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Speaker 1: Pushkin.

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Speaker 2: When I think about the stuff that brings people joy

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Speaker 2: in the age of the internet, there's one unlikely source

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Speaker 2: of happiness that seems to be everywhere.

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Speaker 3: Cats.

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Speaker 2: Even in the early days of the World Wide Web,

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Speaker 2: cats have been there to make us laugh. You might

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Speaker 2: remember cracking up over keyboard cat or grumpy cat.

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Speaker 1: And then there was.

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Speaker 2: The whole era of lolcats. But why do we love

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Speaker 2: watching these furry creatures so much? Are cats actually doing

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Speaker 2: something for our happiness?

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Speaker 4: Yeah, watching cat videos boost people's mood for sure. I

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Speaker 4: think that's why cats are all over the internet. We

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Speaker 4: love seeing cats. It brings us so much joy.

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Speaker 2: This is Dr. Kristen Vitale.

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Speaker 4: I'm a certified applied animal behaviorist, and I work with

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Speaker 4: the domestic cat, studying their behavior and social cognition.

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Speaker 2: I've invited Kristen on the show today for two reasons. First,

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Speaker 2: it's National Cat Day this week. And what better way

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Speaker 2: to celebrate than by exploring the science of cats and happiness?

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Speaker 2: And second, well, I've been having a bit of a

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Speaker 2: personal dilemma lately. I've been wondering whether I should get

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Speaker 2: a cat. You see, my family's been petless for a

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Speaker 2: while now. And after years of talking about all the

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Speaker 2: ways that animals can boost our well-being, I've been wondering

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Speaker 2: whether it's time to take some of my own advice. Now,

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Speaker 2: you may be wondering, Laurie, why a cat? Isn't it

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Speaker 2: dogs that are supposed to be man's best friend? Why

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Speaker 2: choose a pet that has a reputation for being aloof

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Speaker 2: and just doing its own thing? Well, as we're about

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Speaker 2: to learn today, a lot of what we think we

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Speaker 2: know about cats is just plain wrong.

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Speaker 4: Cats are not aloof. Cats are seeking out social direction

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Speaker 4: from people. They're preferring it. And they're actually using their

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Speaker 4: human as a source of comfort and security.

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Speaker 2: It turns out our feline friends have a whole lot

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Speaker 2: more to offer our happiness than you might initially expect.

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Speaker 2: Our minds are constantly telling us what to do to

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Speaker 2: be happy. But what if our minds are wrong? What

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Speaker 2: if our minds are lying to us, leading us away

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Speaker 2: from what will really make us happy? The good news

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Speaker 2: is that understanding the science of the mind can point

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Speaker 2: us all back in the right direction. You're listening to

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Speaker 2: The Happiness Lab with Dr.

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Speaker 1: Laurie Santos.

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Speaker 2: One of the things I find so striking about your

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Speaker 2: work is that there are lots of people who are

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Speaker 2: studying psychology in dogs, you know, another critter that we

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Speaker 2: have running around the home with us. There's also lots

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Speaker 2: of people that study psychology in other animals, say like

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Speaker 2: non-human primates, like monkeys and apes and so on. But

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Speaker 2: it's been funny that cognition work has been less focused

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Speaker 2: on cats, even though like roughly a third of U.S.

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Speaker 2: households actually have cats. And so I'm curious, why do

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Speaker 2: you think that is? Why has there been less attention

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Speaker 2: to cat behavior when we're thinking about psychology?

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Speaker 5: I think there's a few reasons.

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Speaker 4: The first is the stereotypes that we have about cats.

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Speaker 4: I've heard researchers say that, oh, I don't want to

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Speaker 4: get into working with cats. They're just too difficult to

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Speaker 4: work with. And then I also think that there's a

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Speaker 4: lot more utility seen for dog work. So with dogs,

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Speaker 4: you know, they can serve as service animals. They can

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Speaker 4: be bomb sniffing dogs, drug sniffing dogs. But I think

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Speaker 4: people see less of the importance for understanding the stuff

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Speaker 4: in cats because they don't see the utility in And

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Speaker 4: how we might make some money off this. But I

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Speaker 4: think it's actually really starting to change. And I'm starting

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Speaker 4: to see more and more people getting into this area

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Speaker 4: of work and more and more funding. So I'm hoping

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Speaker 4: that kind of starts to shift even more.

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Speaker 2: You mentioned all these stereotypes that we have about cats.

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Speaker 2: And that's one of the things we wanted to get

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Speaker 2: into in the first part of our episode. Maybe some

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Speaker 2: of the myths that we have about cat psychology and

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Speaker 2: the human-cat bond. And one common assumption that I see

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Speaker 2: about cats is that they're less trainable than dogs. What

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Speaker 2: have scientists learned about this idea? And is this assumption correct?

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Speaker 4: So there's nothing about dogs or cats that makes one

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Speaker 4: species more trainable than the other. And there's not really

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Speaker 4: any difference between dogs and cats in their capacity to learn.

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Speaker 5: What I would say from working with cats.

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Speaker 4: That I see the most is that people are not

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Speaker 4: using the right rewards to in order to reinforce behaviors

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Speaker 4: in their cats. And one example I like to give

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Speaker 4: is I was teaching a kitten training and socialization class.

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Speaker 4: And so we had kittens come in to Oregon State

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Speaker 4: University and go through a six-week class. And one caregiver

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Speaker 4: asked their cat to sit. The cat sat. And then

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Speaker 4: they put a treat in front of them and the

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Speaker 4: cat just kind of turned up its nose and walked away.

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Speaker 4: And the caregiver was like, see, the cat can't be trained.

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Speaker 4: But the cat did the trick. The cat sat when

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Speaker 4: you asked. It just didn't eat that reward. And so

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Speaker 4: in our work, we started seeing this more and more,

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Speaker 4: that cats were actually turning their nose up at food

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Speaker 4: often during training classes and in the lab when we

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Speaker 4: were doing conditioning. And so we did a separate study

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Speaker 4: on looking at what cats most prefer, and we gave

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Speaker 4: them options of food, human social interaction, toys.

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Speaker 5: And scent objects.

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Speaker 4: And found that 50% of the cats sampled most preferred

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Speaker 4: social interaction with people and 37% most preferred food. So

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Speaker 4: while food is still highly preferred, it was the second

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Speaker 4: most preferred, social interaction was actually the most highly preferred

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Speaker 4: reward that these cats sought out. And that's what we

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Speaker 4: use a lot during training to reinforce behaviors. If a

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Speaker 4: cat does a behavior, we might pet them or praise them.

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Speaker 4: And so I think people get too stuck in the

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Speaker 4: food realm. So kind of branching out and finding other

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Speaker 4: reinforcers is really important for cat training. So I think

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Speaker 4: it's not so much they're untrainable. It's just finding different

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Speaker 4: items that they actually want to work for.

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Speaker 2: That's such a cool result because you can see where

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Speaker 2: the assumption comes from, right? If I'm going to sit

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Speaker 2: down and train my cat and I put a treat

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Speaker 2: out and the cat doesn't care, I'm like, oh, cat's untrainable.

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Speaker 2: But if I just use petting or maybe play, all

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Speaker 2: of a sudden they would do something completely different. They'd

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Speaker 2: be like totally on top of learning how to sit

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Speaker 2: and do all these things.

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Speaker 5: Absolutely.

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Speaker 2: Yep. So what are some things that you've seen in

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Speaker 2: your own training cats that really disprove the stereotype that

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Speaker 2: they're not trainable?

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Speaker 4: Things like walking on harness and leash, coming when called,

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Speaker 4: go to mat and stay, everything up to more advanced

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Speaker 4: behaviors like jumping through a hoop or going out on

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Speaker 4: a kayak with their owner or going for a hike

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Speaker 4: with their owner.

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Speaker 5: All sorts of things.

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Speaker 4: With my own cats, I've also trained ringing a service

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Speaker 4: bell and I taught my cat to move a piece

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Speaker 4: of chalk on a chalkboard and I called it writing

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Speaker 4: on chalkboard. But really anything you can think up if

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Speaker 4: a cat's physically capable of doing it and you can

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Speaker 4: slowly show them what you want them to do.

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Speaker 5: It's really easy to teach a cat just about anything.

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Speaker 2: And so another assumption that we have about cats is

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Speaker 2: this idea that cats kind of don't care about us.

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Speaker 1: Is this something that you hear a lot?

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Speaker 5: Oh, yeah, I hear it all the time.

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Speaker 4: And in fact, when some of our work has come out,

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Speaker 4: the media has presented it with this kind of like shock.

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Speaker 4: Cats actually like people. The human is a really central

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Speaker 4: part of their lives. And that's not to say there

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Speaker 4: are not some cats out there who prefer their distance,

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Speaker 4: but we see the same in dogs and we see

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Speaker 4: the same in people. So to make these kind of

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Speaker 4: blanket generalizations about all of one species.

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Speaker 5: Is this way is just not how behavior works.

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Speaker 2: Another assumption that I think we see a lot is

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Speaker 2: this idea that cats like people who hate them or

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Speaker 2: they like people who never pay attention to them. I

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Speaker 2: know this is something where we do have some research.

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Speaker 2: What do we know about the value that cats place

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Speaker 2: on human attention? What have we learned so far?

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Speaker 4: Well, so in our work, what we did was a

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Speaker 4: sociability test where we had a person either ignore the

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Speaker 4: cat or pay attention to the cat. And in that work,

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Speaker 4: what we found was when you paid attention to the cat,

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Speaker 4: the cat spent more time with you. So that was

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Speaker 4: interesting because it kind of countered this idea that if

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Speaker 4: you aren't wanting the cat, they come to you. But

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Speaker 4: we actually also found differences between populations of cats. So

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Speaker 4: we did the same test with pet cats and shelter

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Speaker 4: cats and actually found that shelter cats spent more time

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Speaker 4: with a person who ignored them than pet cats did.

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Speaker 4: And that could be because they're living in a situation

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Speaker 4: where they're socially deprived. They don't have a bonded caretaker.

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Speaker 4: So when they're presented with a person, even if they're

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Speaker 4: a stranger who's ignoring them, they're going to go for

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Speaker 4: it because that's their one time to get social interaction.

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Speaker 2: And so you've really tried to dig deep into some

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Speaker 2: of these assumptions to ask whether or not they're true.

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Speaker 2: And one of the things that you've been testing directly

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Speaker 2: in this work that I love is attachment bonds. Now,

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Speaker 2: attachment is something that psychologists have been studying for a

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Speaker 2: long time. So before we jump to attachment in cats,

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Speaker 2: let's first talk a little bit about attachment theory in humans. Like,

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Speaker 2: where does this work come from and what have we

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Speaker 2: learned about attachment in humans and how it works?

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Speaker 4: So the really cool thing about the origins of attachment

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Speaker 4: was it really grew out of work with human infants

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Speaker 4: and with non-human animals, mainly primates.

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Speaker 5: So John Bowlby.

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Speaker 4: And Mary Ainsworth, two of the pioneers of human attachment,

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Speaker 4: they were really informed also by the work of Harry Harlow,

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Speaker 4: who worked with non-human primates. And what they saw is

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Speaker 4: that both humans and many non-human animals were are born

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Speaker 4: with sets of behaviors that help.

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Speaker 5: To promote their survival.

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Speaker 4: So if you think about a human infant or even

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Speaker 4: a monkey or something like that, they're born altricial, meaning

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Speaker 4: they're completely helpless and dependent on a caregiver to provide food, shelter, warmth, protection,

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Speaker 4: all of these things that are going to help them survive.

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Speaker 4: A human infant is not going to survive outside on

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Speaker 4: its own without a caregiver. And the same is true

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Speaker 4: for cats. Cats are also altricial. Puppies are altricial. They

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Speaker 4: depend on their mother or a human in order to survive.

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Speaker 4: And so in all of these species, what we see

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Speaker 4: is they're born with a set of behavior that helps

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Speaker 4: them to stay near to their caregiver, in contact with them,

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Speaker 4: and avoid separation.

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Speaker 5: And that's really what attachment is.

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Speaker 4: It's the set of behaviors that allows them to stay

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Speaker 4: close to each other and avoid being separated from one another.

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Speaker 4: And so how we look at this in the lab

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Speaker 4: is something called the secure base test, which is actually

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Speaker 4: just a modification of what Harry Harlow did with those

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Speaker 4: macaque monkeys. What we do is we bring the cat

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Speaker 4: and the caregiver into an unfamiliar space and they experience

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Speaker 4: leaving the cat alone just for a brief two minutes.

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Speaker 4: And what we know about attachment behavior is that when

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Speaker 4: something kind of uncertain or potentially stressful is happening, attachment

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Speaker 4: behavior is heightened because that's when it functions best.

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Speaker 5: So when the cat is alone, often.

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Speaker 4: What we see is they're distressed, they'll be crying at

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Speaker 4: the door, they're not going to be exploring, just kind

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Speaker 4: of frozen there. And so then we bring the caregiver

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Speaker 4: back and we see its reaction to the caregiver. We'll

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Speaker 4: often see this open and comforting reunion, the cat ceases crying,

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Speaker 4: and then the cat does what's called contact exploration balance. Basically,

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Speaker 4: they go to their caregiver, get reassurance, then go off,

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Speaker 4: explore the room, come back, get some more attention, go off,

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Speaker 4: explore the room. And that's really the hallmark of a

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Speaker 4: secure attachment. This individual is able to calm down when

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Speaker 4: their attachment figure returns and then go back to exploring

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Speaker 4: their unfamiliar situation.

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Speaker 5: So that is a secure attachment.

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Speaker 4: That's the main form of attachment we see in cats

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Speaker 4: as well as dogs and human infants.

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Speaker 2: And what's really cool about your work is it sounds

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Speaker 2: like you found exactly the same attachment styles that we

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Speaker 2: see in humans in cats, too. You just talked about

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Speaker 2: secure attachment, but there are other attachments that we know

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Speaker 2: people and other animals have, too.

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Speaker 1: What are those other kinds of styles?

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Speaker 4: Yeah, so in secure attachment, like I mentioned, they're able

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Speaker 4: to use their attachment figure as that secure base in

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Speaker 4: order to be comforted.

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Speaker 5: And go off and explore.

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Speaker 4: But in insecure individuals, they're not able to use their

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Speaker 4: attachment figure in that way.

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Speaker 5: So after that alone.

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Speaker 4: Phase where there's a little bit of distress and the

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Speaker 4: caregiver comes back, what we see in insecure individuals is

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Speaker 4: they either excessively cling to their caregiver. So basically crawl

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Speaker 4: on their lap and just kind of cling there. They

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Speaker 4: don't leave their side and we'll still see signs of

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Speaker 4: a little bit of stress, even though the caregiver is returned.

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Speaker 4: or they will excessively avoid their caregiver. So they'll sit

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Speaker 4: away from them, turn away, won't look at them, and

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Speaker 4: just kind of keep a distance for the remainder of

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Speaker 4: the test. So, yeah, we see those main three responses,

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Speaker 4: either secure, using their caregiver as a secure base, excessively clinging,

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Speaker 4: which is known as insecure ambivalent or insecure anxious, or

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Speaker 4: excessively avoiding, which is insecure avoidant. It's very interesting when

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Speaker 4: I ask people, what do you think of these three styles?

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Speaker 4: I describe them. What do you think cats will be

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Speaker 4: the most? What is going to be the highest category

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Speaker 4: of attachment? And almost everyone says avoidance because it sounds

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Speaker 4: like how a cat would be.

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Speaker 5: But avoidant was our least common category.

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Speaker 4: Secure was the number one category, followed by insecure and ambivalent.

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Speaker 5: Excessively clinging.

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Speaker 4: So it's just very interesting when you kind of break

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Speaker 4: apart what you think cat might do. And then when

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Speaker 4: you actually run the test and see, it's very different

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Speaker 4: than what people expect, which is why the science is

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Speaker 4: so important. We can't just make all these assumptions because

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Speaker 4: we know cats so well, they might surprise us.

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Speaker 2: It seems like cats are really tapping into the same

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Speaker 2: kinds of bonds that humans make with our own babies.

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Speaker 2: I mean, what does that mean for the cat caregiver

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Speaker 2: bond that we see across a third of households in

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Speaker 2: the United States right now?

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Speaker 4: Well, it's really interesting because, as I mentioned, cats are

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Speaker 4: born with attachment behaviors. They're born being attached to their mother,

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Speaker 4: crying when they're separated from her, following her around. And

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Speaker 4: so they already have this set of behaviors. And then

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Speaker 4: when they're socialized to people, they then are able to

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Speaker 4: adapt those behaviors for life with us. And so because

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Speaker 4: we have such similar attachment systems, it goes to show

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Speaker 4: how easy it is for us to bond to one another,

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Speaker 4: for them to bond to us, but also for us

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Speaker 4: to bond to them. Because it very much is a

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Speaker 4: caregiving relationship, much like a human infant, they're nonverbal. We

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Speaker 4: are 100% responsible for their care. It is a very

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Speaker 4: similar relationship, although obviously very different. It's a very different

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Speaker 4: species with very different behaviors. It's not the same. But

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Speaker 4: attachment wise, it's so similar that I think that's part

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Speaker 4: of why they've become such popular animals across the world.

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Speaker 2: One of the things that I find so interesting about

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Speaker 2: your attachment work is that I think sometimes people get

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Speaker 2: cats because.

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Speaker 1: They assume that cats aren't attached.

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Speaker 2: Like I can travel a lot or I can have

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Speaker 2: this like really busy job where I'm away all the

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Speaker 2: time and it won't affect my cat because it's a cat.

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Speaker 1: I mean, it seems like your work is showing that

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Speaker 1: that's not actually the case.

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Speaker 4: Yeah, I don't think it's a correct assumption that cats

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Speaker 4: do just fine without us home. And I don't really

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Speaker 4: think it's healthy to leave your cat for several days

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Speaker 4: at a time, especially without anyone checking in. It's very

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Speaker 4: likely that separating from them for multiple days isn't great

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Speaker 4: for the attachment bond, but we don't have research to

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Speaker 4: definitively say that. But I would say just from a

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Speaker 4: safety and emotional point of view, it's great just to

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Speaker 4: have someone stop by once a day just to check

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Speaker 4: in with the cat and give them some attention.

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Speaker 2: It also seems like cats have different behaviors that they

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Speaker 2: use to kind of create these bonds. I know cats

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Speaker 2: are often trying to communicate with us, even using the

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Speaker 2: communication that they would use with one another. I've heard

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Speaker 2: some work on these so-called solicitation purrs. What are those

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Speaker 2: and how can that affect the bond that we have

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Speaker 2: with cats?

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Speaker 4: Yeah, the solicitation purr was research done by Karen McComb,

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Speaker 4: and they found that cats produce a distinct purr when

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Speaker 4: they're soliciting something from the human, often food. And so

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Speaker 4: this purr, if you think of a typical purr, there

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Speaker 4: is this high pitch component over top of the typical

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Speaker 4: purr that kind of creates the sound of almost urgency

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Speaker 4: that people respond to. And in the research, they mentioned

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Speaker 4: that the frequency of that high-pitched component is a similar

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Speaker 4: frequency to a human infant's cry, which may be why

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Speaker 4: we respond to it.

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Speaker 5: And we find it urgent and, hey, we got to

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Speaker 5: take care of the cat.

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Speaker 4: And again, it's kind of been painted in the media

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Speaker 4: as cats manipulating people or kind of having this like

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Speaker 4: negative intent. But really, it's just a mammalian response to

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Speaker 4: something that both in human infants and in cats happens.

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Speaker 4: We respond to these high-pitched vocalizations because they remind us

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Speaker 4: of caregiving, of an individual needing to have safety and

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Speaker 4: something provided for it. So it's kind of just tapping

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Speaker 4: into those natural responses that we have.

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Speaker 2: So it turns out that cats are a whole lot

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Speaker 2: more social than we tend to give them credit for.

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Speaker 2: They can form strong attachments to their human caregivers, and

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Speaker 2: they even have some pretty clever ways of communicating with us.

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Speaker 2: But these relationships aren't just important for our cats. They

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Speaker 2: can also be pretty good for us humans, too. So

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Speaker 2: what exactly can cats do for our well-being? We'll find

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Speaker 2: out when the Happiness Lab returns from the break. In

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Speaker 2: honor of National Cat Day, I'm talking with feline behavior

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Speaker 2: expert Dr. Kristen Vitale. Before the break, Kristen and I

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Speaker 2: explored some of our biggest misconceptions about cats. And surprise, surprise,

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Speaker 2: cats actually like us. But what do we humans get

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Speaker 2: out of these relationships? I asked Kristen to share her perspective,

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Speaker 2: not just as a researcher, but as a devoted cat

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Speaker 2: owner herself.

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Speaker 4: I have three boys right now, Bo, Kevin and Carl,

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Speaker 4: and none of them we expected to get. They were

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Speaker 4: all surprise cats. Bo showed up at our house. He

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Speaker 4: was a stray cat.

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Speaker 5: And we brought him in.

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Speaker 4: And then Kevin and Carl, we found on the side

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Speaker 4: of the road in just like a Rubbermaid container and

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Speaker 4: had to bring them home because who leaves kittens in

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Speaker 4: a Rubbermaid container on the road? But Carl and Kevin

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Speaker 4: are super bonded to us because they were so little

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Speaker 4: when we found them that they really grew up with

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Speaker 4: my husband and I. So yeah, I get a lot

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Speaker 4: from my cats. I think that they bring a lot

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Speaker 4: to our family. Carl is one of the cuddliest cats

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Speaker 4: I've ever had. If I had my door open right now,

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Speaker 4: he would be on my lap asleep already and purring.

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Speaker 5: Also, if I'm feeling stressed out or just having a

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Speaker 5: bad day, just.

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Speaker 4: Looking at my cats can make me happy.

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Speaker 5: It's just like, oh, you're such a goof. You're so cute.

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Speaker 1: And so lots of new work has focused on pet-assisted.

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Speaker 2: Therapy in general and feline-assisted therapy most recently in particular.

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Speaker 2: I'm curious, what is feline-assisted therapy and what's the idea

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Speaker 2: behind it?

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Speaker 4: In feline-assisted interventions or feline-assisted therapy, it kind of depends

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Speaker 4: on your goal. So we've actually been doing feline-assisted interventions

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Speaker 4: by bringing children with developmental differences into our lab at

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Speaker 4: Oregon State University. And they bring their cat with them

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Speaker 4: and go through a class. And really the goal is

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Speaker 4: to see if going through this class with their cat

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Speaker 4: helps support better outcomes for both the child in terms

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Speaker 4: of their social behavior and health and for the cat.

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Speaker 4: So we can use these interventions as a way to

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Speaker 4: kind of improve the lives for humans and the cat, hopefully.

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Speaker 4: So there's a few different outlets that people use cats

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Speaker 4: for assisted roles. But legally, right now, we cannot have

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Speaker 4: service cats because under the American law, cats cannot be

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Speaker 4: service animals. Legally, only a dog or a mini horse

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Speaker 4: can be a service animal.

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Speaker 5: Right?

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Speaker 3: Yeah.

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Speaker 2: Know.

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Speaker 4: It's just the way the law is written. And I

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Speaker 4: think part of that is in order to be a

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Speaker 4: service animal, you have to be trained to do a

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Speaker 4: specific task. And while I completely believe that's within the

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Speaker 4: realm of possibility for cats, cats are taught all the

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Speaker 4: time to do different tasks. I think, again, there's maybe

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Speaker 4: just some of the stereotypes that, well, what's really the

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Speaker 4: utility of cats? How many people are actually going to

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Speaker 4: use cats in that way? But I would say, you know,

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Speaker 4: with our work with cat assisted interventions, You'd be surprised

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Speaker 4: by how many people might not feel comfortable using a

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Speaker 4: dog as a service animal or a mini pony. So

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Speaker 4: having a cat, having their own family cat that can

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Speaker 4: be a service animal could be something that could benefit

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Speaker 4: a lot of people. But we would need a change

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Speaker 4: in how the law is written in the United States

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Speaker 4: before that could happen. As far as therapy, usually cats

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Speaker 4: are used to have some kind of specific clinical outcome

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Speaker 4: for an individual, but they can also be more broadly

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Speaker 4: used as just like emotional support animals where they don't

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Speaker 4: really have a therapeutic goal. Just their presence is supposed

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Speaker 4: to be kind of emotionally supportive to the person.

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Speaker 2: And I think this is something that every pet owner knows, right?

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Speaker 2: The idea that pets are beneficial. But I think more

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Speaker 2: and more research is coming out to show just how

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Speaker 2: important pets can be for our well-being and for our

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Speaker 2: physical health. And one of the big benefits of cats

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Speaker 2: seems to be a social benefit. One of my favorite

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Speaker 2: studies on this came from my colleague Wendy Mendez at Yale.

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Speaker 2: She did this test where she forced her participants to

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Speaker 2: do the evil kinds of things that psychologists do where

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Speaker 2: they have to do this stressor test. They're doing what's

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Speaker 2: called mental arithmetic where they're doing math while this, you know,

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Speaker 2: judging panel is watching them. or they're doing what's called

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Speaker 2: a cold presser task, where you have to stick your

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Speaker 2: hand in like super cold water for a really long time.

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Speaker 2: And the key is that you can have different kinds

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Speaker 2: of supports. You're either doing those super stressful things when

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Speaker 2: you're alone, when you're with a friend, or when you're

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Speaker 2: with your pet. And what she found is that just

438
00:21:49,106 --> 00:21:51,406
Speaker 2: being with your pet can be just as effective at

439
00:21:51,466 --> 00:21:53,626
Speaker 2: reducing stress as when you're with your friend, or even

440
00:21:53,666 --> 00:21:57,106
Speaker 2: when you're with your spouse. Explain why cats, even though

441
00:21:57,126 --> 00:21:59,526
Speaker 2: they're not human, can be such a like powerful social

442
00:21:59,566 --> 00:22:00,326
Speaker 2: benefit for us.

443
00:22:01,436 --> 00:22:03,056
Speaker 5: Well, I think that just.

444
00:22:03,676 --> 00:22:08,376
Speaker 4: because they are just seemingly unconditionally loving for us much

445
00:22:08,416 --> 00:22:12,236
Speaker 4: of the time. They are so personable and have such

446
00:22:12,936 --> 00:22:16,536
Speaker 4: unique individual personalities. It feels like you can get to

447
00:22:16,576 --> 00:22:18,936
Speaker 4: know these creatures, even though they can't talk back to

448
00:22:18,996 --> 00:22:19,716
Speaker 4: us like a person.

449
00:22:20,216 --> 00:22:21,936
Speaker 5: They are speaking to us all the time.

450
00:22:22,176 --> 00:22:25,456
Speaker 4: And I do hear cats are less expressive than dogs,

451
00:22:25,556 --> 00:22:27,796
Speaker 4: but if you know what you're looking for, your cat

452
00:22:28,076 --> 00:22:31,946
Speaker 4: is always telling you something. Recently, I got home from

453
00:22:31,986 --> 00:22:34,686
Speaker 4: a trip that it was just a mess traveling back.

454
00:22:34,966 --> 00:22:37,946
Speaker 5: And I was just so tired and exhausted.

455
00:22:37,446 --> 00:22:40,436
Speaker 4: And so ready to be home and a little weepy

456
00:22:40,496 --> 00:22:43,496
Speaker 4: just from everything, you know. And as soon as I

457
00:22:43,516 --> 00:22:45,836
Speaker 4: get back, I just like lay on the couch, sprawled out.

458
00:22:46,036 --> 00:22:49,296
Speaker 4: And already the cats are like each taking their turn

459
00:22:49,396 --> 00:22:51,936
Speaker 4: coming and sitting on my lap. One by one, they

460
00:22:51,956 --> 00:22:54,986
Speaker 4: came and like reunited with me and greeted me, laid

461
00:22:55,086 --> 00:22:57,706
Speaker 4: on me and purred. And I was like feeling better,

462
00:22:57,846 --> 00:23:01,506
Speaker 4: you know, already. And that's why losing your cat can

463
00:23:01,526 --> 00:23:03,806
Speaker 4: be so difficult. I think it's something a lot of

464
00:23:03,846 --> 00:23:08,546
Speaker 4: people think is not so serious, but it's losing a

465
00:23:08,586 --> 00:23:12,526
Speaker 4: family member. You feel like, you know, your house is empty.

466
00:23:12,586 --> 00:23:15,506
Speaker 4: There's this gap in your home that can't be filled

467
00:23:15,586 --> 00:23:18,536
Speaker 4: because that individual is gone. And I think a lot

468
00:23:18,576 --> 00:23:21,316
Speaker 4: of people struggle when they lose their cat because they

469
00:23:21,476 --> 00:23:23,916
Speaker 4: are such important parts of their emotional lives.

470
00:23:24,836 --> 00:23:26,596
Speaker 2: Another way that I know I personally get a mood

471
00:23:26,636 --> 00:23:29,206
Speaker 2: boost through cats is through touch. What do we know,

472
00:23:29,266 --> 00:23:31,966
Speaker 2: if anything, about the benefits of petting or stroking cats?

473
00:23:32,696 --> 00:23:35,376
Speaker 4: We know that it can actually have a physiological effect

474
00:23:35,476 --> 00:23:39,616
Speaker 4: on us. It can reduce our blood pressure. It can

475
00:23:39,736 --> 00:23:44,126
Speaker 4: increase oxytocin, which is kind of this love hormone that

476
00:23:44,186 --> 00:23:47,026
Speaker 4: can be produced. So there is a lot of evidence

477
00:23:47,066 --> 00:23:49,466
Speaker 4: that shows that just interacting with a cat can have

478
00:23:49,566 --> 00:23:53,606
Speaker 4: actual physical changes in our body that can then promote happiness.

479
00:23:53,696 --> 00:23:55,696
Speaker 4: More oxytocin can lead to more happiness.

480
00:23:56,586 --> 00:23:58,696
Speaker 2: You've also done some work showing that cats can track

481
00:23:58,876 --> 00:24:01,926
Speaker 2: our mood. Explain what this ability of social referencing is

482
00:24:02,026 --> 00:24:04,056
Speaker 2: and why it's such an important cognitive ability.

483
00:24:04,886 --> 00:24:08,506
Speaker 4: Social referencing is this idea that we can reference another

484
00:24:08,606 --> 00:24:12,436
Speaker 4: individual's behavior and then adjust our response based on what

485
00:24:12,476 --> 00:24:15,696
Speaker 4: we saw. So if there is a person, maybe I'm

486
00:24:15,716 --> 00:24:18,636
Speaker 4: in an auditorium and a person walks in in a

487
00:24:18,736 --> 00:24:21,756
Speaker 4: lizard outfit, that could be kind of scary or it

488
00:24:21,796 --> 00:24:24,096
Speaker 4: could be kind of funny. So maybe I'll look at

489
00:24:24,116 --> 00:24:26,616
Speaker 4: the person next to me and see, are they like

490
00:24:26,706 --> 00:24:28,606
Speaker 4: on the edge of their seat about to bolt out

491
00:24:28,646 --> 00:24:31,506
Speaker 4: the door or are they laughing? So I might judge

492
00:24:31,566 --> 00:24:34,226
Speaker 4: how I'm going to respond based on the people's reactions

493
00:24:34,266 --> 00:24:34,706
Speaker 4: around me.

494
00:24:35,186 --> 00:24:38,506
Speaker 5: So that's social referencing. And we did that with cats

495
00:24:38,646 --> 00:24:39,186
Speaker 5: in the lab.

496
00:24:39,626 --> 00:24:42,936
Speaker 4: What they do is they'll take a fan and put

497
00:24:43,016 --> 00:24:46,256
Speaker 4: streamers on it. So the idea is that cats have

498
00:24:46,296 --> 00:24:49,466
Speaker 4: probably typically seen a table fan before. But then when

499
00:24:49,496 --> 00:24:52,166
Speaker 4: you add those streamers to it, it kind of adds

500
00:24:52,186 --> 00:24:57,506
Speaker 4: this additional visual and auditory component where the streamers are

501
00:24:57,586 --> 00:25:01,106
Speaker 4: rustling they're moving so that's kind of the unfamiliar component

502
00:25:01,206 --> 00:25:05,386
Speaker 4: of it and basically we had their caregiver either act

503
00:25:05,646 --> 00:25:08,906
Speaker 4: afraid of the fan or happy about the fan we

504
00:25:08,926 --> 00:25:12,476
Speaker 4: then see okay if the caregiver acts afraid or happy

505
00:25:12,506 --> 00:25:14,616
Speaker 4: about this new thing how is the cat going to

506
00:25:14,656 --> 00:25:18,216
Speaker 4: respond And so in the published work that is already

507
00:25:18,336 --> 00:25:21,296
Speaker 4: out on this, they found that for cats in the

508
00:25:21,336 --> 00:25:23,746
Speaker 4: group where the owner was happy about the fan, they

509
00:25:23,786 --> 00:25:26,066
Speaker 4: were more likely to stay up close to the fan

510
00:25:26,166 --> 00:25:28,726
Speaker 4: and even approach the fan. But in the group where

511
00:25:28,766 --> 00:25:31,446
Speaker 4: the caregiver acted afraid of the fan, they were more

512
00:25:31,506 --> 00:25:34,086
Speaker 4: likely to stay away from the fan and look between

513
00:25:34,126 --> 00:25:37,146
Speaker 4: the exit doors, likely looking for a way to escape.

514
00:25:37,746 --> 00:25:40,586
Speaker 4: So there is some basic evidence to show that cats

515
00:25:40,646 --> 00:25:42,966
Speaker 4: are picking up on these emotional cues that we're putting

516
00:25:43,106 --> 00:25:45,226
Speaker 4: off and adjusting their behavior in response.

517
00:25:45,916 --> 00:25:47,736
Speaker 2: Another thing that I often hear from pet owners is

518
00:25:47,756 --> 00:25:50,396
Speaker 2: that being around your pet, particularly being around your cats,

519
00:25:50,456 --> 00:25:52,756
Speaker 2: can make you feel a little bit more present. I

520
00:25:52,816 --> 00:25:55,296
Speaker 2: notice whenever I'm around my mom's cat that she's often

521
00:25:55,356 --> 00:25:58,496
Speaker 2: noticing like novel things. I see her lying in her

522
00:25:58,616 --> 00:26:01,176
Speaker 2: cat tree near the window, like soaking up the sun.

523
00:26:01,216 --> 00:26:03,596
Speaker 2: And it kind of reminds me of like what I

524
00:26:03,636 --> 00:26:06,796
Speaker 2: should notice and kind of being physically present and so on.

525
00:26:07,216 --> 00:26:09,376
Speaker 2: Have you experienced this with your own boys? And is

526
00:26:09,396 --> 00:26:11,516
Speaker 2: this something that we see in the literature that cats

527
00:26:11,556 --> 00:26:12,616
Speaker 2: can make us more mindful?

528
00:26:13,136 --> 00:26:15,076
Speaker 5: I will say with my own boys, yeah, for sure.

529
00:26:15,196 --> 00:26:15,896
Speaker 5: I feel that way.

530
00:26:15,916 --> 00:26:19,556
Speaker 4: And I think that is very true with animals in general,

531
00:26:19,776 --> 00:26:22,806
Speaker 4: as well as kids. I think there's something about watching

532
00:26:23,066 --> 00:26:27,186
Speaker 4: animals and children just be present and in the moment.

533
00:26:27,546 --> 00:26:29,766
Speaker 4: They're not stuck up in their head as much thinking

534
00:26:29,826 --> 00:26:33,136
Speaker 4: about all their mistakes or what they need to do tomorrow.

535
00:26:33,196 --> 00:26:35,656
Speaker 4: It's just they're living life right now. And so I

536
00:26:35,716 --> 00:26:39,316
Speaker 4: love watching like my cats play or watch a bird

537
00:26:39,376 --> 00:26:41,916
Speaker 4: outside or something like that because they are just fully

538
00:26:41,996 --> 00:26:45,936
Speaker 4: present in that thing that they're doing. And just watching

539
00:26:45,976 --> 00:26:48,126
Speaker 4: your pet kind of get lost, you can kind of

540
00:26:48,206 --> 00:26:51,146
Speaker 4: get lost by watching them. And I've experienced that with

541
00:26:51,186 --> 00:26:54,146
Speaker 4: other pets too. I used to have chickens. And I

542
00:26:54,166 --> 00:26:56,546
Speaker 4: could just sit out there for like 45 minutes watching

543
00:26:56,586 --> 00:26:59,506
Speaker 4: them because they're just doing their chicken thing. And it's

544
00:26:59,546 --> 00:27:01,996
Speaker 4: kind of a reminder like, huh, maybe we should be

545
00:27:02,026 --> 00:27:02,876
Speaker 4: like this, too.

546
00:27:03,336 --> 00:27:05,216
Speaker 2: Another way that we can be more present with our

547
00:27:05,236 --> 00:27:08,356
Speaker 2: pets is to share information with them, to jointly reference things.

548
00:27:08,416 --> 00:27:10,476
Speaker 2: And I know this is something that people assumed animals

549
00:27:10,516 --> 00:27:12,616
Speaker 2: in general couldn't do for a long time, particularly cats

550
00:27:12,656 --> 00:27:14,776
Speaker 2: couldn't do for a long time. But you have work

551
00:27:14,926 --> 00:27:17,306
Speaker 2: showing that cats are actually better at looking at what

552
00:27:17,406 --> 00:27:19,866
Speaker 2: we're paying attention to than previously thought. Tell me about

553
00:27:19,906 --> 00:27:20,386
Speaker 2: those studies.

554
00:27:21,246 --> 00:27:24,206
Speaker 4: There's been a couple studies looking at whether cats are

555
00:27:24,266 --> 00:27:28,246
Speaker 4: able to follow human gestures. And in both of the studies,

556
00:27:28,266 --> 00:27:32,786
Speaker 4: they have found cats are able to follow both our gazing,

557
00:27:32,896 --> 00:27:35,456
Speaker 4: where our eye is going to, as well as where

558
00:27:35,576 --> 00:27:38,356
Speaker 4: we point to. So in the one study, it was

559
00:27:38,416 --> 00:27:41,516
Speaker 4: comparing both dogs and cats and the person would point

560
00:27:41,556 --> 00:27:45,466
Speaker 4: to a location. And both dogs and cats were equally

561
00:27:45,506 --> 00:27:48,286
Speaker 4: as good as going to the pointed location. So they

562
00:27:48,326 --> 00:27:51,446
Speaker 4: were both able to understand that human gesture and respond

563
00:27:51,486 --> 00:27:54,286
Speaker 4: to it. And then for the gazing, cats were able

564
00:27:54,346 --> 00:27:57,006
Speaker 4: to follow the eye gaze of a person. Even when

565
00:27:57,046 --> 00:28:00,026
Speaker 4: the person just looked for a brief split second, they

566
00:28:00,106 --> 00:28:03,466
Speaker 4: still knew to go to the location where the eyes

567
00:28:03,626 --> 00:28:08,626
Speaker 4: briefly looked. And this was done without express training. These

568
00:28:08,686 --> 00:28:10,746
Speaker 4: are things cats are just picking up from us.

569
00:28:11,376 --> 00:28:13,536
Speaker 5: And the same with their name. There was another.

570
00:28:13,276 --> 00:28:17,496
Speaker 4: Study where they used a habituation dishabituation test, which just

571
00:28:17,556 --> 00:28:21,386
Speaker 4: means that they said words that shouldn't have any meaning

572
00:28:21,426 --> 00:28:25,226
Speaker 4: to a cat, like cup, pen. And over time, the

573
00:28:25,246 --> 00:28:27,706
Speaker 4: cat's going to stop paying attention. It's going to pay

574
00:28:27,726 --> 00:28:31,026
Speaker 4: attention less and less because those words don't have any meaning.

575
00:28:31,526 --> 00:28:34,046
Speaker 4: But then if you say their name, then all of

576
00:28:34,066 --> 00:28:37,296
Speaker 4: a sudden they're going to perk up. and recognize their name.

577
00:28:37,376 --> 00:28:41,346
Speaker 4: They dishabituated. And so we can use kind of psychology

578
00:28:41,426 --> 00:28:43,966
Speaker 4: to look at what cats know and don't know. And

579
00:28:44,006 --> 00:28:46,226
Speaker 4: we're seeing, hey, they know their name, even when we're

580
00:28:46,266 --> 00:28:49,406
Speaker 4: not expressively teaching it to them. So they're picking up

581
00:28:49,466 --> 00:28:52,956
Speaker 4: on these really subtle cues where we're pointing, where we're looking,

582
00:28:53,096 --> 00:28:56,356
Speaker 4: even what we're saying or how we're saying it. And

583
00:28:56,496 --> 00:28:59,036
Speaker 4: if we're thinking, hey, these are just pieces of furniture

584
00:28:59,056 --> 00:29:03,146
Speaker 4: in our house that don't have social lives, then we're

585
00:29:03,186 --> 00:29:05,646
Speaker 4: missing out on all these things cats are learning from us.

586
00:29:05,866 --> 00:29:08,766
Speaker 4: And we're also not really guiding their learning in any way.

587
00:29:09,696 --> 00:29:11,896
Speaker 2: Another benefit we can often get from pets, this is

588
00:29:11,976 --> 00:29:14,856
Speaker 2: usually talked about with dogs, is the importance of getting

589
00:29:14,906 --> 00:29:16,946
Speaker 2: a little bit more exercise, right? If you have a dog,

590
00:29:16,986 --> 00:29:18,546
Speaker 2: you take it out for a walk and so on.

591
00:29:19,206 --> 00:29:21,126
Speaker 2: This might not be a benefit you assume you would

592
00:29:21,146 --> 00:29:23,286
Speaker 2: get with cats, but I'm hearing more and more that

593
00:29:23,446 --> 00:29:26,036
Speaker 2: there's work showing that cat owners are taking their cats

594
00:29:26,216 --> 00:29:27,916
Speaker 2: out and that you can have your cat outside for

595
00:29:27,956 --> 00:29:30,616
Speaker 2: a walk. Tell me more about this trend and why

596
00:29:30,676 --> 00:29:33,696
Speaker 2: that might be an important benefit for cat caregivers, too.

597
00:29:34,606 --> 00:29:37,886
Speaker 4: When I was teaching kitten training and socialization classes, because

598
00:29:38,086 --> 00:29:40,276
Speaker 4: one of the behaviors we worked on was walk on

599
00:29:40,296 --> 00:29:42,976
Speaker 4: harness and leash, we had a lot of caregivers who

600
00:29:43,156 --> 00:29:45,516
Speaker 4: ended up taking their cat out after the class and

601
00:29:45,786 --> 00:29:49,086
Speaker 4: doing things like hikes. One cat ended up going and

602
00:29:49,176 --> 00:29:51,236
Speaker 4: a kayak with their caregiver and all this stuff.

603
00:29:51,256 --> 00:29:52,776
Speaker 5: So really gets out there.

604
00:29:53,256 --> 00:29:56,476
Speaker 4: But there are definitely some cats, especially if you start

605
00:29:56,536 --> 00:29:59,036
Speaker 4: young with them and show them that leaving the house

606
00:29:59,096 --> 00:30:02,516
Speaker 4: can be a good experience, that you really can condition

607
00:30:02,556 --> 00:30:05,156
Speaker 4: them to have a great time out of the house.

608
00:30:05,896 --> 00:30:07,776
Speaker 4: And I think it's healthy for the cat if it's

609
00:30:07,796 --> 00:30:10,906
Speaker 4: done in a safe way, because otherwise cats can just

610
00:30:10,946 --> 00:30:15,546
Speaker 4: be trapped in the same location with no novelty, no stimulation.

611
00:30:15,826 --> 00:30:17,766
Speaker 4: And it's very natural for a cat to be able

612
00:30:17,806 --> 00:30:20,476
Speaker 4: to get outside. So this is one way we can

613
00:30:20,516 --> 00:30:23,876
Speaker 4: do it safely for the cat, give them exercise, give

614
00:30:23,936 --> 00:30:28,456
Speaker 4: ourselves exercise and give them enrichment. And as I mentioned earlier,

615
00:30:28,516 --> 00:30:31,166
Speaker 4: we've got this work at Oregon State University, and part

616
00:30:31,206 --> 00:30:33,946
Speaker 4: of it is the children taking the cats out for walks.

617
00:30:34,206 --> 00:30:36,926
Speaker 4: So I think there's a lot of potential here that, again,

618
00:30:36,946 --> 00:30:40,476
Speaker 4: people just don't think about with cats, but it's possible.

619
00:30:41,216 --> 00:30:44,476
Speaker 4: And it comes back to this idea that we're treating

620
00:30:44,536 --> 00:30:47,336
Speaker 4: dogs and cats very differently and then saying, look how

621
00:30:47,416 --> 00:30:51,016
Speaker 4: different they are. If we socialized our cats the same way,

622
00:30:51,516 --> 00:30:55,036
Speaker 4: had kitten training classes and got them used to riding

623
00:30:55,056 --> 00:30:57,836
Speaker 4: in the car and got them better socialized to people,

624
00:30:58,476 --> 00:31:00,956
Speaker 4: would they be so afraid at the vet? Would they

625
00:31:01,016 --> 00:31:03,816
Speaker 4: be so afraid in the lab? Are these things that

626
00:31:03,856 --> 00:31:06,006
Speaker 4: we're kind of conditioning the cats to be like?

627
00:31:06,666 --> 00:31:08,486
Speaker 2: So cats can do a lot more for our happiness

628
00:31:08,506 --> 00:31:11,036
Speaker 2: than we might realize. They can help us manage stress,

629
00:31:11,216 --> 00:31:13,576
Speaker 2: they can comfort us, and they can even encourage us

630
00:31:13,676 --> 00:31:16,216
Speaker 2: to be a little more present. But of course, a

631
00:31:16,256 --> 00:31:19,456
Speaker 2: good relationship should go both ways. If our cats are

632
00:31:19,476 --> 00:31:21,856
Speaker 2: doing so much for our well-being, what can we do

633
00:31:21,976 --> 00:31:25,526
Speaker 2: to improve theirs? We'll find out when this special National

634
00:31:25,566 --> 00:31:28,106
Speaker 2: Cat Day episode of the Happiness Lab returns from the break.

635
00:31:35,926 --> 00:31:38,946
Speaker 2: Cat behavior expert Dr. Kristen Vitale says there's a lot

636
00:31:38,986 --> 00:31:41,616
Speaker 2: we can do to help our feline friends thrive. And

637
00:31:41,656 --> 00:31:43,576
Speaker 2: it turns out that some of the most important things

638
00:31:43,596 --> 00:31:46,176
Speaker 2: we can do for our cats happen very early in

639
00:31:46,196 --> 00:31:46,696
Speaker 2: their lives.

640
00:31:47,136 --> 00:31:50,296
Speaker 5: Cats are not born just used to people.

641
00:31:50,576 --> 00:31:53,926
Speaker 4: Even though they are a domesticated species, just like dogs,

642
00:31:54,296 --> 00:31:57,286
Speaker 4: both dogs and cats really need to have early life

643
00:31:57,366 --> 00:32:01,906
Speaker 4: experiences with humans in order to learn proper social behavior

644
00:32:02,046 --> 00:32:04,946
Speaker 4: and learn that humans aren't anything to fear. So both

645
00:32:04,986 --> 00:32:07,616
Speaker 4: dogs and cats kind of have this sensitive period for

646
00:32:07,696 --> 00:32:10,796
Speaker 4: learning early on in their life. For cats, it's thought

647
00:32:10,816 --> 00:32:14,136
Speaker 4: to be between two to eight weeks of age. But really,

648
00:32:14,216 --> 00:32:18,126
Speaker 4: it's vital that they experience humans within that age range, again,

649
00:32:18,206 --> 00:32:20,566
Speaker 4: just so that they can grow up to learn, hey,

650
00:32:20,786 --> 00:32:24,066
Speaker 4: humans aren't scary. And that's really going to help them

651
00:32:24,146 --> 00:32:26,426
Speaker 4: live in our homes throughout their lives. It's going to

652
00:32:26,466 --> 00:32:29,006
Speaker 4: be very hard for a cat or a dog that

653
00:32:29,066 --> 00:32:31,806
Speaker 4: has not been socialized during their sensitive period to live

654
00:32:31,846 --> 00:32:34,546
Speaker 4: successfully in a human home, just because humans are going

655
00:32:34,566 --> 00:32:38,006
Speaker 4: to be fear-provoking to them. So yeah, it's really important

656
00:32:38,066 --> 00:32:40,716
Speaker 4: not only to expose them to people, but expose them

657
00:32:40,796 --> 00:32:45,856
Speaker 4: to Different people, multiple different people, people of different ethnicities,

658
00:32:45,936 --> 00:32:50,016
Speaker 4: people wearing different clothing, people wearing glasses or hats, all

659
00:32:50,096 --> 00:32:53,856
Speaker 4: sorts of different stimuli. And also getting your cat outside

660
00:32:53,896 --> 00:32:56,376
Speaker 4: of the house, getting them used to riding in.

661
00:32:56,356 --> 00:32:58,416
Speaker 5: The car just for short bits of time.

662
00:32:58,876 --> 00:33:01,486
Speaker 4: So showing them that outside of the house is also

663
00:33:01,556 --> 00:33:04,906
Speaker 4: something that can be safe. It's not scary leaving the home.

664
00:33:05,466 --> 00:33:06,946
Speaker 4: Those are all going to be things that are going

665
00:33:06,966 --> 00:33:09,626
Speaker 4: to be beneficial for the cat. And then simple training

666
00:33:10,106 --> 00:33:12,176
Speaker 4: in and out of the carrier on their own. That's

667
00:33:12,236 --> 00:33:15,056
Speaker 4: a really big one that can help the cat have

668
00:33:15,256 --> 00:33:17,976
Speaker 4: some sense of control and choice in their life. So

669
00:33:18,016 --> 00:33:20,576
Speaker 4: instead of forcing the cat, picking them up and putting

670
00:33:20,596 --> 00:33:22,506
Speaker 4: them in the carrier, we can ask the cat to

671
00:33:22,546 --> 00:33:25,246
Speaker 4: go in the carrier. And all of these steps, they're

672
00:33:25,266 --> 00:33:27,346
Speaker 4: going to be things that are going to promote the

673
00:33:27,366 --> 00:33:30,396
Speaker 4: cat's welfare by giving them control over their life, but

674
00:33:30,476 --> 00:33:33,676
Speaker 4: also by helping them trust you by seeing that you

675
00:33:33,776 --> 00:33:35,856
Speaker 4: aren't forcing them to do something all the time.

676
00:33:36,596 --> 00:33:39,096
Speaker 2: The other thing you've emphasized is the importance of understanding

677
00:33:39,226 --> 00:33:42,946
Speaker 2: your cat's own unique temperament or personality. Why is understanding

678
00:33:42,986 --> 00:33:44,826
Speaker 2: it so important for the bond we have with them?

679
00:33:45,736 --> 00:33:48,816
Speaker 4: Basically, within any species, you're going to have that variation

680
00:33:48,926 --> 00:33:52,706
Speaker 4: in personality. It's just how it is. Individuals have different

681
00:33:52,726 --> 00:33:56,426
Speaker 4: personality traits. We have different life experiences that culminate in

682
00:33:56,486 --> 00:34:00,026
Speaker 4: us behaving differently. So when we think about that, we

683
00:34:00,106 --> 00:34:02,226
Speaker 4: also have to kind of take a step back and

684
00:34:02,266 --> 00:34:05,726
Speaker 4: say it depends on the individual cat. So these things

685
00:34:05,786 --> 00:34:07,966
Speaker 4: I'm saying that, oh, hey, take your cat out on

686
00:34:08,006 --> 00:34:10,726
Speaker 4: a walk outside on a harness and leash. That might

687
00:34:10,766 --> 00:34:13,226
Speaker 4: be great for some cats, but not for other cats.

688
00:34:13,746 --> 00:34:18,856
Speaker 4: So really considering your individual cat, their limitations or what

689
00:34:18,876 --> 00:34:21,176
Speaker 4: they're also good at. It might not be going for

690
00:34:21,216 --> 00:34:24,256
Speaker 4: a walk outside. It might be, you know, doing an

691
00:34:24,316 --> 00:34:28,446
Speaker 4: agility course inside or it might be sitting for a treat.

692
00:34:28,976 --> 00:34:31,576
Speaker 4: So you kind of have to adjust based on the cat.

693
00:34:32,176 --> 00:34:35,436
Speaker 4: But I would also say don't let certain characteristics of

694
00:34:35,476 --> 00:34:38,586
Speaker 4: the cats paint an incorrect picture. Just because you don't

695
00:34:38,626 --> 00:34:41,006
Speaker 4: have a kitten doesn't mean you can't be training your cat.

696
00:34:41,026 --> 00:34:43,946
Speaker 4: You can train an adult eight-year-old cat. I train my

697
00:34:43,966 --> 00:34:46,646
Speaker 4: 10-year-old cat all the time. So yeah, it's really just

698
00:34:46,686 --> 00:34:50,066
Speaker 4: kind of about considering the individual, what they need, what

699
00:34:50,086 --> 00:34:52,226
Speaker 4: they want to work for, the rewards they want to

700
00:34:52,266 --> 00:34:55,866
Speaker 4: work for. And realizing that different cats in the house

701
00:34:55,946 --> 00:34:59,156
Speaker 4: might have different needs and that taking one cat outside

702
00:34:59,596 --> 00:35:01,976
Speaker 4: but leaving one cat inside might be what's best for

703
00:35:01,996 --> 00:35:05,256
Speaker 4: that pair. Treating them equally does not mean treating them

704
00:35:05,276 --> 00:35:06,036
Speaker 4: the same always.

705
00:35:06,876 --> 00:35:09,176
Speaker 2: You've also talked about how cat caregivers really need to

706
00:35:09,196 --> 00:35:11,916
Speaker 2: understand cat communication, that we need to meet cats where

707
00:35:11,936 --> 00:35:14,986
Speaker 2: they're at. What are some cat behaviors and vocalizations that

708
00:35:15,006 --> 00:35:17,986
Speaker 2: you think any cat caregiver should be aware of and identify?

709
00:35:19,586 --> 00:35:22,416
Speaker 4: One would be just aloe rubbing. So that's when the

710
00:35:22,456 --> 00:35:26,056
Speaker 4: cat rubs up against a person. And in our work,

711
00:35:26,096 --> 00:35:29,056
Speaker 4: we've actually seen this as a common reunion behavior. So

712
00:35:29,176 --> 00:35:32,356
Speaker 4: after a cat was separated and then reunited with her caregiver,

713
00:35:32,526 --> 00:35:35,186
Speaker 4: we saw that aloe rubs shot up. So you might

714
00:35:35,246 --> 00:35:38,126
Speaker 4: notice that a cat's doing that when you get home,

715
00:35:38,186 --> 00:35:41,006
Speaker 4: they're kind of rubbing on your legs a bunch, or

716
00:35:41,046 --> 00:35:43,006
Speaker 4: when they're just feeling in a good mood and friendly.

717
00:35:43,366 --> 00:35:46,516
Speaker 4: It's just a friendly social behavior behavior. Another one is

718
00:35:46,536 --> 00:35:49,416
Speaker 4: just meowing. In our work, we have seen it be

719
00:35:49,496 --> 00:35:52,556
Speaker 4: in attention-getting behaviors, particularly in shelter cats.

720
00:35:53,136 --> 00:35:55,716
Speaker 5: So maybe when they need something, they meow at us

721
00:35:55,816 --> 00:35:56,416
Speaker 5: as a signal.

722
00:35:57,256 --> 00:36:00,686
Speaker 4: And often that does kind of reinforce our behavior of

723
00:36:00,736 --> 00:36:03,986
Speaker 4: responding to the meow. So cats meowing for food, and

724
00:36:04,026 --> 00:36:06,606
Speaker 4: we need to give them the food. Other behaviors that

725
00:36:06,626 --> 00:36:10,326
Speaker 4: are important, but maybe not less pleasing to people would

726
00:36:10,366 --> 00:36:13,806
Speaker 4: be things like scratching or scent marking. These are really

727
00:36:13,986 --> 00:36:17,226
Speaker 4: central cat behaviors. Cats need to do these. These are

728
00:36:17,336 --> 00:36:21,216
Speaker 4: natural behaviors for them. But when they're directed at spaces

729
00:36:21,516 --> 00:36:23,796
Speaker 4: that we don't want, that can be a problem behavior.

730
00:36:24,396 --> 00:36:27,636
Speaker 4: So making sure that cats have an outlet to scratch

731
00:36:27,676 --> 00:36:30,396
Speaker 4: that isn't your couch or that they have enough scent

732
00:36:30,456 --> 00:36:33,296
Speaker 4: spots laid out throughout the home that they're not urinating

733
00:36:33,356 --> 00:36:36,476
Speaker 4: on the carpet. So there are other behaviors that we

734
00:36:36,536 --> 00:36:38,416
Speaker 4: want to promote, but we want to promote them in

735
00:36:38,456 --> 00:36:39,036
Speaker 4: the right way.

736
00:36:40,196 --> 00:36:42,026
Speaker 2: Another behavior I've heard about is this idea of the

737
00:36:42,106 --> 00:36:44,646
Speaker 2: slow blink. What is that and why is it so

738
00:36:44,686 --> 00:36:45,686
Speaker 2: compelling for people?

739
00:36:46,856 --> 00:36:49,486
Speaker 4: If you look at your cat when they're really happy

740
00:36:49,526 --> 00:36:52,046
Speaker 4: and you're petting them, you'll notice they kind of do

741
00:36:52,086 --> 00:36:55,546
Speaker 4: this like can't keep their eyes open, slow blink, like

742
00:36:55,966 --> 00:36:59,106
Speaker 4: almost falling asleep, but then waking up. I didn't know

743
00:36:59,126 --> 00:37:02,216
Speaker 4: of any research on it until recently a paper came

744
00:37:02,356 --> 00:37:06,036
Speaker 4: out on slow blinking and the human cat relationship. So

745
00:37:06,716 --> 00:37:09,236
Speaker 4: I think that there's still a lot to find about this,

746
00:37:09,476 --> 00:37:12,976
Speaker 4: but we can say that it's related to feeling calm

747
00:37:13,206 --> 00:37:17,546
Speaker 4: and affiliative and friendly. So it's probably something like, oh,

748
00:37:17,586 --> 00:37:22,026
Speaker 4: I feel good right now. We're trusting each other kind

749
00:37:22,046 --> 00:37:26,686
Speaker 4: of interpretation. And it's been found that adopters really respond

750
00:37:26,706 --> 00:37:30,066
Speaker 4: to that. And that also potentially slow blinking to your

751
00:37:30,106 --> 00:37:33,826
Speaker 4: cat might also kind of be communicating affiliation back to them.

752
00:37:34,306 --> 00:37:37,066
Speaker 4: But what really is going on in the cat's brain

753
00:37:37,106 --> 00:37:38,616
Speaker 4: when they do it or when they receive it, it's

754
00:37:38,656 --> 00:37:39,616
Speaker 4: kind of hard to know.

755
00:37:40,416 --> 00:37:42,496
Speaker 2: This is all part of a bigger thing that we

756
00:37:42,536 --> 00:37:45,076
Speaker 2: need to make sure that we are understanding cats' natural

757
00:37:45,096 --> 00:37:48,096
Speaker 2: behavior and also allowing them to engage in their natural behaviors.

758
00:37:48,496 --> 00:37:51,096
Speaker 2: Any other natural cat behaviors we should be paying attention

759
00:37:51,136 --> 00:37:53,756
Speaker 2: to and making sure we have space for in our cats' lives?

760
00:37:54,566 --> 00:37:56,106
Speaker 5: I think play is a big one.

761
00:37:56,126 --> 00:37:58,426
Speaker 4: A lot of people know we should play with our cats,

762
00:37:58,646 --> 00:38:01,896
Speaker 4: but they don't. And it really doesn't take all that

763
00:38:01,936 --> 00:38:04,756
Speaker 4: much time or dedication. If you think about a cat,

764
00:38:05,216 --> 00:38:08,756
Speaker 4: cats hunt multiple times a day and they're ambush predators.

765
00:38:08,956 --> 00:38:11,916
Speaker 4: So when you think about their play needs, you really

766
00:38:11,956 --> 00:38:14,496
Speaker 4: need to play with them multiple times a day just

767
00:38:14,516 --> 00:38:17,856
Speaker 4: for short amounts of time. So think about them running

768
00:38:17,976 --> 00:38:19,996
Speaker 4: after a bird. It's only going to be a quick

769
00:38:20,536 --> 00:38:23,276
Speaker 4: you know, 10, 15 seconds of running. And a lot

770
00:38:23,296 --> 00:38:25,606
Speaker 4: of it's just going to be watching that bird. So

771
00:38:25,706 --> 00:38:27,806
Speaker 4: when you play, you might have a cat who watches

772
00:38:27,866 --> 00:38:30,446
Speaker 4: the toy for a long time and then finally goes

773
00:38:30,586 --> 00:38:31,066
Speaker 4: after it.

774
00:38:31,646 --> 00:38:33,706
Speaker 5: And then, hey, that could be the end of the bow.

775
00:38:33,866 --> 00:38:36,566
Speaker 4: A five minute bow to play in the morning.

776
00:38:36,626 --> 00:38:39,676
Speaker 5: That's great. That's better than not doing anything, you know?

777
00:38:40,216 --> 00:38:44,296
Speaker 4: And so really focusing on when cats are kind of giving,

778
00:38:44,776 --> 00:38:48,216
Speaker 4: cues that they need play. Maybe they're a little more active,

779
00:38:48,256 --> 00:38:51,776
Speaker 4: they're looking around, they're sitting by their toys. If you

780
00:38:51,816 --> 00:38:54,226
Speaker 4: haven't played with them in a day or a few days,

781
00:38:54,666 --> 00:38:58,146
Speaker 4: really thinking about the fact that the cat would predate

782
00:38:58,286 --> 00:39:01,666
Speaker 4: several times a day. So if you're not playing with

783
00:39:01,706 --> 00:39:03,866
Speaker 4: them at all or they don't have access to toys,

784
00:39:04,206 --> 00:39:06,546
Speaker 4: they're missing out on that key behavior they'd be doing

785
00:39:06,626 --> 00:39:09,626
Speaker 4: multiple times a day. And in our work, we found

786
00:39:09,666 --> 00:39:14,156
Speaker 4: that cats significantly prefer toys with movement. So if all

787
00:39:14,196 --> 00:39:16,856
Speaker 4: you have is a mouse that just sits on the

788
00:39:16,896 --> 00:39:20,296
Speaker 4: ground and a stationary, cat's not going to probably pay

789
00:39:20,336 --> 00:39:22,666
Speaker 4: much attention to it. But if you have a toy

790
00:39:22,706 --> 00:39:25,026
Speaker 4: that's able to move on its own or you're able

791
00:39:25,046 --> 00:39:27,066
Speaker 4: to play with them, that's going to be much more

792
00:39:27,126 --> 00:39:28,006
Speaker 4: stimulating for them.

793
00:39:28,826 --> 00:39:30,976
Speaker 2: I've also heard you make the suggestion that we need

794
00:39:30,996 --> 00:39:33,676
Speaker 2: to schedule in time for play with cats that like

795
00:39:33,856 --> 00:39:36,326
Speaker 2: doing it at a consistent time and in a consistent

796
00:39:36,346 --> 00:39:37,626
Speaker 2: way can be beneficial for them.

797
00:39:37,786 --> 00:39:39,086
Speaker 5: Yeah, that was actually something.

798
00:39:39,356 --> 00:39:43,016
Speaker 4: Michael Delgado talks about and her book, Play With Your Cat.

799
00:39:43,456 --> 00:39:44,476
Speaker 5: It's an amazing book.

800
00:39:44,896 --> 00:39:46,196
Speaker 4: If you don't know how to play with your cat,

801
00:39:46,256 --> 00:39:47,956
Speaker 4: that it will tell you how to play with your cat.

802
00:39:48,336 --> 00:39:50,186
Speaker 4: But she told me that she does that. And I

803
00:39:50,186 --> 00:39:52,226
Speaker 4: was like, that's a great idea. And so I've started

804
00:39:52,286 --> 00:39:56,946
Speaker 4: doing that basically like okay, morning before food, let's do

805
00:39:57,006 --> 00:39:57,506
Speaker 4: a quick.

806
00:39:57,346 --> 00:39:57,986
Speaker 5: Bout of play.

807
00:39:58,426 --> 00:40:00,486
Speaker 4: And again, if you think about it, cats are going

808
00:40:00,566 --> 00:40:04,406
Speaker 4: to predate and then hopefully eat. So think about the

809
00:40:04,566 --> 00:40:07,326
Speaker 4: order that they're going to be doing that naturally. So

810
00:40:07,366 --> 00:40:10,026
Speaker 4: let's play and then we'll give them their food. And

811
00:40:10,066 --> 00:40:12,376
Speaker 4: it can be kind of just like a little ritual then.

812
00:40:12,896 --> 00:40:15,096
Speaker 4: One thing I also like to tell caregivers is just

813
00:40:15,136 --> 00:40:17,716
Speaker 4: to change up their environment a little bit because cats,

814
00:40:18,186 --> 00:40:21,026
Speaker 4: If you're not changing your cat's environment, then they're not

815
00:40:21,086 --> 00:40:23,686
Speaker 4: having any new stimulation or any new.

816
00:40:23,906 --> 00:40:24,876
Speaker 5: Objects to explore.

817
00:40:25,606 --> 00:40:28,396
Speaker 4: And one thing I like to mention is when my

818
00:40:28,436 --> 00:40:31,356
Speaker 4: husband and I were going to the beach, we pulled

819
00:40:31,416 --> 00:40:33,036
Speaker 4: out a cooler and we were going and we were

820
00:40:33,076 --> 00:40:35,026
Speaker 4: just like grabbing different things. And I come back in

821
00:40:35,066 --> 00:40:37,666
Speaker 4: the room and the cats are like all crowded around

822
00:40:37,686 --> 00:40:41,106
Speaker 4: the cooler, like Carl's inside the cooler, Kevin's sniffing it.

823
00:40:41,586 --> 00:40:43,986
Speaker 4: And so it was just like this one thing that

824
00:40:44,026 --> 00:40:45,826
Speaker 4: was out of place that was new to them was

825
00:40:45,886 --> 00:40:48,536
Speaker 4: just so exciting that they just had to go explore it.

826
00:40:49,066 --> 00:40:51,086
Speaker 5: So you don't really have to do all that much

827
00:40:51,126 --> 00:40:51,626
Speaker 5: for your cat.

828
00:40:51,666 --> 00:40:54,426
Speaker 4: Just change things around a little bit, bring out an

829
00:40:54,566 --> 00:40:57,166
Speaker 4: object they haven't seen, take that object away.

830
00:40:57,726 --> 00:40:59,506
Speaker 5: Cats do thrive on routine.

831
00:40:59,646 --> 00:41:02,106
Speaker 4: And so sometimes I hear people saying, well, I don't

832
00:41:02,126 --> 00:41:04,226
Speaker 4: want to change their environment because it'll stress them out.

833
00:41:04,906 --> 00:41:07,556
Speaker 4: But it doesn't mean that they don't want any novelty.

834
00:41:07,616 --> 00:41:10,856
Speaker 4: Cats are also very curious by nature. So you kind

835
00:41:10,896 --> 00:41:13,736
Speaker 4: of want to find that balance, not changing everything all

836
00:41:13,776 --> 00:41:16,676
Speaker 4: at once, but slowly introducing new things that they can

837
00:41:16,696 --> 00:41:17,496
Speaker 4: kind of explore.

838
00:41:18,506 --> 00:41:20,026
Speaker 2: And so I'm going to end with a personal one,

839
00:41:20,046 --> 00:41:22,366
Speaker 2: which is part of making this episode is about the

840
00:41:22,386 --> 00:41:23,146
Speaker 2: fact that.

841
00:41:23,146 --> 00:41:25,126
Speaker 1: I've been thinking about getting a cat.

842
00:41:25,486 --> 00:41:27,706
Speaker 2: If somebody is listening and they're thinking about becoming a

843
00:41:27,746 --> 00:41:29,966
Speaker 2: cat caregiver, what are some things they should take into

844
00:41:30,026 --> 00:41:31,316
Speaker 2: account when making that decision?

845
00:41:32,216 --> 00:41:34,376
Speaker 4: One would be, what is your current household like? Do

846
00:41:34,416 --> 00:41:38,016
Speaker 4: you currently have any pets, dogs, anything else like that?

847
00:41:38,416 --> 00:41:41,136
Speaker 4: If so, then you need to consider if.

848
00:41:41,236 --> 00:41:44,856
Speaker 5: They're good with cats. Also, just what you're looking for

849
00:41:45,036 --> 00:41:45,656
Speaker 5: out of the cat.

850
00:41:45,756 --> 00:41:48,776
Speaker 4: If you're looking for high energy and wants to do

851
00:41:48,836 --> 00:41:51,416
Speaker 4: training and play, that's going to be very different than

852
00:41:51,436 --> 00:41:53,536
Speaker 4: a cat that's kind of laid back and just wants

853
00:41:53,556 --> 00:41:56,836
Speaker 4: to cuddle all the time. So kind of asking if

854
00:41:56,856 --> 00:41:58,956
Speaker 4: you're going to be adopting from a shelter, maybe ask

855
00:41:58,976 --> 00:42:01,656
Speaker 4: the shelter staff, what do you know about these cats?

856
00:42:02,236 --> 00:42:06,086
Speaker 4: Sometimes shelters will do what's called a felinality assessment, where

857
00:42:06,206 --> 00:42:10,046
Speaker 4: they put the cat through different stages, like what do

858
00:42:10,086 --> 00:42:12,326
Speaker 4: they do when a toy is presented? What do they

859
00:42:12,346 --> 00:42:14,686
Speaker 4: do when we open their cage? And it kind of

860
00:42:14,726 --> 00:42:19,206
Speaker 4: builds this personality profile. Especially with kids, sensitivity is a

861
00:42:19,226 --> 00:42:22,026
Speaker 4: big thing. Some shelters, part of the felinality is they'll

862
00:42:22,126 --> 00:42:25,256
Speaker 4: slightly pull on the cat's tail, not like to hurt them,

863
00:42:25,316 --> 00:42:27,826
Speaker 4: but just to see how the cat reacts. Because If

864
00:42:27,846 --> 00:42:29,666
Speaker 4: you have kids at home, they might be grabbing and

865
00:42:29,686 --> 00:42:31,166
Speaker 4: you want to see what the cat's going to do.

866
00:42:31,706 --> 00:42:34,046
Speaker 4: So asking the shelter about that, letting them know you

867
00:42:34,086 --> 00:42:36,266
Speaker 4: have a kid and like a cat that's going to

868
00:42:36,306 --> 00:42:39,026
Speaker 4: be okay with maybe getting hands on them and isn't

869
00:42:39,086 --> 00:42:42,006
Speaker 4: highly sensitive to that. Then you can say, oh, I

870
00:42:42,046 --> 00:42:45,346
Speaker 4: see this cat's personality profile matches up with what I want,

871
00:42:45,406 --> 00:42:49,596
Speaker 4: a really bold individual or really cuddly individual. And then

872
00:42:49,676 --> 00:42:52,716
Speaker 4: also when you finally have brought a cat home, I'd

873
00:42:52,736 --> 00:42:54,616
Speaker 4: say one of the first things to do with them

874
00:42:54,896 --> 00:42:58,506
Speaker 4: is just kind of discover their preferences. So I mentioned

875
00:42:58,566 --> 00:43:02,686
Speaker 4: earlier about that preference work where we compared food, toys,

876
00:43:02,706 --> 00:43:03,706
Speaker 4: scent objects.

877
00:43:04,316 --> 00:43:07,126
Speaker 5: And social interaction. And that can be one way for

878
00:43:07,166 --> 00:43:08,306
Speaker 5: you to learn about your cat.

879
00:43:08,406 --> 00:43:10,846
Speaker 4: Do you have a highly food motivated cat or what

880
00:43:10,886 --> 00:43:13,226
Speaker 4: kind of toys does your cat like? Just kind of

881
00:43:13,366 --> 00:43:15,796
Speaker 4: expose them to some different things and see what they

882
00:43:15,836 --> 00:43:18,676
Speaker 4: go for the most. And that can be just another

883
00:43:18,716 --> 00:43:20,616
Speaker 4: way to learn about your new cat and just start

884
00:43:20,656 --> 00:43:21,736
Speaker 4: that bonding process.

885
00:43:22,666 --> 00:43:25,686
Speaker 2: Any last minute advice for creating the perfect cat-human bond?

886
00:43:25,706 --> 00:43:29,446
Speaker 4: Really be open and receptive to your cat. So it's

887
00:43:29,486 --> 00:43:32,446
Speaker 4: really easy, you know, if I'm at my computer working

888
00:43:32,486 --> 00:43:34,646
Speaker 4: and my cat's seeking attention to kind of just push

889
00:43:34,686 --> 00:43:37,226
Speaker 4: him away, like I'm a little busy right now, but

890
00:43:37,346 --> 00:43:39,226
Speaker 4: how hard is it just to give them a couple

891
00:43:39,266 --> 00:43:42,266
Speaker 4: pets and attention or a treat? You know, really be

892
00:43:42,386 --> 00:43:44,626
Speaker 4: receptive to them the way you would a friend. If

893
00:43:44,686 --> 00:43:47,326
Speaker 4: a friend's coming over, calling you for help or looking

894
00:43:47,366 --> 00:43:51,066
Speaker 4: for something, you would probably respond. So really don't treat

895
00:43:51,126 --> 00:43:55,186
Speaker 4: them like they're not alive. They're an alive individual with

896
00:43:55,226 --> 00:44:00,486
Speaker 4: emotional capacity. The other thing to consider is how your

897
00:44:00,586 --> 00:44:04,946
Speaker 4: expectations might kind of project onto the cat itself. So

898
00:44:05,166 --> 00:44:07,666
Speaker 4: if you're bringing your cat home for the first time

899
00:44:07,756 --> 00:44:10,996
Speaker 4: and you think cats are not socially motivated, you're not

900
00:44:11,036 --> 00:44:13,816
Speaker 4: going out of your way to interact with them very much. Well,

901
00:44:13,856 --> 00:44:17,346
Speaker 4: from our research, we see that cats are interact more

902
00:44:17,386 --> 00:44:19,706
Speaker 4: with people who pay attention to them. Even if you

903
00:44:19,766 --> 00:44:21,806
Speaker 4: already have a cat at home, go up to them

904
00:44:21,866 --> 00:44:23,026
Speaker 4: and interact with them a little.

905
00:44:23,306 --> 00:44:26,426
Speaker 5: You might be surprised at how much they respond to you.

906
00:44:27,046 --> 00:44:29,046
Speaker 2: Hearing about the amazing things cats can do when you

907
00:44:29,086 --> 00:44:30,816
Speaker 2: train them, I think that is getting a lot of

908
00:44:30,856 --> 00:44:33,816
Speaker 2: people inspired. You know, if you're a cat caregiver and

909
00:44:33,856 --> 00:44:35,736
Speaker 2: you're hearing this now and you want to start training

910
00:44:35,756 --> 00:44:37,276
Speaker 2: your cat, where do you start?

911
00:44:37,316 --> 00:44:38,696
Speaker 1: Like what resources are available?

912
00:44:39,646 --> 00:44:43,596
Speaker 4: There are some great YouTube channels done by cat trainers.

913
00:44:43,616 --> 00:44:46,856
Speaker 4: One is called Cat School, and she's got a lot

914
00:44:46,876 --> 00:44:49,736
Speaker 4: of intro videos to get started as well as more

915
00:44:49,756 --> 00:44:53,086
Speaker 4: advanced once you get going. And then I also just

916
00:44:53,146 --> 00:44:57,526
Speaker 4: worked with the Feline VMA, which is the Veterinary Medical Association,

917
00:44:58,086 --> 00:45:01,926
Speaker 4: and we created what's called the Positive Reinforcement Toolkit. So

918
00:45:01,966 --> 00:45:05,476
Speaker 4: it's all about using positive reinforcement or giving something to

919
00:45:05,496 --> 00:45:07,036
Speaker 4: the animal to increase their behavior.

920
00:45:07,636 --> 00:45:09,056
Speaker 5: In order to train cats.

921
00:45:09,256 --> 00:45:12,276
Speaker 4: So that is a free PDF that you can download

922
00:45:12,336 --> 00:45:16,436
Speaker 4: from the Feline VMA website. And also my website, Mal Eyes,

923
00:45:16,556 --> 00:45:19,616
Speaker 4: we've got resources on there. And we're also building out

924
00:45:19,796 --> 00:45:22,836
Speaker 4: courses on cat training. So feel free to check that out.

925
00:45:23,456 --> 00:45:25,916
Speaker 4: It's really just about kind of changing the way that

926
00:45:25,956 --> 00:45:29,546
Speaker 4: we're thinking about things and maybe expecting different things.

927
00:45:29,386 --> 00:45:31,346
Speaker 5: Out of our cats that we hadn't expected before.

928
00:45:31,366 --> 00:45:35,666
Speaker 2: A very happy National Cat Day to all those who observe.

929
00:45:36,386 --> 00:45:38,896
Speaker 2: And a big thank you to Dr. Kristen Vitale for

930
00:45:38,916 --> 00:45:41,336
Speaker 2: joining me today. I'll be sure to let you know

931
00:45:41,476 --> 00:45:43,136
Speaker 2: if I end up putting some of her advice into

932
00:45:43,176 --> 00:45:46,596
Speaker 2: practice with a new cat of my own. Next week,

933
00:45:46,656 --> 00:45:49,436
Speaker 2: we're returning to some of my favorite live conversations from

934
00:45:49,476 --> 00:45:52,166
Speaker 2: the past year. We'll be heading back to South by

935
00:45:52,206 --> 00:45:55,146
Speaker 2: Southwest for a discussion about how we can support young

936
00:45:55,166 --> 00:45:58,466
Speaker 2: people's mental health in the age of artificial intelligence.

937
00:45:58,466 --> 00:46:04,036
Speaker 3: 40% of American two-year-olds have a tablet that reaches 60%

938
00:46:04,036 --> 00:46:08,656
Speaker 3: by age four. One out of four eight-year-olds has a

939
00:46:08,696 --> 00:46:12,286
Speaker 3: cell phone. I think the sad part is that is

940
00:46:12,406 --> 00:46:16,666
Speaker 3: mirrored by their parents welcoming that break so that they

941
00:46:16,686 --> 00:46:19,616
Speaker 3: can spend a lot of that time feeding their own

942
00:46:19,696 --> 00:46:21,536
Speaker 3: digital addiction while staring at their phone.

943
00:46:22,436 --> 00:46:25,336
Speaker 2: That's all next time on The Happiness Lab with me, Dr.

944
00:46:25,376 --> 00:46:26,116
Speaker 1: Laurie Santos.