Presentations & Schedule
Introduction & Welcome - Katenna Jones
Saturday, October 8th, 9:00 am EST
Variety is the Catnip of Life - Katenna Jones
Saturday, October 8th, 9:00 am EST
It’s common in professional fields for practitioners to focus on subject matter experts that fit their own particular viewpoint or area of practice. Often professionals can become fixated on “gurus” or “big names” with information that doesn’t change over time. Bringing new voices, perspectives, backgrounds and experiences can enrichen both your own professional growth and education and the field as a whole.
Beginner Mistakes and What I Learned From Them - Jennifer Van Valkenburg
Saturday, October 8th, 10:00 am EST
I’m just starting out in the behavior consulting world and have made a lot of mistakes but as I grow and continue my education, I’m learning from those mistakes and becoming a better consultant. I hope that by hearing about the adjustments I’ve made, I can help others in the field learn as well.
The Art of Reading Scientific Literature - Traci Weber
Saturday, October 8th, 10:45 am EST
Scientific literature is the foundation on which science-based training and behavior philosophies are built, however, scientific literacy is a skill that needs to be learned and nurtured, and often takes practice and patience to master. Unfortunately, in the age of social media and instant gratification, it is not uncommon for a single statement to be plucked out of context from a trending scientific paper in the interest of a creating catchy headline. To effectively implement what is learned from scientific research studies, it is crucial that we understand how and why the study was conducted and what its limitations are. This presentation will present a quick guide to reading scientific literature with a critical eye: understanding categories of journal articles (primary literature vs secondary literature), types of articles (peer-reviewed, randomized controlled trials, survey, cohort study, meta-analysis, etc.), structured elements of an original research article (abstract, introduction, methods, results and discussion), and how to effectively read, understand, and draw conclusions.
Emotional Support Cats: Working With Clients' ESAs - Joey Lusvardi
Saturday, October 8th, 11:30 am EST
When working as a behavior consultant, you will inevitably end up working with clients whose cats are designated as emotional support animals (ESAs). This terminology can sometimes be confusing and many people think ESAs, therapy animals, and service animals are the same thing. You will leave this presentation not only understanding the difference between ESAs, therapy animals, and service animals, but will learn strategies to manage common behaviors in cats that can negatively impact a client’s mental health. Lastly, I’ll leave you with some tips to help more effectively implement behavior modification concerns with clients who have common mental health diagnoses such as anxiety, depression, and ADHD while still staying in your lane. You may not be treating a mental health condition, but your services can still greatly improve well being!
Feline Nutrition - Your Cat is Not a Small Dog - Sandra Grossmann
Saturday, October 8th, 12:15 pm EST
A short dive into feline nutrition basics covering feline anatomy, nutrient requirements and life stages. We will talk about the differences in anatomy, GI tract and metabolism between cats and dogs. These differences lead to a variation of taste preferences and perception. Nutrition is closely connected to the overall wellness of your cat. Good nutrition and dietary management over the live stages of your cat can help improve a variety of conditions. Obesity, diabetes, or kidney issues are examples that can be managed or overcome with a diet management plan or clinical nutrition.
Resolving Food Anxiety and Aggression in Cats - Laura Cassiday
Saturday, October 8th, 1:00 pm EST
Food anxiety and aggression are increasingly common in indoor cats, particularly those placed on a restricted diet for weight loss by their veterinarian or caregiver, or in households with multiple cats. These behaviors manifest through resource guarding, counter and table surfing, excessive meowing or begging for food, and more. This presentation will cover how cats prefer to eat and how to manage your feeding routines to reduce anxiety and aggression. It will also discuss safety protocol for resource guarding of food and objects in cats as well as clicker training methods to control impulses such as stationing and teaching your cat not to beg for food or steal treats from your hands.
Recognition Aggression - Allison Hunter-Frederick
Saturday, October 8th, 1:45 pm EST
Non-recognition aggression happens when one cat has spent some time outside the home and is viewed by the cat still at home as a stranger and a threat. Although the most often cited examples involve vet visits, this type of behavior can also happen when a cat goes to the groomer or when a cat spends time outdoors.
Two of the most popular solutions is to rub each cat down with the same cloth before reintroducing them and/or to separate them for a few days. Unfortunately, this solution isn’t fullproof. In addition, there aren’t any answers yet from science, which is why I’ve begun to do informal research on the topic.
In the fall of 2020, a woman contacted me because her cats had been fighting for two years. Groomer visits are believed to have been the trigger. Although we were able to successfully reunite the cats, we’ve also come to believe that keeping her cats together will be a lifetime journey.
In the winter of 2021, my cats experienced their own estrangement due to nonrecognition aggression. After years of my being able to successfully reunite them after a vet visit, I faced two incidents which have threatened the relationship of my cats. Like my client, I now believe keeping them together will be a lifetime journey.
Non-recognition aggression is believed to effect only cats. I want to encourage more awareness of it and also more research into answers, so that we can better help cats afflicted with it.
Speakers
Laura Cassiday
Laura Cassiday is a certified cat behavior consultant (CCBC) through the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants and a Fear Free certified animal trainer. Prior to working as a cat behavior consultant, she worked as a professional copywriter and editor, holding a Master’s degree in Professional Writing from Towson University. In 2017, she decided to leave that career behind and pursue her childhood dream of working with animals.
After several years of volunteering and fostering with cat rescues, it was time to make cats a career. Laura began working at Maryland SPCA, shifting her time between the intake department and the kennel. She quickly realized that cats in shelters were treated as second-class citizens to dogs, receiving less enrichment and attention. There was also a more limited understanding of cat behavior and body language among shelter staff.
Before long, Laura became the shelter’s cat behavior coordinator. During her time at the shelter, she launched a cat enrichment program, a protocol for working with fearful and shy cats, and a working cat program to improve the lives of shelter cats and create more positive outcomes. She served as Team Leader for Jackson Galaxy’s Cat Pawsitive Pro program in 2020 and earned her CCBC designation in 2021.
Although she had gained plenty of experience counseling pet parents and deferring cats from being surrendered to the shelter, Laura wanted to do more. She launched Pawsitive Vibes Cat Behavior and Training in 2021, eventually leaving the shelter behind to pursue working with cats with behavior problems in private homes full time. The ultimate goal of the business was to keep cats in their homes with their families and avoid cats entering shelters in the first place.
To date, Laura has worked with hundreds of cats, successfully resolving behavior concerns such as aggression, destructive behavior, and litter box issues, and helping their caregivers to understand their feline friends better than they did before. Laura recently published her first book, The Complete Guide to Cat Adoption, and delivered an expert testimony with the House and the Senate for the Maryland Anti-Declaw Bill, which becomes law in fall 2022. She serves on the Feline Committee of the Pet Professional Guild and is a professional member of the Cat Writers’ Association.
Today, Laura works with cat guardians remotely from all over the world, as well as in-person in her local area of Baltimore, Maryland. For more information, visit Pawsitive Vibes Cat Behavior and Training.
Sandra Grossmann
I hold a B.S. of Food Science from the Technical University Berlin, and draw from 28 years of experience about ingredients and formulating diets, treats and supplements for various companies. After leaving the corporate industry in 2019, I completed the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign’s (UIUC) Companion Animal Nutritionist certification while also launching my business.
While volunteering, I noticed a lack of shelter medicine training and training with behavioral issues.
In July 2021, I graduated from the Veterinary Assistant Program at Animal Behavior College (ABC) and I completed my Approved Veterinary Assistant (AVA) certification from The National Association of Veterinary Technicians in America (NAVTA) in June 2022.
Since December 2021 I am a supporting member of the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants (IAABC), and I am working towards my cat behaviorist certification with ABI. (Animal Behavior Institute).
Allison Hunter-Frederick
Allison Hunter-Frederick is a cat behavior consultant, trainer, and educator. She is also a mother of three furkids and several revolving foster cats, host mom to international students, and the wife of a supportive husband. Previous hats she has worn include behavioral aide, web designer, freelance writer, special education teacher, administrative assistant, and publications coordinator.
Due to her youngest cat having nonrecognition aggression, she has conducted informal research on the topic. She has also written several articles on nonrecognition and worked successfully with clients whose cats have experienced it.
Allison is a winner of the Rebecca Park Scholarship. She has a certificate in Cat Behavior & Retention from the Humane Society of the United States and a Silver Level certificate from Low-Stress Handling University. She also has taken many additional cat behavior courses, including Feline Behavior Solutions and Train Your Cat from the Karen Pryor Academy. She is on the board of the Pet Professional Guild Feline Committee, as well as a member of the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants and the Best Friends Network Partners. Currently, she volunteers with Lincoln Animal Ambassadors, The Cat House, 4-H, and Love on a Leash (cat therapy). She also teaches with Bright Lights Camps.
Katenna Jones
Through Jones Animal Behavior, Katenna Jones provides in-person and virtual behavior consultations as well as educational seminars to pet owners, rescues, and other pet professionals. She speaks at international events, contributes to a wide variety of publications, and is author of Fetching the Perfect Dog Trainer: Getting the Best for You and Your Dog. Katenna began her career as a shelter volunteer in 1999 and went on to earn her Master’s Degree from Brown University where she studied animal behavior, learning and cognition. Eventually, she became a cruelty investigator, worked for American Humane Association and also for the Association of Professional Dog Trainers. Katenna is an Associate Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist, Certified Cat and Dog Behavior Consultant, and a Certified Fear Free Trainer. She shares her RI home with one dog, two cats, seven chickens, three ducks, and several thousand bees.
Joey Lusvardi
Joey is both a physician assistant and feline behavior consultant. He graduated with an undergraduate degree in psychology from the University of Minnesota and completed his physician assistant studies at Concordia University Wisconsin. He has worked his entire career in psychiatry where he has diagnosed and treated mental illness as part of a medical team. He became interested in feline behavior when his cat developed aggressive behavior and his veterinarian suggested clicker training as one way to address the aggressive behavior. Following a third episode of burn out in a short period of time, a friend introduced him to the concept of behavior consulting and he realized that it combined all of his interests and skills. He enrolled in the IAABC’s Principles and Practice course and took numerous other feline specific behavior courses before starting his behavior consultation and training service, Class Act Cats. He has since earned numerous feline behavior certifications including becoming a Feline Friendly Veterinary Professional, Low Stress Handling® Certified- Silver Level, and completing NAVC’s Human Animal Bond Certification. He recently earned Hippocampus Online’s Feline Inappropriate Elimination Master Course Certificate and regularly volunteers at a local cat shelter on the enrichment team. He is based out of Minneapolis, MN where he lives with his best friend and feline overlord, Zoloft. Outside of work, Joey enjoys knitting, seeing live music, and running.
Jennifer Van Valkenburg
My name is Jennifer Van Valkenburg. I grew up in rural Massachusetts, but I’ve been living in greater Los Angeles for over 20 years. I have a passion for helping animals and have only just recently begun my feline behavior consulting business. Before that I loved walking dogs and working in shelters both adopting out cats and working with organizations that help manage the feral cat population.
Traci Weber
Traci Weber has recently completed a Master’s program in Clinical Animal Behavior from the University of Edinburgh and is the supervisor of a Veterinary Medical Unit located in Seattle, WA. She is a Fear Free Certified Trainer, Human-Animal Bond certified, and has completed the Aggression in Dogs Master Course, Feline Inappropriate Elimination Master Course, and Family Dog Mediation Professional course in applied ethology. She is a volunteer dog walker at the Regional Animal Services of King County and serves on the board of a local non-profit animal welfare and education organization.