Cat Talk Radio

When you meet a cat in a shelter, you're not meeting their personality—you're meeting their stress response.
In this special episode of Cat Talk Radio, Molly DeVoss and Dewey Vaughn step aside and let a shelter cat named Whiskers tell the story. Through first-person storytelling and behavior science, we explore what shelter cats are really communicating when they hide, hiss, freeze, or seem "unfriendly."
This episode pulls back the curtain on:
Why shelter behavior is situational, not permanent
How stress and fear alter a cat's nervous system
What adopters often misunderstand—and how to see cats more clearly
Why patience, not pressure, reveals who a cat truly is
If you've ever wondered why a shelter cat didn't "connect" with you—or how to better understand cats in transition—this episode is for you.

Do cats think we're in charge—or do they think we're just really weird-looking cats?
In this episode of Cat Talk Radio, Molly DeVoss and Dewey Vaughn dive into groundbreaking research by biologist John Bradshaw, author of Cat Sense, revealing that cats don't see humans as authority figures at all. Instead, they treat us as conspecifics—members of their own species.
We break down the cat behaviors that support this theory, including slow blinking, head bunting, kneading, play aggression, and why cats don't "obey" commands the way dogs might. We also address modern dog training science, explaining why dominance-based models miss the mark—and why understanding your cat's evolutionary history is the key to better behavior, deeper trust, and a stronger bond.
If you've ever wondered why your cat ignores you, interrupts your Zoom calls, or sleeps on your keyboard, this episode will finally make it all make sense.

What do cats actually remember — and for how long?
In this episode of Cat Talk Radio, Molly DeVoss and Dewey Vaughn unpack the science behind feline memory and learning. From emotionally charged experiences and routines to food locations, handling, and familiar people, cats remember far more than we often realize — just not the way humans do.
You'll learn:
Why fear-based memories can last months or even a lifetime
How cats remember people through scent, voice, and routine
Why punishment backfires and reinforces the wrong memories
How understanding memory helps you change behavior compassionately
If you've ever wondered whether your cat is "holding a grudge," panics at the carrier, or wakes you up at the same time every morning — this episode explains why.

Essential oils, protein powders, supplements, hair ties, yoga straps, weighted blankets—what do these have in common? They're all part of modern wellness routines… and all can pose serious, often overlooked risks to cats.
In this episode of Cat Talk Radio, Certified Cat Behavior Specialist Molly DeVoss and co-host Dewey Vaughn unpack the hidden dangers lurking in "healthy" habits. You'll learn why cats are uniquely vulnerable to everyday wellness products, which items are most likely to cause emergencies, and how to cat-proof your routines without giving up self-care.
If you've ever thought, "It's natural, so it must be safe," this episode may change how you see your home—and your cat—forever.

This week on Cat Talk Radio, Molly DeVoss, Certified Cat Behavior Specialist, and Dewey Vaughn dive into one of the hottest and most controversial emerging topics in veterinary medicine: GLP-1 weight-loss drugs for cats. With early studies like the MEOW-1 trial underway, some researchers hope these medications could help reverse obesity and even prevent diabetes — a condition that leads far too many cat guardians to choose euthanasia due to cost or treatment difficulty.
But here's the truth: no drug can out-perform an unchanged lifestyle. Molly and Dewey break down the science behind GLP-1 drugs, why cats gain weight in the first place, how owners unintentionally sabotage progress, and what must happen after the medication wears off to prevent rebound weight gain. This episode is an honest, practical, behavior-centered guide to understanding the promise — and the limits — of GLP-1 treatments for pets.