Matt Wildman grew up with as many as nine rescue dogs and didn’t have a real relationship with a cat until he was 26. That’s when he met his girlfriend and her six cats. One of them, Shirley, licked him on the head while he was resting, and he was smitten. Matt went from teaching high school history in Brooklyn to humane education at Animal Care Centers of NYC. Later, at a Humane World for Animals surrender-prevention program, he asked certified cat behavior consultant Beth Adelman to teach him everything she knew. Three years and dozens of cases under her mentorship turned him into a cat behaviorist.

The idea for a national helpline had been on his mind since 2013, when he built a cat behavior counseling course that trained 250 shelter and rescue staff and volunteers. Shelters kept losing their trained counselors to turnover, though, and the gap never closed. When Humane World asked him to rebuild the course, Matt saw his chance. He emailed all 250 past students, recruited his first volunteers from that list, and launched the National Cat Behavior Helpline in March. It’s free for shelters and for cat owners, it runs entirely by phone, and it’s built on follow-up. Volunteers keep calling until a case is resolved, and they offer practical, judgment-free advice that fits each person’s time and budget.

Stacy and Matt also get into the questions shelters hear every day. They cover play aggression in under-stimulated cats, why you shouldn’t adopt a second cat to fix a behavior problem, how spay/neuter can change behavior, and what to do when community cats outside the window upset the cat inside. Matt also shares his “small desert” approach to litter boxes. His request to shelters is simple: send cases his way, because keeping cats in their homes is what the helpline is for.

• How a lifelong dog person became a cat behaviorist
• Why so many behavior problems come from cats who aren’t getting enough play
• Three 10- to 15-minute play sessions a day, and how to fit them in
• Why shelters should email client details to the helpline instead of just handing out the number
• Follow-up as the key to resolving behavior cases
• Being the cat owner’s ally, especially when someone in the house wants the cat gone
• When the helpline calls in a veterinary behaviorist
• Spay/neuter as part of fixing behavior problems
• What to do about outdoor cats that are upsetting the cat indoors
• The “small desert” approach: open boxes, unscented clumping litter, scooping twice a day, and where to put the box
• Whether you really need one more litter box than you have cats

Resources & Links

• Email the National Cat Behavior Helpline
• Safe Haven Farm Sanctuary Cat Behavior Hotline Website