John Bradshaw—international cat expert, anthrozoologist, and author of The New York Times bestseller “Dog Sense”—discusses his new book, “Cat Sense: How The New Feline Science Can Make You A Better Friend To Your Cat.” 
Foundation Director of the Anthrozoology Institute at the University of Bristol, 
Bradshaw has fashioned a present-day guide—historic, scientific, behavioral–to our feline friends that even the most staunch and longstanding cat lover is likely to find fascinating and often-revelatory, at times controversial. In the interview, Bradshaw explains the array of things a purring cat may be communicating well beyond the contentment we associate with that rumbling sound. He also elaborates on a small but mighty point he makes in “Cat Sense” about declawing—namely, raising the reasonable possibility (based on his own experience, after an accident as a younger man in which he lost a portion of one finger) that declawed cats experience “phantom pain.” Bradshaw also articulates a somewhat jarring assertion he makes in the book that there may be a potential long-term downside of spay-neuter for ensuing generations of cats. He also speaks to feral cats, the common misinterpretation that a cat presenting a dead rodent or bird in their owner’s house is offering a “gift,” and fields e-mails and phone calls from listeners. (http://catsensebook.com)
ALSO: We spoke briefly with Patricia Massari, one of the coordinators of the Tampa Bay Walk For Farm Animals, a Farm Sanctuary event set for Nov. 2. (http://events.walkforfarmanimals.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=donorDrive.event&eventID=635, www.farmsanctuary.org)
AND: We bid farewell to Smokey McGarr Page, a kind and gentle cat—and intrepid traveler—who was my mother-in-law’s faithful companion for 19 years.
COMEDY CORNER: Ellen DeGeneres’ “Cat In Heat” (portion) (www.ellentv.com)
MUSIC: Rebekah Pulley’s “Talking Animals Theme,” Earl Bostic’s “Flamingo,” instrumentals
NAME THAT ANIMAL TUNE: Carl Perkins’ “Put Your Cat Clothes On”
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