Do our cats really love being held and loved and squeezed and kissed? Find out in this episode of 6 Degrees of Cats, the world's #1 (and only) cat-themed culture, history and science podcast. With the help of two certified cat behaviorists and a reproduction and sexuality educator, we apply a popular contemporary human psychology construct to investigate how cats experience, and express, affection and love.
Feline training and behavior pro Jennifer van de Kieft offers insights into how cats communicate their feelings and preferences, while reproductive and sexual health educator Jade F. Hillery, M.P.H., provides context for the five love languages. To round out the conversation, cat cognition researcher Kristyn Vitale, Ph.D., weighs in on what the media gets right - and wrong - about cats' affection for humans.
Support the podcast, sign up for The Captain’s Log, the companion podcast newsletter and learn about way$ to help keep this ship afloat for our next season here: linktr.ee/6degreesofcats.
About the experts:
- Jade F. Hillery, MPH, CD (DTI), is a reproductive and sexual health trainer and educator, full spectrum doula, and sensual movement instructor. She works to support other trainers and educators in creating intentional learning spaces; promote healing through sensual movement; and help people tap into their own power. She is also a board member for Aaliyah in Action and a co-host of The Good Black Podcast.
- Jennifer van de Kieft is a Certified Advanced Feline Training and Behavior Professional and Pet Nutrition Coach. She is experienced in science driven strategies and solutions to address problem behavior and is the owner of Cat Advocate LLC.
- Kristyn Vitale, Ph.D., is the founder of Maueyes and star of Netflix’s hit feature film, “The Mind of a Cat”. Her innovative research on cat behavior and human-animal interaction has been published in multiple peer-reviewed journals and been covered by such international publications as Science, National Geographic, The New York Times, and The Times of London.
Producer, writer, editor, sound designer, host, basically everything*
- Captain Kitty (Amanda B.)
* with co-executive producers Binky & Snuggles
Animal voices include:
- Binky & Snuggles _^..^_
Opening and closing credits:
- Leathered: "Look Alive" (c) 2022
- Samples licensed via Loopcloud
- Additional sound effects from Pixabay.com
Logo design:
- Edward Anthony © 2024 (Instagram: @itsmyunzii)
Research cited:
- Chapman, G. D. (2010). The five love languages. Walker Large Print.
- Gupta, A. H., & Mazón, L. (2022, August 27). The Sixth Love Language does not exist. The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/27/well/family/love-languages-author.html
- Peterson, E. (2013, March 29). Why do cats bring home dead animals? LiveScience. Retrieved from https://www.livescience.com/34471-cats-dead-animals.html
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