Cattitude - Episode 291 WhiskerCon Savannah 2026: The Ultimate Valentine’s Weekend for Cat Lovers!

<v Speaker 1>Love. This is pet Life Radio. Let's talk pets.
<v Speaker 2>Hello, filang friends, Welcome to Catitude. I'm your show host,
<v Speaker 2>Michelle Byrne, And what a show that I have for
<v Speaker 2>you today. So you know how, I know how all
<v Speaker 2>of you love to go to different cat events, like
<v Speaker 2>you know, cat Con, whisker Con and all these different
<v Speaker 2>cons that involve cats. So my guest today and I've
<v Speaker 2>never quite done a show like this, so I'm super excited.
<v Speaker 2>My guest today is the show organizer of whisker Con
<v Speaker 2>that is coming up in Savannah, Georgia. And I also
<v Speaker 2>have doctor lisa 's Overdosta who is a vet near behavior,
<v Speaker 2>so that this is going to be an amazing show.
<v Speaker 2>Stay tuned. We'll be right back.
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<v Speaker 2>Welcome back everyone. I would like to welcome doctor Lisa Rodosta,
<v Speaker 2>a veterinary behaviorist, and Katie Cohn, who is the organizer
<v Speaker 2>of whisker Con Savannah, Georgia. Welcome ladies.
<v Speaker 5>Thank you, it's nice to be here.
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, worll to have you. We have cat lovers on
<v Speaker 2>CATA too, and they go to different shows or cat events.
<v Speaker 2>Sometimes they're large events, sometimes small, like even at a
<v Speaker 2>cat cafe. But whisker Con is going to be really excited.
<v Speaker 2>So Katie, you're organizing this show, and what can you
<v Speaker 2>tell our listeners that might be new to cat conventions?
<v Speaker 2>The best way to find out about different events, like say,
<v Speaker 2>whisker Con, and I forgot some of my intro cat
<v Speaker 2>con popcats. I'm sure there's more I'm forgetting. But how
<v Speaker 2>can people find out about these events?
<v Speaker 6>Well that's a really good question because I'm actually brand
<v Speaker 6>new to all of these events as well. Well, I
<v Speaker 6>went to my first one in Florida, in January and
<v Speaker 6>this whole thing just kind of snowballed. And I had
<v Speaker 6>never even heard of cat conventions before, and I'm a
<v Speaker 6>cat lover, and so the more research that I did,
<v Speaker 6>and after attending my first one, I found a lot
<v Speaker 6>of the marketing and places you would find them is
<v Speaker 6>mostly on social media. If you follow certain vendors or
<v Speaker 6>certain catlebrities like Hannis Shaw, for instance, you know they'll
<v Speaker 6>always post whenever they're attending at convention. And I think
<v Speaker 6>that's the easiest way personally. I'm sure you could google
<v Speaker 6>or reach out to your local humane society or rescues
<v Speaker 6>and they would probably know that as well, and I
<v Speaker 6>would think they'd be publicizing that as well.
<v Speaker 2>Okay, and I have to ask you. I know your
<v Speaker 2>fellow cat lovers, so how many and what type and
<v Speaker 2>their names?
<v Speaker 6>Well, it depends what day you asked me today, because
<v Speaker 6>I'm really busy planning this. I only have my own cats.
<v Speaker 6>I have Coral and Beluga, two gingers, and I have
<v Speaker 6>a dog. But on any given day when I don't
<v Speaker 6>have this going on, I have an incubator and I
<v Speaker 6>run a bottle baby program for neo natal kittens, And
<v Speaker 6>so you never know what's going to be in my house.
<v Speaker 2>So you can really relate to Hannahshadan. Yeah, and we'll
<v Speaker 2>talk a little bit later about her and the other
<v Speaker 2>guests that you have coming up. So what makes whisker
<v Speaker 2>Con Savannah unique compared to and by the way, I've
<v Speaker 2>been to Savannah, Georgia a few times and it is beautiful.
<v Speaker 2>It's an amazing city. So what makes whisker Con Savannah
<v Speaker 2>unique besides the city compared to other feline focused events
<v Speaker 2>that are around the country.
<v Speaker 6>So, as I've said, I've only been to two, so
<v Speaker 6>I'm basing my facts on those, so I'm sure there's
<v Speaker 6>a lot more out there that I haven't been exposed to.
<v Speaker 6>But ours is being hosted with our nonprofit rescue, One
<v Speaker 6>Love Animal Rescues, So any extra funds and ticket sales
<v Speaker 6>and things like that that come in, we'll go right
<v Speaker 6>back into our community to help our local animals. So
<v Speaker 6>I don't know if they are normally run like that
<v Speaker 6>or not, but for us, that's how we're putting it on.
<v Speaker 6>And I'm also putting a big focus on education. I've
<v Speaker 6>been with my son growing up. I would go to
<v Speaker 6>the local schools and I would bring in the little
<v Speaker 6>neonatal kittens and teach kids about them, and teach them
<v Speaker 6>how to measure, how to use a scale and things
<v Speaker 6>like that, and just get them accustomed to learning more.
<v Speaker 6>A lot of children are afraid of cats, so that
<v Speaker 6>really helped change things. And I just feel like if
<v Speaker 6>you start with the children and get the education in
<v Speaker 6>with them, it's just going to work its way up.
<v Speaker 6>So we are going to have interesting things going on
<v Speaker 6>with a little Whiskers Cat Academy put on by one
<v Speaker 6>of my veterinarian hospitals that I go to, and teaching
<v Speaker 6>the kids about spee and neuter and different things for
<v Speaker 6>cats that they would need to know as kids just
<v Speaker 6>growing up in the importance of spe and neuter. So
<v Speaker 6>to me, I didn't really see a lot of children's
<v Speaker 6>education type things at the other conventions I went to.
<v Speaker 6>But to me, that's a big focus.
<v Speaker 2>You know, I think you're right on because how many
<v Speaker 2>times do us as adults learn from kids. Yeah, I'm
<v Speaker 2>not talking just social media or you know, video games
<v Speaker 2>and stuff, but we could actually learn a lot from them,
<v Speaker 2>and I think it's a great opportunity to educate them
<v Speaker 2>about cats and kittens. What about the vibe because a
<v Speaker 2>lot of people listening have not been to a cat
<v Speaker 2>show before, and we hope as many as possible can
<v Speaker 2>make a d Whisker con in Savannah, Georgia. But if
<v Speaker 2>they can't, what can someone who's attending a cat show
<v Speaker 2>for the first time, what can they expect, you know,
<v Speaker 2>the experience to be. And I know you've only been
<v Speaker 2>to a couple You might have talked to other people
<v Speaker 2>that have gone to more, but what is it like
<v Speaker 2>to me?
<v Speaker 6>I'm still feeling the vibe from my last one that
<v Speaker 6>I just went to in October in New Jersey Catsbury Park,
<v Speaker 6>and walking into an event like that for the first
<v Speaker 6>time is kind of like saying, these are my people.
<v Speaker 6>You see everyone around you, they have cattiers on, they're wearing,
<v Speaker 6>you know, clothes with cat designs on them. Everybody's happy
<v Speaker 6>and in a good mood and cheerful and friendly, and
<v Speaker 6>everyone's talking to everyone. I met so many people the
<v Speaker 6>last time I went. That's probably the best part about
<v Speaker 6>this convention so far, all the incredible people that I've met.
<v Speaker 6>It's just a very uplifting experience to be around people
<v Speaker 6>that love something just as much as you do. You know,
<v Speaker 6>you think you love your cat more than anyone can
<v Speaker 6>ever love a cat. But I'm pretty sure you love
<v Speaker 6>your cats the same way I do love mine, and
<v Speaker 6>so it's very very uplifting and fun to be in
<v Speaker 6>a positive environment like that with people that feel the
<v Speaker 6>same way you do.
<v Speaker 2>Okay, thanks. You mentioned one of the hidden gems at
<v Speaker 2>Whisker Con, which is the event that you're putting on
<v Speaker 2>to educate children. Are there any other hidden gems that
<v Speaker 2>first time visitors should look out for?
<v Speaker 5>Well?
<v Speaker 6>To me, I think our little Whiskers Cat Academy is
<v Speaker 6>really going to be a gem. We're trying to make
<v Speaker 6>it really fun for the kids. They'll get a little
<v Speaker 6>lab coat when they come in, they'll get a little
<v Speaker 6>stuff kitty, and they'll learn how to put on bandages
<v Speaker 6>and all different types of fun things with the vet
<v Speaker 6>techs that are putting it on. And then they'll get
<v Speaker 6>a little certificate that they've completed the cat course and
<v Speaker 6>get a little photo taken with the vet tech that's
<v Speaker 6>there with them. To me, I think that's the cutest thing,
<v Speaker 6>one of the cutest things we're doing. And another thing
<v Speaker 6>that we're doing that may be different from other conventions
<v Speaker 6>is we're having a two hour neonatal kitten class with
<v Speaker 6>Hannah Shaw, just to teach more medical type things in
<v Speaker 6>our city. As far as I know, with the just
<v Speaker 6>local rescues, I'm the only person who knows how to
<v Speaker 6>tube feed a kitten, and so I get calls all
<v Speaker 6>the time to take in kittens. And I can't have
<v Speaker 6>twenty bottle babies in my house at once. That's just
<v Speaker 6>too much for my lifestyle. So that's how the whole
<v Speaker 6>thing started, is I needed people to want to learn
<v Speaker 6>how to tube feed, among other things, and that way
<v Speaker 6>I won't be alone out here. I want to help
<v Speaker 6>with education. Some more people can do this, So I
<v Speaker 6>think this class is going to be a diamond for
<v Speaker 6>as far as I'm concerned for this convention.
<v Speaker 2>Okay, I know Hannah Shaw is going to be at
<v Speaker 2>this show. I've had Hannah Shaw on the show, and
<v Speaker 2>I know another guest that you have to be at
<v Speaker 2>your show, Sterling Davis, has also been on Catitude and
<v Speaker 2>they both do amazing work. Ingrid Johnson of Fundamentally Feeline
<v Speaker 2>is a cat behaviorist. I have not had the pleasure
<v Speaker 2>of having her own Catitude, but those are your three guests.
<v Speaker 2>I know why you chose Hannah, but you could tell
<v Speaker 2>me why you chose each of them, and do you
<v Speaker 2>have any other guests that I miss?
<v Speaker 6>Yes, So I started with Hannah because I wanted I
<v Speaker 6>just wanted Hannah to come and help teach people how
<v Speaker 6>to two feed and train people to properly take care
<v Speaker 6>of me and natal kittens. So that was my intention
<v Speaker 6>of starting this, and then it all snowballed into all
<v Speaker 6>of these other speakers coming because it became a bigger event.
<v Speaker 6>I went to an event in Florida I'm Space Cats
<v Speaker 6>and spoke to that event organizer and she said, well,
<v Speaker 6>in order to put this whole thing on and to
<v Speaker 6>have speakers, you're gonna need vendors and that'll help you
<v Speaker 6>pay for that. And so so next thing I know,
<v Speaker 6>I went from Hannahshaw coming to Sterling Davis to come
<v Speaker 6>and talk about the importance of TNR. I think it's
<v Speaker 6>a huge problem in Savannah. There's a lot of old
<v Speaker 6>thinking where they think if you just trap the cats
<v Speaker 6>and take them away, that's going to solve your problem.
<v Speaker 6>Or unfortunately, some people trap them and euthanize them and
<v Speaker 6>that doesn't solve the problem. So I really felt bringing
<v Speaker 6>them here to help educate the public as well as
<v Speaker 6>some of the trappers how to trap cats properly. I've
<v Speaker 6>seen a lot of cats that have not been trapped properly,
<v Speaker 6>left alone in traps for too long, and so we
<v Speaker 6>just want to make sure everyone's learning and doing things
<v Speaker 6>the right way. Ingrid, I wanted to come because, as
<v Speaker 6>Lisa knows, behavior is very very to my heart. I
<v Speaker 6>love cat behavior, and you know, helping cats not develop
<v Speaker 6>behavior problems will also keep them out of shelters. So
<v Speaker 6>many cats are given up because they do have a
<v Speaker 6>behavior issue that most times can be prevented, but people
<v Speaker 6>just don't know what they need. So she'll be talking
<v Speaker 6>about litterboxes and she'll be talking about environmental enrichment. Then
<v Speaker 6>I also have Sally Williams coming from a mission meou
<v Speaker 6>not sure if you know them?
<v Speaker 7>Know them?
<v Speaker 2>Yep?
<v Speaker 6>Yeah, they're incredible nonprofit. They work with business partners and
<v Speaker 6>every month they collect donations from business partners and then
<v Speaker 6>they give out grants to small cat rescues across the country.
<v Speaker 6>And I met her when I went to the convention
<v Speaker 6>in Florida, and she was an incredible person and she
<v Speaker 6>has started a new initiative with Sterling Davis called one
<v Speaker 6>United Paw, and that basically is called that because they
<v Speaker 6>want to collaborate over competition. So you see a lot
<v Speaker 6>of rescues that they don't work with each other, or
<v Speaker 6>this rescue just does this and this one does that too,
<v Speaker 6>but they do it a different way. And so they're
<v Speaker 6>talking about cutting down the drama and just working together,
<v Speaker 6>because we can get so much more done if we
<v Speaker 6>all work together instead of separately. So I thought it
<v Speaker 6>was really important to have them speak about that as well.
<v Speaker 6>I also have another speaker. Her name is Nina Leopold.
<v Speaker 6>She is a behavior consultant in South Carolina in Hilton
<v Speaker 6>Head and I came across her accidentally a couple months ago.
<v Speaker 6>On Facebook. She had this cat Flounder, and Flounder uses
<v Speaker 6>the speech buttons, and the video I watched, she was
<v Speaker 6>showing this cat telling her that there was a leak
<v Speaker 6>in her bathroom. Oh sure enough, she went into the
<v Speaker 6>bathroom and there was a leak. I couldn't believe it
<v Speaker 6>when I saw it myself. I'm new to these buttons.
<v Speaker 6>I didn't know anything about this, and I was just
<v Speaker 6>shocked when I saw how this cat was communicating. And
<v Speaker 6>I really wanted to learn more about it, so I
<v Speaker 6>thought I'd invite her to come talk so we can
<v Speaker 6>learn a little bit more about that. Very interesting. And
<v Speaker 6>then the last person I have talking, she's from a
<v Speaker 6>nonprofit called Traps. It's a new nonprofit in Savannah and
<v Speaker 6>it's fantastic. It helps unite people that have lost their
<v Speaker 6>pets in Savannah. We have a lot of people who
<v Speaker 6>travel here or pass through here on ninety five and
<v Speaker 6>right off the highway there's cats get lost there so often.
<v Speaker 6>And so this you now will help with drones and
<v Speaker 6>cameras and different types of traps for cats and dogs
<v Speaker 6>to help reunite them with their pet parents. So I'm
<v Speaker 6>very excited about that as well.
<v Speaker 2>You have great guests.
<v Speaker 6>Thank you.
<v Speaker 2>It to be a good show, Lisa. You're a veterinary behaviorist,
<v Speaker 2>so from a veterinary behavioris perspective, what should people keep
<v Speaker 2>in mind when visiting a show with you know, meet
<v Speaker 2>and weed cats or maybe therapy cats.
<v Speaker 5>Yeah, so you know Katie's show Whisker Con is different.
<v Speaker 5>It's educational, but I think a lot of pet parents
<v Speaker 5>want to go to shows where they're going to see cats,
<v Speaker 5>and so what I would ask them to do is
<v Speaker 5>be a little critical or maybe a little objective might
<v Speaker 5>be a better word. So educate yourself first on cat
<v Speaker 5>body language. And we know from the studies at least
<v Speaker 5>done in dogs, that pet parents, even really experience, pet
<v Speaker 5>parents aren't able to read body language as well as
<v Speaker 5>we would like them to be able to. So you
<v Speaker 5>can go to my YouTube channel, but a better spot
<v Speaker 5>than my than my channel would be to go to
<v Speaker 5>Better C B A T T E R S e A.
<v Speaker 5>They've got a really nice cat body language section of
<v Speaker 5>their website. They're in the UK, so you know, I
<v Speaker 5>encourage people to kind of educate themselves first, and then
<v Speaker 5>when you go to the show, it's very tempting because
<v Speaker 5>the cats are gorgeous, right, and who doesn't want to
<v Speaker 5>pad a cat? But step back and look at the
<v Speaker 5>body language and see if you can see is that
<v Speaker 5>cat really comfortable? Because often the person handling the cat
<v Speaker 5>will say he's fine, he's fine, right, you see this
<v Speaker 5>this at dog shows to you by the way, and
<v Speaker 5>you might step back and go, gosh, that cat looks
<v Speaker 5>really uncomfortable. His tail is thumping, or his head's turned
<v Speaker 5>away and he will not look directly at me or
<v Speaker 5>his pupils are really round. Cat pupils should be like
<v Speaker 5>slits or almonds. So you know, educate yourself and really
<v Speaker 5>be objective when you go to these shows, and you
<v Speaker 5>will learn a hunt about cat behavior.
<v Speaker 2>You know, you bring up some good points about behavior.
<v Speaker 2>And one of my favorites where it goes to in
<v Speaker 2>my head is I've I've attended. Now this is a
<v Speaker 2>little different, of course Global Pet Expo, but it was
<v Speaker 2>actually from a service dog. Now, I know there's service cats,
<v Speaker 2>but you know you shouldn't pet them, and I was
<v Speaker 2>interviewing someone who had a service dog in this case,
<v Speaker 2>I said, your dog's beautiful, but I'm not going to
<v Speaker 2>touch him because I know you know better than that,
<v Speaker 2>and he said, thank you. He goes. You'd be surprised
<v Speaker 2>how many parents will go ahead and pet my dog
<v Speaker 2>or try to bet my dog and tell the kids
<v Speaker 2>you're not supposed to pet the dog, and then go
<v Speaker 2>ahead and touch them. Because people can come with their
<v Speaker 2>feline friends, their feline companions, right, and some might have
<v Speaker 2>therapy cats with them.
<v Speaker 6>Exactly, It just depends ours won't have cats at ours.
<v Speaker 6>But I did see exactly what Lisa was just talking
<v Speaker 6>about at another convention I was at. The cat was
<v Speaker 6>looking away, would it make eye contact? The eyes were dilated,
<v Speaker 6>and I'm like, oh my gosh, like put that cat
<v Speaker 6>back in the carrier, Like it's just too much. Sometimes
<v Speaker 6>I feel like sometimes the pet parents of these cats
<v Speaker 6>that they're bringing around need to be a little bit
<v Speaker 6>more educated on how that cat is actually feeling in
<v Speaker 6>that moment and not what they want.
<v Speaker 2>Okay, thank you, We're going to take a quick break
<v Speaker 2>and we'll be right back.
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<v Speaker 2>Welcome back everyone. We're talking to Katie and Lisa. Katie
<v Speaker 2>is the show organizer of Whisker con and Savannah Georgia.
<v Speaker 2>But we're also talking with Lisa, who's a veterinary behaviorist,
<v Speaker 2>and we're talking to about you know, if you can't
<v Speaker 2>make it to whisker com Savannah Georgia, Hey you're gonna
<v Speaker 2>miss out, but please check out you know cat shows
<v Speaker 2>in your area. So, Kaiti, what would you say the
<v Speaker 2>core mission or purpose behind whisker Con is and maybe
<v Speaker 2>other similar p line events.
<v Speaker 6>Well, I can speak to ours, and the purpose is
<v Speaker 6>to just reduce the amount of cats that are entering
<v Speaker 6>shelters and rescues. If we can work with TNR and
<v Speaker 6>reduce the feral cat population, that'll reduce the number of
<v Speaker 6>neonaedal kittens that I need to take care of. Spain
<v Speaker 6>Hooter information really isn't out there like you think it is.
<v Speaker 6>I've seen on my island social media pages the people
<v Speaker 6>will take they'll have a cat, it gets pregnant, and
<v Speaker 6>they give all the kittens away and nobody gets fixed,
<v Speaker 6>nobody gets their shots. And so I really want to
<v Speaker 6>try to reduce the population of people giving kittens out
<v Speaker 6>like that. If they fix them first, by working with
<v Speaker 6>the rescue and letting the rescue take care of that
<v Speaker 6>for them, I think it would really help drastically reduce
<v Speaker 6>the population of cats in Savannah.
<v Speaker 2>Okay, thanks. How do these shows support the local rescues,
<v Speaker 2>the small businesses in the broader cat community?
<v Speaker 6>So for our local rescues are all being invited to
<v Speaker 6>the show. So I didn't see that at the other
<v Speaker 6>shows that I've been to, maybe one rescue or two.
<v Speaker 6>I've invited all our local rescues to be represented in
<v Speaker 6>Hairbell Hallway, and I just wanted to give them opportunity
<v Speaker 6>to reach out to the public because they're all in
<v Speaker 6>different areas of the city. Savannah is a big area,
<v Speaker 6>so I just wanted them to have the opportunity. And
<v Speaker 6>the small business owners are very excited about it. We
<v Speaker 6>have a lot of vendors that are coming. We have
<v Speaker 6>small businesses that have donated things to us and they're
<v Speaker 6>going to get marketing benefits from us. And we're also
<v Speaker 6>doing interviews for social media with different businesses in Savannah
<v Speaker 6>that have shopcats. So I think it's going to be
<v Speaker 6>a really great boost for everyone in the area.
<v Speaker 2>I think so too. Do you hope for long term
<v Speaker 2>benefits such as more cat adoptions? Definitely, there's going to
<v Speaker 2>be more education or maybe stronger community engagement among the
<v Speaker 2>pat community. Is that one of your goals?
<v Speaker 6>Absolutely, I definitely want the community to be more involved.
<v Speaker 6>When I move tear it was still kind of difficult
<v Speaker 6>to do TNR, So things have really been changing. Savannah
<v Speaker 6>has a large court and there's tons of cats there
<v Speaker 6>and since I moved here, we have been trying and
<v Speaker 6>trying and trying to get them to allow TNR and
<v Speaker 6>they really didn't understand until finally we got a new
<v Speaker 6>person in charge there. We explained how TNR works and
<v Speaker 6>why it works, and they finally for the first time,
<v Speaker 6>have allowed a local feral cat rescue to go in
<v Speaker 6>and trap cats on the port. So I really feel
<v Speaker 6>like this is going to help educate people and help
<v Speaker 6>reduce the amount of cats that we have. Another long
<v Speaker 6>term impact that's important to me is for the local
<v Speaker 6>people that do foster neonatal kittens to learn how to
<v Speaker 6>do it properly.
<v Speaker 2>Yes, I think those are first of all, great job
<v Speaker 2>on the port getting them to T and R and
<v Speaker 2>then neonatal kittens that we don't have time to get
<v Speaker 2>into all that, but it is way more intense than
<v Speaker 2>just bottle feeding a little kitten and going to sleep
<v Speaker 2>in that. It's a huge procedure.
<v Speaker 8>It is.
<v Speaker 6>It is, but we have a lot of people to.
<v Speaker 2>Do it right. There's not a lot, and I know
<v Speaker 2>Hannah Shaw has done a lot to promote that, but
<v Speaker 2>you're doing so much to also promote it, and I
<v Speaker 2>hope you get a lot of other helpers in your
<v Speaker 2>area for Thank you, and thank you for educating them.
<v Speaker 2>Thank you in advance. Lisa from your professional view, how
<v Speaker 2>do you think cat shows help improve awareness of feline
<v Speaker 2>health here and welfare to the community and probably to
<v Speaker 2>the maybe some of the veterinary hospitals in the area.
<v Speaker 5>Yeah, so I think that the way Whisker Con is headed,
<v Speaker 5>which is a cat show that's about education and not
<v Speaker 5>about showing off let's say a certain breed or several breeds,
<v Speaker 5>et cetera, That is where I'd like to see pet
<v Speaker 5>parents go. I think that is our opportunity to change
<v Speaker 5>the way cats are treated in their pet homes and
<v Speaker 5>to change the pet parents' kind of knowledge of who
<v Speaker 5>their cats are and what their cats need. Because you
<v Speaker 5>and I have talked previously about what I think is
<v Speaker 5>kind of the biggest challenge we have as pet parents
<v Speaker 5>and as veterinary professionals is the difference between pet parent
<v Speaker 5>wants and cat needs. And I think when we go
<v Speaker 5>to a cat show where there's all these different breeds,
<v Speaker 5>it's romanticized. Who doesn't want a main coon for God's sake,
<v Speaker 5>they're gorgeous, right, But who's talking about the help and
<v Speaker 5>welfare of that cat and what that cat really needs
<v Speaker 5>to have the best life for the next twenty years
<v Speaker 5>And I'd like to see pet parents blocking to educational
<v Speaker 5>resources that are also fun, like they're doing at Whisker Con,
<v Speaker 5>so that they will come home with the knowledge to
<v Speaker 5>improve the lives of their pets that are already in
<v Speaker 5>their home.
<v Speaker 2>And think you kind of answered this question. But I've
<v Speaker 2>had people that I've talked to and they thought, you know,
<v Speaker 2>a cat evan like Whisker Con. Cat Con was mostly, oh,
<v Speaker 2>people dress up their cats and walk around, and so
<v Speaker 2>that's what I've heard from people that have not gone
<v Speaker 2>to a lot of cat shows or maybe went to one,
<v Speaker 2>that that's what that was about.
<v Speaker 6>Yeah, I mean, I feel like they're each different in
<v Speaker 6>their own way. I think they all have different focuses
<v Speaker 6>and you won't see cats at ours, so ours is
<v Speaker 6>going to be a little different in that way as well.
<v Speaker 5>Well, I can say this, I think that some pet
<v Speaker 5>parents are going to go. Some pet parents are going
<v Speaker 5>to be excited. These are my people, Like Katie said,
<v Speaker 5>some pet parents are going to go. I don't need
<v Speaker 5>to do that. I already know about cats. Why wouldn't
<v Speaker 5>I want to go to a cat ship like instead
<v Speaker 5>of going to learn about cats because I know about
<v Speaker 5>cat That's the greatest misconception is that you think you
<v Speaker 5>know more than you do. You know, we don't know
<v Speaker 5>what we don't know. And I, as a bored in
<v Speaker 5>veterinary behaviors for you know, decades, I'm still learning from
<v Speaker 5>my own cat and from the pet parents that bring
<v Speaker 5>their cats to me. You don't know at all about
<v Speaker 5>your cat, even if you're a true cat lover, and
<v Speaker 5>this is the opportunity to dig deep and to learn
<v Speaker 5>about your kitty, to increase that bond, and to come
<v Speaker 5>home with kind of a new respect and knowledge for
<v Speaker 5>what cats are.
<v Speaker 2>I couldn't agree with you more. I've had the pleasure
<v Speaker 2>of speaking to probably about three hundred cat professionals over
<v Speaker 2>the years, and I still learn about cats all the time.
<v Speaker 2>I'd like to keep that open mind with everything, because
<v Speaker 2>you know, not just cats. It's served me well and
<v Speaker 2>I try to keep that mindset. But absolutely agree with you. Okay, So,
<v Speaker 2>Katie and Lisa, what changes have you both seen in
<v Speaker 2>the cat world over the last few years that make
<v Speaker 2>events like this more important than ever?
<v Speaker 6>So what I've seen is a lot lot more on
<v Speaker 6>social media as far as enrichment items and like helping
<v Speaker 6>cats how to scratch properly, or giving cat grass for
<v Speaker 6>the cats that are living inside and don't go outside.
<v Speaker 6>I just feel like social media's really really taught people
<v Speaker 6>a lot more than they ever realized. Years ago, I
<v Speaker 6>would hear people would go out of town and leave
<v Speaker 6>their cat home alone for the entire weekend. And now
<v Speaker 6>I think with all of the information out there on
<v Speaker 6>social media and learning about all the different things that
<v Speaker 6>cats really need. They're not animals that you just lock
<v Speaker 6>up and play with them when you feel like they
<v Speaker 6>need things, and I think people are really starting to
<v Speaker 6>learn more about that. The more people that talk on
<v Speaker 6>social media about enrichment and behavior and things like that,
<v Speaker 6>it's very getting out there. A lot more people are
<v Speaker 6>understanding more.
<v Speaker 5>Yeah, I would agree with Katie, and I would piggyback
<v Speaker 5>on that that companies that make things for animals have
<v Speaker 5>realized that cats are really important. And you know, ten
<v Speaker 5>years ago I had this little short list of things
<v Speaker 5>that I could tell clients to purchase for their cats.
<v Speaker 5>Now my list is so long. There are so many
<v Speaker 5>opportunities to purchase great toys and to entertain your cat.
<v Speaker 5>And you can put shelves on your wall and hammocks
<v Speaker 5>that are near the window. There's just everything, and so
<v Speaker 5>our cats have a lot of opportunities to live better
<v Speaker 5>lives now because companies are realizing that the people that
<v Speaker 5>love cats are more than happy to buy the things
<v Speaker 5>that will help their cats be happy or just like
<v Speaker 5>dog pite parents are way point.
<v Speaker 2>I absolutely agree. On my other show, it to a
<v Speaker 2>product show, Best Bets for Pats, and we would have
<v Speaker 2>products and every time we talk, I said, well, you
<v Speaker 2>talked about this for dogs, when's the cat version coming out?
<v Speaker 2>And they'd say, ah, you know what, we have to
<v Speaker 2>start thinking that way.
<v Speaker 5>Yeah, dogs are not hard to entertain cats. You know,
<v Speaker 5>I buy more for my cat than for you know,
<v Speaker 5>when my dog he passed away, but when he was
<v Speaker 5>with us, because the cat is so smart that you
<v Speaker 5>cannot just put a box of toys in front of him.
<v Speaker 5>You have to be thinking what does he want today?
<v Speaker 5>How is today different? Whereas I could put a box
<v Speaker 5>of squeakies in front of my dog and he'd carry
<v Speaker 5>the same squeaky God love him for you know a decade,
<v Speaker 5>and you really have to try to outthink cats, and
<v Speaker 5>so I buy a lot a lot of different things
<v Speaker 5>for him.
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, okay, thank you. If you were each to give
<v Speaker 2>one piece of advice to someone attending Whisker Con, what
<v Speaker 2>would you tell them?
<v Speaker 6>Well, I would say plan it like a trip. There's
<v Speaker 6>so many things and it's very easy to miss things there.
<v Speaker 6>I would make sure I knew all of the vendors,
<v Speaker 6>all the speakers, Where are they speaking, when are they speaking.
<v Speaker 6>Sometimes there's multiple rooms with multiple things going on at
<v Speaker 6>the same time. So I would look at the schedule
<v Speaker 6>and I would make a plan, and I would also
<v Speaker 6>save some money because there's a lot of really cool
<v Speaker 6>things to get for your cats when you go to
<v Speaker 6>these types of conventions.
<v Speaker 2>Katie, where can people find out more about Whisker Con
<v Speaker 2>in Savannah, Georgia? And when is it?
<v Speaker 6>It's Valentine's Weekend, Saturday and Sunday and you can just
<v Speaker 6>go to Whisker Con Savannah on either Instagram or Facebook.
<v Speaker 2>Okay, thanks Lisa. Do you have any advice you would
<v Speaker 2>give someone tending the Whisker Con in Savannah, Georgia.
<v Speaker 5>Yeah, I'm going to steal from you, Michelle. I agree
<v Speaker 5>with you, but I'm going to recognize I'm stealing. Peam.
<v Speaker 5>You come with an open mind because for those of
<v Speaker 5>us that have had I've had cats since I was
<v Speaker 5>what like seven years old? Okay, so it's easy to
<v Speaker 5>walk into that and go, she's wrong, she's wrong, that
<v Speaker 5>guy's wrong. Come in with that really curious child's mind.
<v Speaker 5>Because my goal for people that go to Whisker Con
<v Speaker 5>is to come out knowing more than when they came,
<v Speaker 5>so that they're cats and the cats are the people
<v Speaker 5>they know right, will have happier, more fulfilled lives.
<v Speaker 2>And that is my last question. They say, you just
<v Speaker 2>gave me your answer. I wanted to ask you, what
<v Speaker 2>do you hope every visitor walks away with after attending
<v Speaker 2>Whisker Con. So I guess you're psychic to Lisa, because
<v Speaker 2>why would you say, Lisa, as far as you know,
<v Speaker 2>if there's something that every visitor takes away, what would
<v Speaker 2>you want it to be once they leave Whisker Con.
<v Speaker 2>Besides coming back next year.
<v Speaker 5>Yes, of course coming back next year. The one thing
<v Speaker 5>I would want them to take away is a little inspiration.
<v Speaker 5>How can they help the kid that don't have homes?
<v Speaker 5>The kiddies that don't have homes are there everywhere, and
<v Speaker 5>it's not just Savannah. It's in your own neighborhood and
<v Speaker 5>it's in your community. And there's so many cats that
<v Speaker 5>need help, and people still believe that you can cut
<v Speaker 5>a cat loose and just put it out and it'll survive, right,
<v Speaker 5>So I hope they come away inspired. What can you
<v Speaker 5>do in your neighborhood. Maybe you cannot be Katie Cohen
<v Speaker 5>and you can't be Twobe feeding kittens, right, but what
<v Speaker 5>can you do to help the cat that don't have anybody?
<v Speaker 2>Okay, thank you? What would you tell them, Kate? What
<v Speaker 2>do you hope every visitor walks away with after attending
<v Speaker 2>Whisker Con.
<v Speaker 6>I hope the first thing they think is Wow, that
<v Speaker 6>was amazing, and then I hope that it inspires them
<v Speaker 6>to get involved. Kind of like what Lisa was saying,
<v Speaker 6>but I would love for them to get involved with
<v Speaker 6>the rescue. There's so many different ways. You don't have
<v Speaker 6>to foster. You can drive supplies. We have a program
<v Speaker 6>where we have a pet food bank and we drive
<v Speaker 6>supplies to people that need supplies for their pets. I mean,
<v Speaker 6>there's so many I just really hope that people learn
<v Speaker 6>a lot more, they're more educated, and they're more likely
<v Speaker 6>to get involved and want to help out our community.
<v Speaker 2>Okay, thank you so much, Lison Katie for coming on Catitude,
<v Speaker 2>Katie one more time. Where can people find out more
<v Speaker 2>the website They.
<v Speaker 6>Can go to Whisker Con Savannah on either Instagram or Facebook.
<v Speaker 2>Okay, thank you so much. I know this show is
<v Speaker 2>going to be fantastic, So again, thank you both for
<v Speaker 2>coming on Catitude.
<v Speaker 6>Thank you so much for having me.
<v Speaker 7>Thank you.
<v Speaker 2>I hope everyone listening enjoyed the show. I mean all
<v Speaker 2>of us cut levers. We love our cats and went
<v Speaker 2>better to go to a cat show and find out more,
<v Speaker 2>especially Whisker Con. This is going to be a different
<v Speaker 2>type of show, and I think you're gonna, you know,
<v Speaker 2>if you're able to make it to Savannah, Georgia Valentine's
<v Speaker 2>Day weekend. By the way, it's a romantic kind of
<v Speaker 2>play Savannah, so to highly recommend it for you know,
<v Speaker 2>just for anyone. It's a great way to treat yourself
<v Speaker 2>for Valentine's Day weekend. Anyway, It's Whisker Con Savannah Valentinednesday weekend,
<v Speaker 2>twenty twenty six. I would like to thank doctor Lisa
<v Speaker 2>Radosta as well as Katie Cohen for coming on Catatude
<v Speaker 2>and telling us all about Whisker Con. Thanks to my
<v Speaker 2>cat crew, Dennis, Charlotte and Molly. They continue to teach
<v Speaker 2>me about cats every single day and I am getting
<v Speaker 2>better all the time, always more I could learn. Thank
<v Speaker 2>you to listeners of Cataitude. I appreciate you being so
<v Speaker 2>loyal all over the years. Thank you for your listenership.
<v Speaker 2>And of course the show would not be the same
<v Speaker 2>without the magic of my producer. Thank you so much
<v Speaker 2>Mark Winter for all you do. Editing is not easy
<v Speaker 2>and he is a master, So thank you Mark and
<v Speaker 2>Hey remember lose the attitude, have Catitude.
<v Speaker 4>Let's Talk bets every week on demand only on petlfradio
<v Speaker 4>dot Com
<v Speaker 7>And