyond ·

2026/03/17

Send a text Kindness is having a weird moment right now, and I mean that as a compliment. I sit down with CatBeats, a cat-loving electronic musician (and my longtime friend), to talk about how cats can pull us out of our heads and back into the present, whether that shows up as music, meditation, or just learning to live by consent and patience. We dig into how CatBeats began: two cats, a noisy news cycle, and a need for healing music. From there, we get real about grief and what cat grief c...

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47:30

Feline Hyperesthesia Causes, Symptoms & Treatment...

Hiss & Tell: Cat Behavior and Beyond ·

2026/03/05

Send a text A cat’s skin ripples, the tail whips, and suddenly the whole house feels on edge. We sit down with Dr. Stefania Uccheddu, a veterinary behaviorist and diplomate of the European College of Animal Welfare and Behavioral Medicine, to decode feline hyperesthesia - a condition that blurs the boundaries between neurology, dermatology, and behavior. We share what caregivers actually see - rolling skin, flank licking, tail chasing, self-directed aggression - and why these events of...

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53:51

Sterling “TrapKing” Davis on Diversity, Masculinity,...

Hiss & Tell: Cat Behavior and Beyond ·

2026/02/20

Send a text What happens when a rising hip-hop artist swaps tour buses for cat traps? Sterling “Trap King” Davis joins us to break down humane TNR with uncommon clarity and even rarer heart. We dig into how trap, neuter, return actually works, why the R is essential for cat safety, and how colony maintenance - shelters, feeding stations, heated water, and quiet routines - turns chaos into calm. If you’ve ever wondered how to start, what gear to use, or how to keep neighbors supportive, this c...

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48:09

Peeing Outside the Litter Box? It Might Be FLUTD, Not...

Hiss & Tell: Cat Behavior and Beyond ·

2026/02/05

Send us a text A cat peeing outside the box isn’t a grudge - it’s often pain. We bring back Dr. Gina Rendon, Medical Director of Williamsburg Vets, to decode FLUTD and idiopathic feline cystitis and show how stress biology, environment, and hydration collide to shape behavior. If you’ve wrestled with “inappropriate urination,” this conversation reframes the problem with compassion and clear next steps. We break down how stress hormones can strip the bladder’s protective layer, why male cats ...

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50:08

The Science Of Feline Hellos With Dr. Kaan Kerman

Hiss & Tell: Cat Behavior and Beyond ·

2026/01/21

Send us a text Ever wondered why your cat saves their biggest “hello” for you at the door—and why some people get louder greetings than others? We sit down with Dr. Kaan Kerman to unpack a new study showing that cats vocalize more during greetings when their caregiver is male. The result surprised the team and opens a fresh window into human – cat communication, where meows, trills, and chirps act less like food requests and more like social glue. We walk through how citizen science made thi...

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39:00

How Stress and Inflammation Shape the Aging Feline...

Hiss & Tell: Cat Behavior and Beyond ·

2026/01/08

Send us a text Senior cats rarely complain, but their brains may be asking for help. We sit down with ethologist Dr. Federica Pirrone from the University of Milan to unpack new research that ties subtle stress behaviors and low-grade inflammation to measurable changes in feline cognition. Using simple, at-home tests — a spatial memory task and an “unsolvable” problem that tracks gaze alternation — her team found that many older cats display greater social flexibility, a kind of earned wisdom....

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45:35

How Pet Owners Power Cat Science with Darwin's Ark

Hiss & Tell: Cat Behavior and Beyond ·

2025/12/24

Send us a text Ever wonder what your cat’s DNA can tell us about fetching, affection, and health? We teamed up with Dr. Elinor Karlsson, chief scientist at Darwin’s Ark and professor at UMass Chan and the Broad Institute, to unpack how a simple fur-combing kit and smart surveys can unlock big answers about everyday feline life. No lab coats at home required - just your observations, your cat’s fur, and a few minutes of thoughtful reporting. We dig into why cats are such a powerful, understud...

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55:26

The Secret Lives of Historical Cats With Jodie Stewart

Hiss & Tell: Cat Behavior and Beyond ·

2025/12/09

Send us a text A rescue cat walks into a historian’s life and suddenly the archive looks different. That’s the spark behind this wide-ranging conversation with cat historian Jodie Stewart, who explores how felines traveled with colonists, curled up in family photos, comforted soldiers, and later became flashpoints in conservation and culture wars. If you’ve ever wondered why cats provoke such strong feelings — or why they’re often missing from national stories — this is a tour through the shi...

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59:06

Gut Feelings: How Microbes Shape Cat Behavior with...

Hiss & Tell: Cat Behavior and Beyond ·

2025/11/21

Send us a text What if the path from feral to friendly begins in the gut? We sit down with evolutionary biologist Dr. Tom Gilbert to explore how cat microbiomes act like tiny chemical factories, converting food into signals that can shape fear, calm, vigilance, and even training success. Drawing on a global shelter study across Denmark, Malaysia, Cabo Verde, Brazil, Spain, and Aruba, Tom explains why geography and diet change which microbes take root—yet similar biochemical functions keep sho...

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50:45

Wobbly Cats, Big Hearts: Cerebellar Hypoplasia with...

Hiss & Tell: Cat Behavior and Beyond ·

2025/11/04

Send us a text A wobbly step can still lead to a full, joyful life. We invited Dr. Gina Rendon, medical director at Williamsburg Vets, to demystify cerebellar hypoplasia (CH) and share how cats with this condition learn, adapt, and thrive. From the cerebellum’s real job in refining movement to the viral roots of CH through panleukopenia, we break down the science without losing sight of daily life at home. You’ll hear how to recognize early signs beyond normal kitten wobble, what makes CH dif...

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50:01

From Panic to Purrs: Getting Unstuck with Canopy Cat...

Hiss & Tell: Cat Behavior and Beyond ·

2025/04/09

Send us a text Sean from Canopy Cat Rescue takes us behind the scenes of an extraordinary mission—saving cats from towering trees across Washington State. As a professional arborist and mountain guide, Sean reveals how he and his partner Tom turned their climbing expertise into a specialized rescue organization that's saved nearly 8,000 feline lives. The conversation unpacks the fascinating intersection of technical climbing and feline behavior—how expert rescuers interpret a cat's meows, ea...

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53:49

Cat Minds Decoded with Dr. Kristyn Vitale

Hiss & Tell: Cat Behavior and Beyond ·

2025/03/27

Send us a text Ever wondered what's really going on inside your cat's mind? Prepare to have your understanding of feline behavior completely transformed in this captivating conversation with Dr. Kristyn Vitale, a certified applied animal behaviorist and pioneering researcher in feline social cognition. Dr. Vitale dismantles the persistent myth that cats are solitary creatures, revealing compelling evidence of their complex social lives. She explains how domestic cats have evolved far beyond ...

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51 results

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