Hopefully I got through (props to TCS)

Last night, on my way home from my art class, I was listening to a syndicated radio show. The host's name is Kim Iverson... she's based down in Texas, but her show get broadcast a few other places. A lot of her subjects can be rather ... ahem ... interesting. Not always my 'cup of tea' but I'm willing to listen. Well, last night I nearly flipped out driving home. She told her tale about getting a new friend for her cat, in the form of a kitten. She only got the little guy this weekend... well, she didn't introduce them properly, etc, etc... her older cat was beating the little one senseless, and she was noticing behavioral changes in the kitten. Needless to say, she gave him back to the lady she adopted him from.

I normally do not email/call radio show hosts... but I felt i had to. So, I got home, found her website and sent her an email. It grew (like so many of my posts here) into a small book... telling her about proper introduction techniques, the vanilla, towels, slow phases of introduction.... and also gave her the rescue/shelter cat lecture... I told her my history, about being a shelter volunteer and all...

I didn't want to go on the air, still don't. But she emailed me back tonight. I won't copy my whole email, but I will post her reply:

Amanda!

OMG where were you when I needed you!!!! Your insights are great! I love the vanilla on the cats idea. I wish I would have done that. Oh well, I think my cat is an Alpha cat anyway and wants her own space. I definitely will share with the public some of your really great tricks!

Thanks for listening and for taking the time to write me such great info. Write me anytime!

Kim

So, hopefully she'll pass the info along... I don't listen to her all the time. But if anyone here does, and hears her talk about these tips, you'll know where they came from. If it weren't for TCS, I would not have known about some of the tips and tricks I shared with her. And hopefully passing them along to her, and thus to her public, we'll get some more educated cat folk. I didn't mention TCS by name... but hopefully the message will get out there...

Amanda
~Proud TCS Member~

Good for you to help people out.

Wow, you got a real response, how cool! What's the vanilla trick?

Originally Posted by MonaxLisa

Wow, you got a real response, how cool!

What's the vanilla trick?

Click to expand...

it especially works when you bring one cat back from the vet and the others have been left at home... release from the carrier (or in the case of a new cat, when you first do face-to-face intros) into a different room from the others... dab a bit of real vanilla extract under the chin, the base of the tail, and I think at the back, between the shoulder blades (that's where I've done it, and what I told her). Doing this to both the new cat/returning from vet cat, and all other cats in the household... this way, they all smell the same... hence no, or at least reduced, hissing.

I read about it here... as well as proper introduction techniques... I wish I'd known them back when I brought my two home six weeks apart. They would probably have bonded much better initially.

I'm glad I got the response... I wasn't expecting it, but I'm glad i got it. It means she does listen to others... she takes calls with experts all the time, but I'm by no means an expert in this... although it got me thinking about studying animal behavioral therapy... God only knows what would go into getting that education. I know we need more of them... there aren't enough that work with cats...

Amanda

That is cool that you got a response.. Hopefully she will do what she said she would, spread the word.

that is great

Well done! That's great!