Yes, Nonprofits Can Be Fun! Guests Play, Relax and Purr at Cute and Quirky Tail Town Cat Café Lounge Filled with Adoption-Ready Rescue Kitties
What a purr-fect idea! Michelle Fern chats cats with Gwendolyn Mathers, executive director of Tail Town Cats, operator of Tail Town Cat Café and Adoption Center. Pasadena-based Tail Town Cats has been recognized as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit charity for their work involving cat and kitten adoption, prevention of cruelty to animals and public education surrounding animal welfare. Tail Town opened with the modest goal to connect foster cats with adopters in an open-air environment, but it’s grown into something that’s truly special: fun, wonderful, quirky and wild that brings an unexpected twist into what is found at other cat cafes.
Listen to Episode #238 Now:
"Tail Town has grown into something that’s truly special: fun, wonderful, quirky and wild that brings an unexpected twist into what is found at other cat cafes" - Gwendolyn Mathers
BIO:
As acting executive director of Tail Town Cats, Gwendolyn Mathers oversees operational and financial activities for the nonprofit 501(c)(3) charity. The organization runs Tail Town Cat Café and Adoption Center in Pasadena, and Mathers works closely with founder Carol Warren to guide and manage the location's day-to-day activities. Mathers is involved in partnerships with other rescue organizations, volunteer staff activities relating to cat and kitten care, adoption flow and resident health. She is also responsible for driving overall profitability, developing and establishing budgets, and creative event ideation to support brand development.
Mathers joined Tail Town as a volunteer in September 2021 to oversee curated intake for the growing facility, connecting with local Los Angeles fosters to find cats that would not only coexist with others but really thrive and play in the big, fun cat café space. Mathers has more than 10 years of experience locally with Kitten Rescue as a foster raising kittens and cats for adoption as well as participating in TNR (Trap-Neuter-Return) activities to humanely and effectively address community and unowned cat population. Through her work Mathers has become deeply in-tune with feral cat behavior, feline socialization, medical issues and adoption best practices.
For the past decade and a half Mathers has also worked as a professional vegan chef known as Miss Kitchen Witch, and is a recognized expert in plant-based pastries and desserts. Over the years she has worked with restaurants, catering companies, private clients and on large-scale feature film productions as a chef and plant-based consultant. This career path stemmed from her education and early work in environmental policy, nonprofit management and farmed animal rights.
Transcript:
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Announcer: This is Pet Life Radio.
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Gwendolyn Mathers: Let's talk pets.
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Michelle Fern: Hello, cat lovers, welcome to Cattitude.
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Michelle Fern: I'm your show host, Michelle Fern.
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Michelle Fern: So, we're gonna talk about something that you might have heard of, or maybe not.
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Michelle Fern: Cat Cafes, one in particular that went on to become a non-profit, and we're gonna talk all about cat cafes, and if you've never been to one, this might answer your questions.
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Michelle Fern: It's gonna be a lot of fun.
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Michelle Fern: Stick around, we'll be right back.
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Michelle Fern: Hey, Michelle Fern here, and you know, saving cats is near and dear to my heart.
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Michelle Fern: Did you know that there is an estimated 70 to 100 million free roaming cats in the United States?
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Michelle Fern: And without spay neuter, that number will keep growing.
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Michelle Fern: Not only does spay neuter mainly reduce the community cat population, but it also keeps cats healthier.
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Michelle Fern: Scooter, the neutered cat, is on a mission to give cats an extra life by making it hip to be sniffed.
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Michelle Fern: Visit his website, givethemten.org, to help pioneer a better world for cats.
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Michelle Fern: That's GiveThemTen, spelled out, T-E-N, dot org.
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Announcer: Let's Talk Pets, on petliferadio.com.
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Michelle Fern: Welcome back, everyone.
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Michelle Fern: I'd like to welcome Gwendolyn Mathers.
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Michelle Fern: She is the Executive Director of Tail Town Cats.
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Michelle Fern: Welcome, Gwendolyn.
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Gwendolyn Mathers: Hi, thank you for having me.
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Michelle Fern: I'm so excited to have you.
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Michelle Fern: So what exactly is Tail Town Cats?
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Michelle Fern: I know it's a cat cafe, and not all of us are fortunate enough to have one in our neighborhood or nearby.
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Michelle Fern: So some people have heard of them, some people have not a clue what we're talking about.
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Gwendolyn Mathers: Sure, so cat cafes were started in Taiwan and then Japan, and they started as just a place of business.
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Gwendolyn Mathers: It could be a restaurant, could be a bar where cats lived, and people could come and interact with them because of their small living situations.
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Gwendolyn Mathers: They couldn't always have animals at home, so they could go and interact with cats and have a nice time.
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Gwendolyn Mathers: But the cats weren't up for adoption, they just lived there permanently.
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Gwendolyn Mathers: They got popular and spread to the US, and of course, we're always trying to think of ways with pet overpopulation to try and get animals into homes.
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Gwendolyn Mathers: So they became a way for rescues to let people in and interact with cats more or act as, like we are, kind of a large scale foster.
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Gwendolyn Mathers: Our Tail Town was started as a private business.
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Gwendolyn Mathers: Our founder, Carol, started it as a project with her daughter.
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Gwendolyn Mathers: They were really inspired by these cat cafes.
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Gwendolyn Mathers: They were adopters through our partner, Kitten Rescue of Los Angeles.
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Gwendolyn Mathers: They had fostered and adopted from them.
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Gwendolyn Mathers: And they thought, well, we could keep getting more kitties.
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Gwendolyn Mathers: We could have all the kitties and show people, like let them come in, interact with the cats.
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Gwendolyn Mathers: It's a big space.
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Gwendolyn Mathers: It's a 2,000 square foot space.
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Gwendolyn Mathers: You can come in, you can play, you can cuddle.
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Gwendolyn Mathers: There's over 200 cat cafes now in the United States, almost in every state, pretty much in every metropolitan area, predominantly rescue-based.
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Gwendolyn Mathers: I came in as a volunteer through Kitten Rescue, working with Carol to do a little bit of curating with the kitties just to make sure that we kept a nice dynamic between all the cats.
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Gwendolyn Mathers: We went from when Carol was running at 16 cats in the lounge to now 40 cats in the lounge.
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Gwendolyn Mathers: So we have a really nice dynamic.
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Gwendolyn Mathers: The cats are all super friendly, but I've helped come into the organization and turn it into, as you said, a non-profit 501c3 charity now.
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Michelle Fern: Okay, your location is 2000 square feet, but the cafe is smaller.
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Gwendolyn Mathers: Right, we do have a lobby space where you come in and check in, but that takes up a very small footprint.
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Gwendolyn Mathers: So our lounge space is most of the building.
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Michelle Fern: Okay, and what's so important about changing to a 501c3, a non-profit?
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Gwendolyn Mathers: So it's really important for us because it opens up avenues for volunteer outreach, for grants, obviously, sponsorships with corporations, companies and programs that can help invest back into the space, giving back into the cats and keeping us running.
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Gwendolyn Mathers: When, you know, adoptions through kitten season, they wane and we want to be able to keep afloat when things are up and down and people aren't just coming in to adopt.
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Gwendolyn Mathers: But we see that adoptions aren't a huge portion of our attendance, that we have this new angle on things.
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Gwendolyn Mathers: Of course, our mission is to break cats out of shelter canals, get them off the street into loving homes.
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Gwendolyn Mathers: But kitten rescue helps us get them adoption ready and vetted.
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Gwendolyn Mathers: But people get to come in and they get to see the cats interact with the cats.
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Gwendolyn Mathers: But we're also doing a little bit of socialization too, because we're also one of the only cat cafes that allows you to actually hold and pick up our cats.
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Gwendolyn Mathers: So it's no longer like kind of a spectator sport of going to a cat cafe and just sitting and watching the cats play.
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Gwendolyn Mathers: Like you get to actually physically interact with the kitties and that is so important for them.
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Gwendolyn Mathers: And the cats are now so people-orientated.
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Gwendolyn Mathers: They like swarm when you come in and you sit down and people are always so amazed and they always leave like, I've been to so many cat cafes and these are the friendliest cats I've ever seen.
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Gwendolyn Mathers: What do you do to these cats?
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Gwendolyn Mathers: What's going on?
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Gwendolyn Mathers: We're like, just because cats give you back what you put in, then they give that back to you.
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Gwendolyn Mathers: That this engagement keeps them like so connected to humans.
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Gwendolyn Mathers: So instead of just focusing on, of course adoptions are the goal, goodbye is the goal, getting them into homes, but making sure the adopters are educated and informed and set up for a really healthy life with the kitties.
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Gwendolyn Mathers: But since that portion of attendance is not always going to be consistent, depending on the time of year, we wanted to expand to other ways to keep people coming in and meeting and interacting with our cats.
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Michelle Fern: We're gonna get to that because you have a lot of fun events and different things, but you talked about socialization.
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Gwendolyn Mathers: Yeah.
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Michelle Fern: That is so important because from experience and people that listen to Cattitude have heard about my cat crew, so they're all rescues.
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Michelle Fern: Molly was actually born right outside my house.
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Michelle Fern: She was from a feral kitten mama, and I thought I picked her up a lot.
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Michelle Fern: We tried to pick her up as much as possible.
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Michelle Fern: She had a brother and a sister, so it was a litter of three, but apparently not enough because she does not like to be held.
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Michelle Fern: She's social, but she does not like to be held, and I feel like we're missing out and she's missing out.
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Michelle Fern: So the socialization is so good and it's also probably a benefit because if you bring a socialized cat into your home, chances are they're going to get along with existing cats.
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Michelle Fern: Not always, but probably a good chance.
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Gwendolyn Mathers: Definitely.
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Gwendolyn Mathers: Most of the people who come in to adopt a second or sometimes third cat, it makes the transition so much easier because these cats, they speak the language.
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Gwendolyn Mathers: It's not putting two cats that have never spoken cat to each other.
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Gwendolyn Mathers: We have cats that have developed on their own or were adopted very young and developed a little bit of single kitten syndrome.
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Gwendolyn Mathers: That's when they don't learn good kitty social cues and they end up being a little too energetic or redirecting their energy in kind of negative ways, going after hands and ankles, or being a little too rough with other cats.
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Gwendolyn Mathers: Our kitties kind of go in, experiencing a whole spectrum of cattitude and personalities and people.
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Gwendolyn Mathers: And so, like you said, there's always going to be an outlier, like your baby of kitties who maybe don't like to be picked up because, and we talk to guests when they come in, we go through a couple little house rules that it is all about permission and boundaries.
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Gwendolyn Mathers: If a cat doesn't want to be picked up, they might not be in a great mood that day, or maybe they just got into a little play tussle or they're overstimulated from playing too much that day that we're like, you know, we show them the cues and if a kitty doesn't want to be held, let them come to you.
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Gwendolyn Mathers: But a lot of cats don't ask permission of the people.
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Gwendolyn Mathers: And we definitely, we even have some kitties in our lounge who are shoulder surfers is what we call it.
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Gwendolyn Mathers: Oh wow.
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Gwendolyn Mathers: Someone will walk in and a cat will just jump on their back without even asking.
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Michelle Fern: Oh wow.
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Gwendolyn Mathers: So everybody gets a little bit of a warning about, if you're looking for a certain type of interaction, we'll try to direct you to the kitty that would best suit your personality and your needs for sure.
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Gwendolyn Mathers: But yeah, we always wanna be respectful of what the cat is wanting in that moment.
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Gwendolyn Mathers: But for the most part, everyone is just so friendly and ready to just get their fix of attention.
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Michelle Fern: So it seems like the cats get educated, as far as how to interact with people and socialize and interact with other cats, interact with people and all of that.
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Michelle Fern: How do you educate the public?
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Michelle Fern: Or do you?
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Michelle Fern: Do you just come in and just get to know cats?
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Michelle Fern: Or do you have any ways that you educate them?
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Michelle Fern: I know you do special events, but there's so much to be educated as far as for the general public, even the general cat loving public that's not aware of rescue and just the needs of cats.
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Gwendolyn Mathers: Absolutely.
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Gwendolyn Mathers: We have a wonderful adoption team.
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Gwendolyn Mathers: We of course work with our partner, Kitten Rescue Los Angeles.
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Gwendolyn Mathers: So the screening process for adoption is done through kitten rescue volunteers, but they work directly with us.
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Gwendolyn Mathers: And so there is a virtual home visit that we do.
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Gwendolyn Mathers: We do a lot of matchmaking before we even get to that point to make sure that we're all on the same page of, if you work away from home, we're gonna try and get you with a pair if they're young, so they've always got a playmate or some company, or if you work at home, someone who's not gonna drive you crazy and sit on your computer all day, if that's not what you want.
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Gwendolyn Mathers: Or if we're looking at children or dogs or the cat's personalities or pairing an older cat with a younger cat, how to do that properly.
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Gwendolyn Mathers: But it's not just about the matchmaking.
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Gwendolyn Mathers: We want this, of course, to be an adoption that sticks.
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Gwendolyn Mathers: We don't want to send someone home with a cat that may not be the right personality for them or just too much.
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Gwendolyn Mathers: We want to make sure that also, that the cat's going out with a good diet.
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Gwendolyn Mathers: We only feed wet food in our lounge.
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Gwendolyn Mathers: We don't do any dry food.
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Gwendolyn Mathers: We talk about nutrition a lot.
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Gwendolyn Mathers: For long-term health, we talk about dental care.
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Gwendolyn Mathers: We are expanding some behavior and cat care into some workshops in the summer.
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Gwendolyn Mathers: I've done some TNR workshops to teach people how to do trap neuter release in their neighborhoods and how to care for community cats that live around us.
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Gwendolyn Mathers: So, we're trying to look at the full cycle here of spaying and neutering, we're bringing in the cats who are already vetted, but we want to, don't just be, here's your paperwork, everything's done, but look at what we have done.
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Gwendolyn Mathers: Here are the things that you're gonna need to go, get going forward.
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Gwendolyn Mathers: Here are the vaccines that are required, where you live.
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Gwendolyn Mathers: Here's the vaccines that maybe you need to consider and discuss with your veterinarian before you agree to them.
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Gwendolyn Mathers: We want people to think about their cats and their long-term health as they would themselves.
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Gwendolyn Mathers: Like to be informed and always be asking questions and not just accepting everything that they, you know, go in for a checkup and just give me the works and I don't know what's happening, but are you getting things that are always necessary?
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Gwendolyn Mathers: Or are you asking the right questions?
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Gwendolyn Mathers: Is this a good medication for your cat in the long-term?
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Gwendolyn Mathers: So really educating people through nutrition, medical, and then of course, behavior.
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Gwendolyn Mathers: And I tell every one of our adopters, and I've always done this as a foster parent, I'm your tech support.
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Gwendolyn Mathers: I am your kitty tech support.
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Gwendolyn Mathers: And so is the rest of our team.
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Gwendolyn Mathers: If you have a question and send us a message, you know, text us, you know, we'll always get back to our adopters that even if it's not a problem, if your friends and your family are tired of hearing about your cat, we will never be tired of hearing about your cat.
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Gwendolyn Mathers: Send us pictures, send us like cute updates because this is part of pulling in adopters and people around us as part of our community is like it doesn't just end at adoption, we'll always be here for you.
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Gwendolyn Mathers: And if you're trying to integrate or your cat doesn't like this food or maybe you're worried about a hairball situation, like we want to always at least be supportive or like, you know, think about this or offer some suggestions to some maybe food options or treat options, or if the kitty's driving you crazy, play with them more to try and just troubleshoot with people so they don't rush into an emergency vet for something that could be unnecessary and, you know, drain them right off the bat.
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Gwendolyn Mathers: Like we want to be able to just kind of triage sometimes, you know, to help both the kitty and the parent, you know.
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Michelle Fern: Right.
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Michelle Fern: Your return rate must be really small.
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Gwendolyn Mathers: It is.
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Gwendolyn Mathers: And it seems to be the kitties that we get back, where, you know, maybe, not that we take risks, but sometimes we want to give a kitty a chance.
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Gwendolyn Mathers: If the matchmaking side of it, it ends up being, you know, the kitties that make the decision for us.
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Gwendolyn Mathers: So thankfully, of course, there's always going to be some returns that are out of all of our powers.
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Gwendolyn Mathers: You know, we've had people who've had to leave the country and they couldn't take their cats with them.
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Gwendolyn Mathers: There's things that we just can't control, but we need to be the safety net for those cats that, you know, will always be there for them.
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Gwendolyn Mathers: And Kitten Rescue has that in their adoption policy as well.
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Gwendolyn Mathers: If we can't take them back as fosters, that Kitten Rescue can be their safety net too.
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Gwendolyn Mathers: And that's what really makes them such a great organization to adopt from.
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Michelle Fern: That's great news.
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Michelle Fern: We're at the halfway point, so we got to take a quick break, but we'll be right back.
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Announcer: Pet Life Radio.
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Michelle Fern: Welcome back, everyone.
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Michelle Fern: We're talking to Gwendolyn Mathers, who is the Executive Director of Tail Town Cats, and we're talking about the whole kitten adoption process, even though Tail Town Cats is actually a cat cafe.
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Michelle Fern: So we talked a lot about cat adoption, and you mentioned some of the facts to know, but what are some more that you can share with us?
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Michelle Fern: Are most of your facts frequently asked questions, in case somebody thinks I'm saying something else, because it's radio facts?
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Michelle Fern: I don't, I sound like sex, you know, who knows with my accent?
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Michelle Fern: Are your frequently asked questions close to what other cat cafes are to expect, because although we'd all love to come visit you in Pasadena, that's probably not going to ever be possible for some of us.
00:16:36.298 --> 00:16:56.818
Gwendolyn Mathers: Sure, we definitely try to, I mean, for cat behavior, it comes down to the core of the cat needs, and nutrition science, and those sort of things, you know, playing with your cat, exercising your cat, enriching your cat's environment, feeding them good food, taking them to the vet, those things are all going to be universal for all of us.
00:16:57.238 --> 00:17:04.358
Gwendolyn Mathers: So we're sure like our adoption packet, our FAQs, that's going to be applicable across the board.
00:17:04.658 --> 00:17:24.498
Gwendolyn Mathers: Our location is just very specific to how we do things, and we hope that this is the new generation of rescue, and this is the new generation of cat cafes, that we can take a longer view of where these cats are going, how they're cared for, and not make it into like a judgment, like do you deserve to have this cat?
00:17:24.718 --> 00:17:33.258
Gwendolyn Mathers: But can we help you give the cats the best life for you and them, because an unhappy cat is not going to make a happy adopter.
00:17:33.918 --> 00:17:50.118
Gwendolyn Mathers: And if we can kind of spread this style of just being really on it and helping people be really informed, then this is going to be the best life for the cats and the best situation for humans.
00:17:50.138 --> 00:18:01.698
Gwendolyn Mathers: And hopefully helping bring that into the rescue community, we can improve that space and really make an impact on the cat's lives and animal welfare.
00:18:01.718 --> 00:18:02.618
Michelle Fern: I love that.
00:18:02.758 --> 00:18:03.978
Michelle Fern: Let's talk about this.
00:18:04.338 --> 00:18:13.918
Michelle Fern: So I think going to a cat cafe, especially where you can interact with the cats, I mean, I think that should be the norm, but that's just my personal opinion.
00:18:14.138 --> 00:18:24.218
Michelle Fern: But I think that's something, especially new potential cat pet parents should experience because like in your cat cafe, do you have litter boxes around?
00:18:24.658 --> 00:18:25.658
Gwendolyn Mathers: Yes, yes.
00:18:25.898 --> 00:18:27.038
Michelle Fern: They're out in the open?
00:18:27.318 --> 00:18:41.638
Gwendolyn Mathers: So our litter box is not super out in the open, but they're up against a wall and they're built into, we have a introduction, these little introduction suites and the litter boxes are all underneath those, but they're exposed.
00:18:41.658 --> 00:18:43.378
Gwendolyn Mathers: Like you come in and you see them.
00:18:43.398 --> 00:18:45.138
Gwendolyn Mathers: We're not hiding that from people.
00:18:45.158 --> 00:18:52.158
Gwendolyn Mathers: We're not trying to spoil this away and make it this pristine sort of shopping mall experience.
00:18:52.658 --> 00:18:58.378
Michelle Fern: I think that's a good thing because every time I come home, it's like, oh, does it smell?
00:18:58.398 --> 00:18:59.198
Michelle Fern: Who just went?
00:18:59.458 --> 00:19:03.938
Michelle Fern: Because even if, and I think I don't have a mansion, I have three cats.
00:19:03.958 --> 00:19:05.838
Michelle Fern: I think each one has two litter boxes.
00:19:06.118 --> 00:19:08.838
Michelle Fern: Then they have their catio, so they have plenty of space.
00:19:09.178 --> 00:19:12.858
Michelle Fern: But one of the things is, once you're in it, you get used to it.
00:19:13.038 --> 00:19:20.578
Michelle Fern: But for a new potential, we're talking new potential cat, pet, parent, that's something, you love cats, there is litter.
00:19:20.578 --> 00:19:21.898
Michelle Fern: That's just how it goes.
00:19:22.438 --> 00:19:24.858
Michelle Fern: And if that's a problem, forget about it.
00:19:25.338 --> 00:19:34.958
Michelle Fern: And there's things that, I guess my question is, my comment is, there's a lot of times where people will say, I love cats, I really want a cat.
00:19:34.978 --> 00:19:39.098
Michelle Fern: They love other people's cats, but they need to experience cats.
00:19:39.418 --> 00:19:40.718
Michelle Fern: There's the litter smell.
00:19:40.998 --> 00:19:42.558
Michelle Fern: It's a little bit, it's not too bad.
00:19:42.578 --> 00:19:44.938
Michelle Fern: There's great litters out there, but there's some smell.
00:19:45.318 --> 00:19:47.358
Michelle Fern: There's hair, that's what happens.
00:19:47.378 --> 00:19:49.518
Michelle Fern: Unless you have a sphinx, there's hair.
00:19:49.978 --> 00:19:52.738
Michelle Fern: And sphinx comes with their own issues.
00:19:53.398 --> 00:19:54.918
Michelle Fern: I love sphinx cats, by the way.
00:19:55.318 --> 00:20:01.158
Michelle Fern: So I think it's a great way for people, especially if you're thinking, I love cats, I want a cat.
00:20:01.178 --> 00:20:02.518
Michelle Fern: I've always seen my friends and ever.
00:20:02.878 --> 00:20:07.358
Michelle Fern: I think that's a great way for people to kind of get initiated into the cat world.
00:20:07.518 --> 00:20:08.738
Michelle Fern: Do you have a lot of that?
00:20:09.058 --> 00:20:19.918
Gwendolyn Mathers: Yeah, it is really good because as you said, it shows people that there's a whole process, there's a whole package that comes along with living with a pretty wild animal in your home.
00:20:20.418 --> 00:20:23.798
Gwendolyn Mathers: You can't sterilize the process as much as you may try.
00:20:23.818 --> 00:20:33.778
Gwendolyn Mathers: I love the idea of like the convenience of litter robots, but I try to explain to people and like, you know, you talk about the litter smell and stuff, like the food doesn't smell great either.
00:20:36.258 --> 00:20:40.098
Gwendolyn Mathers: And I don't eat meat, but I feed a raw diet to my cats.
00:20:41.718 --> 00:20:44.358
Michelle Fern: But they must eat meat.
00:20:44.398 --> 00:20:47.758
Michelle Fern: We've had shows about people thinking they want to make their cats vegan.
00:20:47.778 --> 00:20:51.178
Michelle Fern: It's actually toxic to cats, but that's a whole other show.
00:20:51.298 --> 00:20:52.878
Gwendolyn Mathers: These are obligate carnivores.
00:20:52.898 --> 00:20:55.098
Gwendolyn Mathers: I'm not gonna argue with that.
00:20:56.218 --> 00:20:59.638
Michelle Fern: And they're kind of like little, yeah, like you said, little wild beasts.
00:20:59.638 --> 00:21:01.538
Michelle Fern: They're not as domestic as dogs.
00:21:01.738 --> 00:21:05.898
Michelle Fern: I had to learn how to speak cat because my first one, Dennis, is part Maine Coon.
00:21:06.198 --> 00:21:08.818
Michelle Fern: And they're kind of, quote, I've heard this over time.
00:21:08.838 --> 00:21:13.178
Michelle Fern: I know cats are not little dogs, but Maine Coons are like the dog of cats.
00:21:13.198 --> 00:21:18.758
Michelle Fern: So that was a good initiation or a bad initiation to the cat world because I thought all cats should be like him.
00:21:19.158 --> 00:21:24.358
Michelle Fern: But no, he's different than all cats because most cats are like Molly.
00:21:24.438 --> 00:21:25.418
Michelle Fern: She'll let you tap.
00:21:25.458 --> 00:21:28.198
Michelle Fern: And then when she's had enough, swipe, leave me alone.
00:21:28.298 --> 00:21:30.558
Michelle Fern: And that's just, that's how cats are.
00:21:30.798 --> 00:21:31.178
Michelle Fern: Yeah.
00:21:31.598 --> 00:21:41.018
Gwendolyn Mathers: Yeah, I mean, this is like for someone coming in, obviously a space that has 40 animals and it is gonna be different than having one or two in your own home.
00:21:41.418 --> 00:22:00.238
Gwendolyn Mathers: But we are playing around with some companies that have donated some air purifiers that are really effective that we can show people, like you were saying, different types of litter that may suit your home lifestyle better, that if you have asthma or allergies, you can think about things like that.
00:22:00.258 --> 00:22:05.198
Gwendolyn Mathers: Feeding a better diet is going to improve asthma and allergies as well that people don't think about.
00:22:05.498 --> 00:22:18.698
Gwendolyn Mathers: But even when we get down to the convenience level of it, is I don't like taking people out of the equation of scooping your own litter box because that's one of the first things, signs of poor health that we see.
00:22:19.118 --> 00:22:28.018
Gwendolyn Mathers: And if you have more than one cat, I know that all these smart litter boxes tell you when your cat's going, but are you gonna be able to know if there's blood in the urine?
00:22:28.038 --> 00:22:31.538
Gwendolyn Mathers: Or are you gonna know if your cat has diarrhea, if it recorded it as urine?
00:22:31.778 --> 00:22:38.638
Gwendolyn Mathers: So we get into kind of the nitty gritty, like if you're not really ready for this, then there's some things that you need to think about.
00:22:39.038 --> 00:22:41.558
Gwendolyn Mathers: But we're always willing to work with people in their spaces.
00:22:41.578 --> 00:22:50.858
Gwendolyn Mathers: And that's what's really great about the virtual tours of people's homes is we look around the space and we're not looking about whether you've done your dishes or put away your laundry.
00:22:50.878 --> 00:22:53.898
Gwendolyn Mathers: We're looking about where do you think you want to put your litter box?
00:22:54.178 --> 00:22:55.798
Gwendolyn Mathers: What kind of litter box is it?
00:22:56.058 --> 00:22:58.138
Gwendolyn Mathers: Are you going to be happy with that in a year?
00:22:58.198 --> 00:23:00.438
Gwendolyn Mathers: Or is it going to drive you crazy?
00:23:00.458 --> 00:23:02.418
Gwendolyn Mathers: Is the cat going to want to go there?
00:23:02.758 --> 00:23:06.098
Gwendolyn Mathers: Because it needs to be in an open, convenient space for them.
00:23:06.118 --> 00:23:24.158
Gwendolyn Mathers: They do like privacy, but if you're sticking it in an upstairs bathroom and they're going to have to travel so many feet away to use it, especially if it's a new cat, they might forget where it is and they're going to go to a scent soaking spot, which is like our beds or our couches where it soaks in human smells.
00:23:24.178 --> 00:23:26.398
Gwendolyn Mathers: And they're like, oh, that's where my smell must go too.
00:23:26.678 --> 00:23:35.338
Gwendolyn Mathers: So we help people think about the process of introduction and the process of integrating into your home that is healthy for the cat.
00:23:35.718 --> 00:23:42.678
Gwendolyn Mathers: We have to compromise because again, we're bringing these little wild creatures into our homes and we can't turn them into little humans.
00:23:43.258 --> 00:23:44.818
Michelle Fern: Right, they're not little humans.
00:23:44.838 --> 00:23:46.858
Michelle Fern: They're not, they're different than dogs.
00:23:46.878 --> 00:23:50.718
Michelle Fern: Dogs are way more domesticated, but it's good though.
00:23:50.798 --> 00:23:55.838
Michelle Fern: You know, it's like they're entering, you know, this is cat world and this is what you can expect.
00:23:55.878 --> 00:24:04.438
Michelle Fern: And I love all of the backstory that you do as far as checking on things and educating people and giving them, you know, this is real world.
00:24:04.718 --> 00:24:10.298
Michelle Fern: Where can people go to find a cat cafe in their areas?
00:24:10.318 --> 00:24:11.698
Michelle Fern: They're one location.
00:24:12.078 --> 00:24:23.618
Michelle Fern: So definitely if you're anywhere in Southern California, take a trip to Pasadena to go to Tail Town Cats and Gwendolyn will let us know where people can find out more about you.
00:24:23.918 --> 00:24:32.398
Michelle Fern: But where first can people go to just find out about cat cafes besides just a standard Google search or whatever browser you're using?
00:24:32.838 --> 00:24:46.878
Gwendolyn Mathers: I would look at whatever, like either Yelp or some Google reviews, or I would look at TripAdvisor because you can then look at pictures, you can find their website or contact information and see if it's the type of experience that you want.
00:24:47.138 --> 00:24:54.078
Gwendolyn Mathers: There's some other places that are popping up that are doing really cool things, like Whiskers and Wine down in San Diego.
00:24:54.078 --> 00:24:57.538
Gwendolyn Mathers: It's like a cat bar, wine bar, cat cafe.
00:24:57.838 --> 00:25:00.978
Gwendolyn Mathers: Catcade in Chicago is doing amazing things.
00:25:01.298 --> 00:25:13.198
Gwendolyn Mathers: So if you do a little searching, like Instagram, look at locations around you that it works for you, whichever format is good for your level of tech savviness.
00:25:13.678 --> 00:25:17.058
Michelle Fern: I didn't even know there was such a thing, a cat wine bar.
00:25:17.998 --> 00:25:19.378
Gwendolyn Mathers: Yeah, it's pretty new.
00:25:19.398 --> 00:25:21.538
Gwendolyn Mathers: It's really, I've been, it's a really cool space.
00:25:22.018 --> 00:25:23.878
Michelle Fern: Okay, maybe I can go to San Diego.
00:25:24.098 --> 00:25:27.318
Michelle Fern: And then where can people find out more about Tail Town Cats?
00:25:27.598 --> 00:25:30.238
Gwendolyn Mathers: You can visit us at tailtowncats.com.
00:25:30.358 --> 00:25:36.918
Gwendolyn Mathers: You can follow us on social media, where Tail Town Cats is our handle on Instagram.
00:25:37.298 --> 00:25:39.058
Gwendolyn Mathers: And you can see more about our events.
00:25:39.578 --> 00:25:42.738
Gwendolyn Mathers: If you're not even thinking of adopting, you just wanna come and hang out with cats.
00:25:42.838 --> 00:25:46.718
Gwendolyn Mathers: That's why we've created this really fun event calendar.
00:25:47.118 --> 00:25:53.958
Gwendolyn Mathers: We wanted to break out of just this sort of cat yoga framework and do things that we all wanted to do.
00:25:54.318 --> 00:25:56.258
Gwendolyn Mathers: One of our guests praised it perfectly.
00:25:56.278 --> 00:25:57.858
Gwendolyn Mathers: She said, I can do cat yoga at home.
00:25:57.958 --> 00:25:59.558
Gwendolyn Mathers: I have a cat, she gets on me.
00:25:59.738 --> 00:26:00.778
Gwendolyn Mathers: That's my cat yoga.
00:26:00.798 --> 00:26:02.238
Gwendolyn Mathers: I don't need to pay and go do that.
00:26:02.538 --> 00:26:08.998
Gwendolyn Mathers: So we're thinking like, what are some cool, kind of quirky things that we would like actually, that would bring us out?
00:26:08.998 --> 00:26:15.858
Gwendolyn Mathers: And that's what we wanna stay passionate about is, and not just make it all sort of work and education.
00:26:15.878 --> 00:26:17.198
Gwendolyn Mathers: Like we wanna have fun too.
00:26:17.338 --> 00:26:22.238
Gwendolyn Mathers: And if people are in the space having fun, then that's really wonderful for the cats.
00:26:22.258 --> 00:26:29.258
Gwendolyn Mathers: It's, you know, so we try and do things that are not disruptive to their environment, but they can disrupt the humans.
00:26:29.338 --> 00:26:30.698
Gwendolyn Mathers: So we have a lot of game events.
00:26:30.698 --> 00:26:32.258
Gwendolyn Mathers: So the cats are super distracting.
00:26:32.278 --> 00:26:34.758
Gwendolyn Mathers: So it brings up the level of competition between people.
00:26:34.778 --> 00:26:37.938
Michelle Fern: So like cat bingo or something?
00:26:38.378 --> 00:26:40.778
Gwendolyn Mathers: So we have our own branded cat bingo.
00:26:41.138 --> 00:26:49.698
Gwendolyn Mathers: We have trivia nights, team trivia nights with different rotating themes, sci-fi, movies, fantasy.
00:26:49.718 --> 00:26:50.918
Gwendolyn Mathers: We had Barbie trivia.
00:26:50.938 --> 00:26:52.058
Gwendolyn Mathers: That was really fun.
00:26:52.078 --> 00:26:57.798
Gwendolyn Mathers: We have a BYOB meow and paint session.
00:26:58.178 --> 00:27:02.678
Gwendolyn Mathers: Every month is a different themed cat painting and it's a step-by-step process.
00:27:02.738 --> 00:27:04.278
Gwendolyn Mathers: All the art supplies are provided.
00:27:04.298 --> 00:27:06.318
Gwendolyn Mathers: You don't need to have any artistic ability.
00:27:06.598 --> 00:27:07.938
Gwendolyn Mathers: You just need to love cats.
00:27:08.378 --> 00:27:12.538
Michelle Fern: Oh, I wish I still lived in LA and just say, yeah, I'll be in Pasadena tomorrow.
00:27:12.938 --> 00:27:13.698
Michelle Fern: Oh my gosh.
00:27:14.318 --> 00:27:20.958
Michelle Fern: Gwendolyn, what is one of your key tips for those that are considering adopting?
00:27:21.338 --> 00:27:53.938
Gwendolyn Mathers: I always advise potential adopters once they're ready and they feel like they have their space and kind of a plan or a timeline to adopt is when you go into a shelter environment or when you go into a cat cafe or you start shopping around for different rescue organizations, is engage with the foster parents and engage with the rescues and don't just always try to land on the first cat that jumps out onto you on a website or the first place when you visit, because we have a lot of cats and when people come in, they say, oh, that cat chose me.
00:27:54.258 --> 00:28:01.878
Gwendolyn Mathers: And we all kind of chuckle because that cat also chose 12 other people this morning right before you, that cat chooses everybody.
00:28:02.278 --> 00:28:04.818
Gwendolyn Mathers: Talk to the fosters and talk to the adoption coordinators.
00:28:05.158 --> 00:28:10.118
Gwendolyn Mathers: Ask about the cats that really need a home that are getting overlooked but have beautiful personalities.
00:28:10.118 --> 00:28:12.778
Gwendolyn Mathers: Maybe look at a cat that is slightly older.
00:28:12.778 --> 00:28:17.238
Gwendolyn Mathers: Senior cats have a hard time finding homes and they're the most loving cats.
00:28:17.658 --> 00:28:23.398
Gwendolyn Mathers: Look for the black kitties, look for the bonded pairs that are already paired up that have been waiting for a long time.
00:28:23.798 --> 00:28:37.938
Gwendolyn Mathers: So think about not just what you might have as a picture in your head, but what they think might fit your lifestyle because there's some kitties out there that have been waiting a really long time and you might just save a life.
00:28:38.418 --> 00:28:40.958
Michelle Fern: Thank you so much for coming on Cattitude.
00:28:40.978 --> 00:28:43.318
Michelle Fern: I so appreciate it with great information.
00:28:43.658 --> 00:28:45.238
Gwendolyn Mathers: Thank you so much for having me.
00:28:45.258 --> 00:28:46.738
Gwendolyn Mathers: This has been an absolute pleasure.
00:28:47.098 --> 00:28:47.738
Michelle Fern: Likewise.
00:28:48.198 --> 00:28:49.878
Michelle Fern: I hope you all enjoyed this show.
00:28:50.018 --> 00:28:52.038
Michelle Fern: I had a great time talking to Gwendolyn.
00:28:52.058 --> 00:28:59.518
Michelle Fern: If you're lucky enough to live in, I'd say anywhere in California, make it to Pasadena, check out Tail Town Cats.
00:28:59.858 --> 00:29:01.238
Michelle Fern: I'm on a planet trip out there.
00:29:01.258 --> 00:29:03.158
Michelle Fern: It's been a while since I've been to California.
00:29:03.178 --> 00:29:05.278
Michelle Fern: I lived in Southern California, but it was a while ago.
00:29:05.758 --> 00:29:09.198
Michelle Fern: And I'm envious of you guys that get to go to Tail Town Cats.
00:29:09.458 --> 00:29:15.398
Michelle Fern: But if not, check out a cat cafe in your area, or if you're entrepreneurial, hey, start one.
00:29:15.638 --> 00:29:19.358
Michelle Fern: I wanna thank my guest, Gwendolyn Mathers, for coming on Cattitude.
00:29:19.638 --> 00:29:22.798
Michelle Fern: Thanks so much to everyone that listens to Cattitude.
00:29:22.898 --> 00:29:24.358
Michelle Fern: I greatly appreciate it.
00:29:24.718 --> 00:29:27.458
Michelle Fern: Thanks, of course, to my cat crew that's there.
00:29:27.478 --> 00:29:29.438
Michelle Fern: They're always teaching me new things about cats.
00:29:29.458 --> 00:29:31.998
Michelle Fern: So thank you, Dennis, Molly and Charlotte.
00:29:32.098 --> 00:29:36.598
Michelle Fern: And of course, this show would not be the same without the magic of my producer, Mark Winter.
00:29:37.158 --> 00:29:40.418
Michelle Fern: So, remember, lose the attitude, have cattitude.
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