Cattitude

BIO:

Mark Winter found the family piano in the living room at the young age of 3 years old, and has been attached to it ever since. His mother, also a musician and performer used to sing for various organizations, and change costumes for each act. During these costume changes, Mark at the age of 6 would perform for the audiences until Mom returned to the stage. Mark gave his first concert at 6 years old. By the time he was 8 he was already writing music and lyrics to his own songs… and by 13 years old had his own band, and started learning the ropes of recording and producing a record.

Although Mark grew up in the suburbs and not on a farm, there were always a multitude of pets in the home, including a Poodle, a Yorkshire Terrier, cats, rabbits, 10 different aquariums including saltwater, canaries, parakeets, hamsters, gerbils, chickens, a duck, and once even a pet squirrel.

After Graduating from Boston University, with a degree in biology he began writing and producing songs and music for himself and other artists as well as music for film, television and special projects. He also wrote and produced jingles for radio and TV including Emery Air, Goodyear, and the Scott and Todd Big Show on WPLJ-FM Radio in NYC. Mark also wrote the theme song for "Ziggy" cartoon (Universal Press Syndicate), and "Roller Palace", the first roller disco record of the 1970's, which was featured on WKTU-FM (New York) and in Billboard Magazine. Winter was also a featured guest on the popular "Joe Franklin Show" in New York.

In 1980, Mark created Musikards, the very first musical greeting cards with original songs and graphics. These were marketed throughout the U.S. in stores such as Bloomingdales and independent greeting card retailers, as well as other countries including Australia, Israel, England, and Canada.  Mark and Musikards were also featured in magazines such as US Magazine, People Magazine and Billboard Magazine.

He then worked as the Creative Director for WDHA/WMTR radio in Morristown, NJ, writing and producing radio commercials, promotions and station imaging until signing a recording contract with Epic Records in 1987.

Mark Winter was a founding member of ILUSION on Epic Records (Sony), and wrote and produced the 1988 dance hit, "I Want Your Love In Me" a Billboard Magazine Top 40 dance hit.  Mark and “Ilusion” performed live with other dance acts of the time including Exposé, The Cover Girls, Sweet Sensation, Fascination and others.

In 1996 Mark wrote "Be Proud To Be In New Jersey", selected by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts as choice to become the Official State Song of New Jersey. He received an ASCAP special award for "Be Proud To Be In New Jersey" as well as an official Proclamation from NJ Governor Christine Todd Whitman for "Be Proud To Be In New Jersey", nominated as the Official State Song of New Jersey.

He has received a Unisong Int'l Music Award, Billboard Award, New Jersey Broadcasters Association Annual Station Award for Best Radio Commercial, APRA Gold Award for excellence in advertising and public relations for Best Radio Commercial, and 1994 and 1993 Make-A-Wish Foundation Citation of Merit and Appreciation.

In 2002, Mark relocated to South Florida with his three sons, and became Executive Producer at Party 93.1 FM radio, the dance music station in Miami.  There he worked with local radio personality MarkyG, and produced radio interviews with music artists and celebrities such as Cyndi Lauper, Margaret Cho, Cher, and others.  He then produced the radio show, “The South Beach Dance Party” on Y100-FM radio in Miami, which combined current dance music with information, interviews and dance music flashbacks.  It soon rocketed to #1 in the ratings.

In 2005, Mark became involved with WebmasterRadio.FM and as senior producer helped pioneer the art and science of podcasting, internet radio and audio streaming.  He also produced podcasts for Personal Life Media.

In 2007 Mark Winter and his son, Adam created Pet Life Radio, combining their love for entertainment, radio and podcasting with their love of animals and pets.  Mark also composes and produces the theme music for the Pet Life Radio shows.  Pet Life Radio quickly has become the #1 pet podcast & radio network!

Pet Life Radio recently received a prestigious Genesis Award Honor for "A Super Smiley Adventure - Best Friends Animal Sanctuary Radio Tour" Mark Winter, Producer/Writer, Megan Blake, Host/Writer (2012). In 2016 Mark was nominated for 2 Dog Writers Association Awards, the Cat Writers Association Michael Brim Distinguished Service Award, a HSUS Genesis Award, 3 Peabody Awards, and received a 2021 NAVC Vetty Award, 2022 Communicator Award (Academy of Interactive & Visual Arts), and a 2022 Certificate of Appreciation from HABRI (Human Animal Bond Research Institute).

Transcript:

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Announcer: This is Pet Life Radio.

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Announcer: Let's talk pets.

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Michelle Fern: Hello, cat lovers.

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Michelle Fern: Welcome toCattitude.

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Michelle Fern: This is your show host, Michelle Fern.

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Michelle Fern: This is our annual cat holiday show.

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Michelle Fern: Or fancy feline stuff.

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Michelle Fern: I don't know.

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Michelle Fern: Anyway, it's gonna be a load of fun because I have a special guest.

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Michelle Fern: You guys hear me announce his name after every show, but he's never been on one of my shows.

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Michelle Fern: And finally, I convinced him to come on.

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Michelle Fern: So stay tuned, you're not gonna wanna miss this.

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Michelle Fern: 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: So we're recording this, it's December 2024.

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Michelle Fern: So happy holidays, everybody.

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Michelle Fern: And you know, the Cat Holiday Show, you could listen anytime, but it's very pertinent now, because hey, we're right in the middle of the holidays.

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Michelle Fern: Well, the start of December.

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Michelle Fern: And my special guest today, I'm so excited to have him on.

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Michelle Fern: He's the one who works all the magic on my shows.

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Michelle Fern: So I'd like to give a huge welcome to Mark Winter, my producer.

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Michelle Fern: Welcome, Mark.

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Michelle Fern: Yay!

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Mark Winter: Well, meowy Christmas and happy holidays.

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Michelle Fern: So for all of you listeners, Mark works the magic behind all of the Pet Life Radio shows.

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Michelle Fern: He does all, well, we have some that are self-produced, but he does most of it.

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Michelle Fern: Before we get into talking about, you know, perfect holiday gifts for your cat, what is it like editing all of our shows?

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Mark Winter: Tiring and tedious.

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Michelle Fern: But mine's the easiest, right?

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Mark Winter: Of course.

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Michelle Fern: And who is your favorite show host?

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Mark Winter: Well, you're my favorite show host, obviously.

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Michelle Fern: Oh, I am so flattered out of what, 75 of us?

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Mark Winter: 83.

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Michelle Fern: 83, woo!

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Michelle Fern: Oh, I'm honored.

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Michelle Fern: So Mark has usually been very shy to come on the show, but like I said, I convinced him this time.

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Michelle Fern: So we're going to talk about fun things for your cats for the holidays, and for the cat-pet parent because, hey, you count too, right?

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Michelle Fern: So Mark, when you think about holiday gifts for your felines, what do you think of?

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Mark Winter: Well, there's Santa Claus and cat claws.

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Mark Winter: They're not quite the same thing.

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Mark Winter: So you want to get your cats fun things to keep them busy, so they're not using your Christmas tree as a scratching post or leaving you presents underneath.

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Michelle Fern: Exactly.

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Michelle Fern: Or even worse, eating some of your ornaments or tinsel or any of that stuff, because that will be tragic for your cat and horrifying for you.

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Mark Winter: Well, I know our cats, they sit on the couch with us every night and they watch TV.

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Mark Winter: And I see them eyeing the commercials for holiday gifts.

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Mark Winter: So I just wonder, do you think they know their cats?

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Mark Winter: Do you think they want a new car?

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Mark Winter: Do they know they can't drive?

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Michelle Fern: You know, I think my cats think they can.

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Michelle Fern: They, well, they're not really car cats.

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Michelle Fern: But as far as all the luxurious stuff that they show, oh yeah, they're looking at the cashmere clothing and ever thinking, that's mine.

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Mark Winter: Maybe they want some new furniture for the living room.

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Mark Winter: I see those commercials too.

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Michelle Fern: Possibly.

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Michelle Fern: But we narrowed it down.

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Michelle Fern: We narrowed down our cat holiday list to a select seven.

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Michelle Fern: There might be an extra one, eight, but seven.

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Michelle Fern: And one of the ones that is so much fun is called the Mixbook.

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Michelle Fern: And Mark, you have a special infinity for the Mixbook.

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Michelle Fern: So can you tell our listeners about it?

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Mark Winter: Yeah.

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Mark Winter: Well, we did a Mixbook for our dog, Nicky, and it wasn't for the holidays.

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Mark Winter: And we did it after he went to Doggie Heaven, but it has all fun stuff that he used to do and living his best life.

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Mark Winter: And we took him on a road trip and he went to Nashville and to the Grand Ole Opry.

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Mark Winter: And he was enjoying himself in his stroller in Charleston.

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Mark Winter: And he had a really good time.

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Mark Winter: So we wanted to capture all that in a book.

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Mark Winter: And so Mixbook has like, you upload all your pictures of your pet, and it puts them on these really nice pages, and you can put all different kinds of sayings.

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Mark Winter: It's a really nice gift.

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Michelle Fern: Do you think you need artistic talent to create a good book?

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Mark Winter: No, I think you just need to be organized.

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Mark Winter: Everyone takes like a million pictures on their phone.

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Mark Winter: So you can't have a thousand.

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Mark Winter: So you have to like narrow it down to your best ones and organize it in some kind of an order, maybe by chronologically or by holiday or whatever.

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Michelle Fern: Well, Mixbook is a great gift all the time, but especially during the holidays, and especially if your kitty is just, if someone has lost their kitty, I think it's a great memory, but also a good happy gift.

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Michelle Fern: You could make a theme too, can't you?

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Mark Winter: Yeah, you can make a theme.

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Mark Winter: I saw that they have contemporary cat coffee table books.

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Mark Winter: I don't know if my cats don't drink coffee, but maybe they can look at it on their cat tree.

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Michelle Fern: But they drink, right?

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Michelle Fern: I've seen cat wine in your household before.

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Michelle Fern: Of course, it's not really cat wine, but many years ago, I think I brought you some samples from when I did for Best Bets for Pets show.

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Michelle Fern: I think they indulge a little bit.

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Mark Winter: They do have cat wine.

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Mark Winter: It's not real wine like you said, but it's a liquid that has catnip in it.

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Mark Winter: It's called like catbernee and pinot-meow.

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Michelle Fern: You could look it up online.

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Michelle Fern: But besides books, they also have cards, calendars.

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Mark Winter: I think they have like a special.

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Mark Winter: If you order your Mixbook, then they also give you a Mixbook movie, which is all your pictures together in a little movie.

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Mark Winter: Before you get your Mixbook, you can see how it looks.

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Michelle Fern: That is fantastic.

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Michelle Fern: Now, as I always tell my listeners on their page, we have all of the links and everything, and of course, the link for Mixbook will be there.

00:07:02.493 --> 00:07:08.413
Michelle Fern: The list for, I guess, all of our holiday items will be listed on the page on Pet Life Radio, correct?

00:07:08.413 --> 00:07:12.353
Mark Winter: Yeah, everything will be on the show page, but they can go to mixbook.com.

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Mark Winter: That's pretty easy.

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Michelle Fern: Okay.

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Michelle Fern: This is something a little different than anything else that's out there, and it's called Frame Your Feline.

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Michelle Fern: And for those of us that have cats that move, so mine don't move a lot.

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Michelle Fern: I try to exercise them, but they just don't move.

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Mark Winter: Mine are big.

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Michelle Fern: Yours are big, too.

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Michelle Fern: My biggest fear when I got into cats was that they'd be jumping and knocking everything over.

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Michelle Fern: And I recently dog sat, and he was more of a jumper than they were, so I don't know.

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Michelle Fern: But for most of us that have cats that like to jump and explore, Frame Your Feline is really cool.

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Michelle Fern: It's frameyourfeline.com.

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Michelle Fern: It's like a 3D frame, and they have all kinds of, you know, variations of the frame, just all kinds of colors and different themes, and your cat actually becomes the picture.

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Michelle Fern: So for all you listeners, imagine a 3D frame, you know, a picture frame.

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Michelle Fern: But of course, well, all picture frames are 3D, but this one is more 3D because it's out from the wall, almost on a shelf, and your cat can jump on the shelf behind it, and there's your picture.

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Michelle Fern: Isn't that cool, Mark?

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Mark Winter: That's cool.

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Mark Winter: I think my cat's, the frame would have to be down on the floor because they're not jumping on a shelf.

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Mark Winter: They're going to have to just step into the picture.

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Michelle Fern: Well, you could do that too, especially if it's in a wall unit or something.

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Michelle Fern: Have them step in.

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Michelle Fern: Think of all the cool Instagram and Facebook pictures you could get.

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Mark Winter: It comes with different backgrounds, right?

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Michelle Fern: Yeah, I think there's different backgrounds as well.

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Michelle Fern: So check out frameyourfeline.com.

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Mark Winter: Okay.

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Mark Winter: Now, another fun thing to have, and they all need it because whether you have cats or dogs, they all sleep.

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Mark Winter: So Squishmallows, and it's a really funny name.

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Michelle Fern: I like saying that word, Squishmallows.

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Michelle Fern: It's like a marshmallow.

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Mark Winter: Yeah, it's like a really soft bed, and the one that we have is shaped like an octopus.

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Mark Winter: So it has like two eyes and like a cartoon character, and it has like these tentacles coming out.

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Mark Winter: And I guess the seafood theme really appeals to the cats, because ours were like really competing to get into the bed first.

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Mark Winter: As soon as one got out, the other one like ran over to try to get in there.

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Michelle Fern: I've not seen your cats this excited in years.

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Michelle Fern: They were just so floored by it.

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Michelle Fern: I remember when you put it out, and who was it?

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Michelle Fern: Molly is the diva.

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Michelle Fern: She pushes everybody out of the way, so she got in there first, I think.

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Michelle Fern: And then as soon as she was out, Dennis was eyeing it, and then boom, he was in.

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Michelle Fern: So it was very funny.

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Michelle Fern: And who makes that?

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Mark Winter: That's made by Jazzwear.

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Michelle Fern: Okay.

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Mark Winter: J-A-Z-W-A-R-E.

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Michelle Fern: Okay.

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Michelle Fern: And you could also, you find it on chewy.com and Amazon.

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Michelle Fern: All right.

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Michelle Fern: This next gift is a gift for your cat, but it's a gift for you as well.

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Michelle Fern: Comfort Zone.

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Michelle Fern: So what Comfort Zone is, it's a calming diffuser, and it works for multi-cat households.

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Michelle Fern: And there's also a calming collar, and also a calming, like a hand brush.

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Michelle Fern: It's like a hand mitt that brushes their hair so it soothes them.

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Michelle Fern: And you know, I'm thinking of Charlotte, my nutty Charlotte, when I think of this calming collar, because there's a few on the market.

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Michelle Fern: This is one of the few that really chills her out.

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Mark Winter: Yeah, especially, I guess, you know, after you bring out the vacuum cleaner and they hit the wall, they might need something to calm themselves down.

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Michelle Fern: Yes.

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Michelle Fern: And the other thing is, it's holidays, right?

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Michelle Fern: You have a lot of strangers going in and out of your house, and cats are territorial, so imagine it from their point of view.

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Michelle Fern: They're probably sitting there going, what the hell?

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Michelle Fern: I want to just chill and nap, and there's kids running in and noise and lights going on and songs, and there's a lot of stimulation, and this could be overwhelming for a lot of cats, even if your cat is usually chill.

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Michelle Fern: So using the calming diffuser, I can't detect the smell.

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Michelle Fern: I don't think humans can detect the scent at all.

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Mark Winter: It's a pheromone.

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Michelle Fern: Yeah, it's a pheromone, thank you.

00:11:18.693 --> 00:11:21.193
Michelle Fern: But your cats definitely chill out.

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Michelle Fern: Where can people find calming collar and diffuser?

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Mark Winter: comfortzone.com.

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Mark Winter: So if they see a bearded man with a red suit sneaking down the chimney, and they're freaked out by that, if they have their calming collar on, then they might just say, okay.

00:11:38.153 --> 00:11:39.073
Michelle Fern: They'll be chill.

00:11:39.073 --> 00:11:41.413
Michelle Fern: What if they see reindeer?

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Michelle Fern: You think Rudolph that knows with a-

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Mark Winter: I think they would like that.

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Mark Winter: Be like a laser pointer.

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Mark Winter: They might go after it.

00:11:47.033 --> 00:11:47.873
Michelle Fern: Yeah.

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Michelle Fern: You know, that reminds me of, they have it on the internet every year.

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Michelle Fern: Santa around the world.

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Michelle Fern: And putting that on your smart TV and having your cats just watch the dot go across.

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Mark Winter: Yeah, they might like that.

00:11:58.853 --> 00:12:02.173
Mark Winter: Then, you know, you might have to buy them a new TV after that.

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Michelle Fern: Well, there's that.

00:12:04.533 --> 00:12:05.533
Michelle Fern: There's that.

00:12:05.533 --> 00:12:05.953
Michelle Fern: >All right.

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Michelle Fern: We're going to take a short break and hear from our sponsor, and we'll be right back.

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Announcer: Go to cattreetray.com.

00:12:43.013 --> 00:12:46.513
Announcer: Bring home a luxury French bulldog from the world famous Tom King's.

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Announcer: We will see you next time.

00:13:29.573 --> 00:13:30.773
Announcer: Let's Talk Pets.

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Announcer: Let's Talk Pets.

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Announcer: On PetLife Radio.

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Announcer: PetLife Radio.

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Michelle Fern: Welcome back, everyone.

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Michelle Fern: My guest today is...

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Michelle Fern: That's my version of a drum roll, my producer, Mark Winter.

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Michelle Fern: And we are having the best discussion about cats, all about cat for the holidays, toys and gifts and so forth.

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Michelle Fern: And Mark, thanks again for taking time out of your busy schedule to come on Cattitude.

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Mark Winter: This is fun.

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Mark Winter: And you know I love my cats.

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Michelle Fern: I know you love your cats.

00:14:12.013 --> 00:14:16.413
Michelle Fern: You love your cats so much, you want to take them with you on vacation every time.

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Mark Winter: I would.

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Mark Winter: I don't think.

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Mark Winter: I don't think that they would enjoy the travel, though.

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Michelle Fern: No, they wouldn't.

00:14:20.199 --> 00:14:25.939
Michelle Fern: Well, here's another gift, but this is the gift of giving for you.

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Michelle Fern: And what this is, is I recently viewed a documentary called American Cats.

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Michelle Fern: You can find out about it at pawproject.org, or just search the title.

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Michelle Fern: And the full title is American Cats, The Good, The Bad, and The Cuddling.

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Michelle Fern: And as always, when I talk about things on this show, I always like to kind of tie it into a way to give back or do something really cool for spreading the knowledge of cats and what they're all about.

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Michelle Fern: And so American Cats is a documentary, really, really well done.

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Michelle Fern: Have you seen it, Mark?

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Mark Winter: No, I haven't seen it yet.

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Michelle Fern: You have to see it.

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Michelle Fern: They were on Cattitude, the producer and Jennifer Conrad.

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Michelle Fern: So the reason I'm bringing this movie up during our cat holiday show is because we want to put out some good vibes out there.

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Michelle Fern: There's a lot of give and receive, but sharing knowledge is a great way to give a gift.

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Michelle Fern: And the American Cats movie talks about declawing.

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Michelle Fern: A lot of people have a misconception and they think declawing is just cutting a nail.

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Michelle Fern: And it's not at all.

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Michelle Fern: What is it, Mark?

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Michelle Fern: Because you've edited, I don't know, how many cat shows.

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Mark Winter: I've edited like 10,000 shows.

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Mark Winter: So it's actually, it's like if you looked at your hand and you cut off your fingers at where the first knuckle is, that's what they do.

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Mark Winter: So it's not really declawing.

00:15:53.139 --> 00:15:54.659
Mark Winter: It's like de-fingering.

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Mark Winter: You really don't want to do that to your cats, not if you love them.

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Michelle Fern: No, you don't.

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Michelle Fern: And people tend to do this as a behavioral correction.

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Michelle Fern: And it actually works the opposite.

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Michelle Fern: Because people that do it are not always educated.

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Michelle Fern: A lot of vet offices will not educate people either.

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Michelle Fern: They'll just say, well, okay, fine.

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Michelle Fern: You can learn about more why in the documentary.

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Michelle Fern: It really is good.

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Michelle Fern: And it's funny in a twisted way.

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Michelle Fern: There's some humorous points.

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Michelle Fern: So what it does is, you know, most people declaw the cats because they don't want the cats scratching.

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Michelle Fern: And that usually means there's not enough scratching posts in your house or maybe it's not in the right place.

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Michelle Fern: So they do that.

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Michelle Fern: But then guess what?

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Michelle Fern: Cats do.

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Michelle Fern: They have to have some way to defend themselves.

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Michelle Fern: They bite.

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Michelle Fern: Declawed cats are much more likely to bite.

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Michelle Fern: The other thing is, it feels to them, and this was, I'll give you a little, a little sentence of what was mentioned in the movie.

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Michelle Fern: It's kind of like, in a sense, walking with little pebbles in your shoe, except worse.

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Michelle Fern: That's the best way I can akin it.

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Michelle Fern: So educate yourselves, go to thepawproject.org.

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Michelle Fern: There's great information, and if you have the chance, I hope you can see the movie, American Cats.

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Michelle Fern: Mark, you gotta see the movie.

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Mark Winter: Yeah, and you know, it's funny, because people think that cats are like so independent and they can't be trained, but they're really easy to train.

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Mark Winter: And so if your cat is clawing up your couch and you don't want them to do that, you can train them not to do that, and they're pretty good.

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Michelle Fern: Exactly, train them not to do it.

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Michelle Fern: I tend to always have one cat that's, I'm not a good trainer, that's the problem.

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Michelle Fern: So for me, I don't spend 10,000 on my, or even 5,000 on my couch.

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Michelle Fern: That's how I roll, but there are people that live in very nice areas that have gorgeous homes, that have cats and nothing is clawed.

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Michelle Fern: So you're so right, Mark, you can totally train cats.

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Michelle Fern: Okay, so please check out, take your friend to see it.

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Michelle Fern: It is a wonderful documentary.

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Michelle Fern: Share the knowledge about banning, declawing.

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Michelle Fern: We need to try to get better with that in the US.

00:18:09.499 --> 00:18:13.119
Michelle Fern: It is American Cats, The Good, The Bad and The Cuddly.

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Michelle Fern: All right, Mark, this is one of my favorites, DIY Toys.

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Michelle Fern: We have to have a section on DIY Toys, of course.

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Michelle Fern: What are some of your favorites?

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Mark Winter: Okay, well, for people that are like, this is not me because I'm not like this, but people that are really lazy, you can go on to Amazon and you can order like $150 animated toy that flies around on the floor, or you could just crumple up a piece of paper and throw in.

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Mark Winter: It does the exact same thing and it costs you nothing.

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Michelle Fern: That is so true.

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Michelle Fern: One thing about cats, which they might be picky eaters, they might want picky on the treats, but then when it comes to things like toys, they're low bar.

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Michelle Fern: Give me a paper, a plastic bag or a box.

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Mark Winter: A box.

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Mark Winter: Yeah, they love boxes.

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Michelle Fern: One of the coolest DIY toys that I saw, and I'll try to give everybody listening a really good description.

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Michelle Fern: So empty toilet paper roll.

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Michelle Fern: Empty, right?

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Michelle Fern: Then you shove in between that, I think it was like a large chunk of tin foil, or you can use paper and it just rolls.

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Michelle Fern: So you just have to roll up the paper, put it on side, maybe crinkle it a little bit on each end, but it just rolls and that takes two seconds to make and you're, it's sustainable because you're reusing paper and it's recyclable.

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Mark Winter: Otherwise, they'll be in your bathroom having a field day, unrolling the toilet paper that's on the holder.

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Michelle Fern: Yeah.

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Michelle Fern: Yeah.

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Michelle Fern: Yeah.

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Michelle Fern: Have you ever gone to visit somebody with cats and you're in the bathroom and you're like, okay, where the heck is the toilet paper?

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Michelle Fern: Because it's hidden someplace high so the cats can't get to it?

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Mark Winter: No, usually you go in, it's like a snowstorm on the ground.

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Michelle Fern: No, but when you visit a friend that-

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Mark Winter: Oh yeah, that has cats.

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Michelle Fern: Like, where's the toilet paper?

00:19:57.099 --> 00:19:59.099
Michelle Fern: It's hiding, where is it?

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Michelle Fern: Yeah, I've seen the snowstorms before.

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Michelle Fern: They love spinning things.

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Michelle Fern: That's why that toilet paper DIY is cool because it's a roll.

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Mark Winter: Well, the best thing for the holidays is you buy yourself a present and you give your cat the box and then you're both happy.

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Michelle Fern: The box.

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Michelle Fern: As long as they can get a little bit of themselves into the box, they are happy.

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Michelle Fern: They make themselves fit.

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Mark Winter: They're like liquid.

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Michelle Fern: Like liquid, yes.

00:20:23.819 --> 00:20:27.039
Michelle Fern: So, Mark, any other DIY toys you can suggest?

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Michelle Fern: Of course, people can go on the Internet, Chrome, Google, Safari and look it up.

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Michelle Fern: But are there any over the years have just been a big favorite among your cats?

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Mark Winter: You could order catnip and you could put it in anything.

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Mark Winter: If your cats like catnip, whatever you put it in a cup or roll it up in a paper or whatever, it'll become a toy.

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Michelle Fern: I'm glad you brought up catnip.

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Michelle Fern: Also, if the catnip is not working and it works on, I think about what 80% of cats are attracted to it.

00:20:58.059 --> 00:21:02.919
Michelle Fern: Some are not, but it could also be the fact that your catnip is old.

00:21:02.919 --> 00:21:08.359
Michelle Fern: I need a fresh batch, so I will be buying catnip for them soon so they can go ahead and party down.

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Michelle Fern: Okay, last but not least, Mark, I know you love a good book, especially a good coffee table book for your cat.

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Michelle Fern: The Cats of the World book, have you heard about that book?

00:21:20.739 --> 00:21:23.919
Mark Winter: I know that Hannah Shaw wrote it, but that's all I know.

00:21:23.919 --> 00:21:25.059
Michelle Fern: And her husband.

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Mark Winter: Okay.

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Michelle Fern: So it's by Hannah Shaw and Andrew Martilla, and they went all over the world.

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Michelle Fern: Some of the countries I recall, Thailand and parts of Asia, I think they were even Africa, they were in Europe, just all over, and photographed cats.

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Michelle Fern: And there's also, it's not just a book about cats.

00:21:47.059 --> 00:21:53.019
Michelle Fern: There's descriptions of how the cats live, what they're all about, in each country, for each country.

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Mark Winter: They look different?

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Michelle Fern: Yeah, yeah, all different.

00:21:55.239 --> 00:21:56.199
Michelle Fern: What do you mean all different?

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Mark Winter: I mean, the cats, I mean, when I was in Paris, I took a picture of a cat, and it looks like the same kind of cat that lives here.

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Michelle Fern: You took a picture, though, of a tabby.

00:22:04.739 --> 00:22:10.519
Michelle Fern: So, you know, they have tabbies and other, in India, they have tabbies, but they also have other cats.

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Michelle Fern: So, it's just kind of cool.

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Michelle Fern: I think it's a great way for people that love cats and are in their own cat world to just all get together because it's so unifying for cat lovers.

00:22:23.579 --> 00:22:33.519
Michelle Fern: And it just all makes you see, you know, the world, we have a lot of differences, but we love cats, and that's true all over the place, global.

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Michelle Fern: So really cool.

00:22:35.179 --> 00:22:44.059
Michelle Fern: So Mark, I don't know what you're doing for the holidays for your cats, but I am making my cats the perfect feast.

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Michelle Fern: And I got it easy because they eat just about anything, so they're not picky like some cats.

00:22:50.699 --> 00:22:58.679
Michelle Fern: But there's different things that I've read about, and this again, DIY, but you could make them little ice cubes with flavors.

00:22:58.679 --> 00:23:04.559
Michelle Fern: I live in South Florida, so it's sunny and warm, so it doesn't matter that it's cold weather now.

00:23:04.559 --> 00:23:09.519
Michelle Fern: But for those of you in other places, why don't you get a smorgasbord of treats?

00:23:09.519 --> 00:23:17.799
Michelle Fern: You have the squeeze ups, then you can have little crunchy treats, and then you can have maybe a mix of the two.

00:23:17.799 --> 00:23:19.359
Michelle Fern: They sell that little broth.

00:23:19.359 --> 00:23:22.859
Michelle Fern: You could almost make a charcuterie board for your cats.

00:23:22.859 --> 00:23:24.499
Michelle Fern: That would be really cool.

00:23:24.499 --> 00:23:32.439
Mark Winter: You know, you could also do, if you celebrate Christmas, you can make like an advent calendar and put little treats for your cats in each one.

00:23:32.439 --> 00:23:34.739
Mark Winter: Or if you celebrate Hanukkah, there's eight nights.

00:23:34.739 --> 00:23:37.699
Mark Winter: So every night you can give your cats a different treat.

00:23:37.699 --> 00:23:39.659
Michelle Fern: Yeah, that's a great idea.

00:23:39.659 --> 00:23:43.919
Michelle Fern: Well, this has been so much fun having you on Cattitude.

00:23:43.919 --> 00:23:45.239
Michelle Fern: You have to come back.

00:23:45.239 --> 00:23:46.859
Mark Winter: Okay, next holiday.

00:23:46.859 --> 00:23:49.279
Michelle Fern: No, before that, before that.

00:23:49.279 --> 00:23:56.459
Michelle Fern: And I hope you have a wonderful holiday season with you, your family and of course your cat family.

00:23:56.459 --> 00:23:56.979
Mark Winter: Well, thank you.

00:23:57.299 --> 00:23:59.879
Mark Winter: Have a purrfect holiday season.

00:23:59.879 --> 00:24:05.579
Michelle Fern: I'm looking forward to Meowmas and Hanukkah too, and having that time to just chill.

00:24:05.579 --> 00:24:08.499
Michelle Fern: You know what my favorite part of the holidays is though?

00:24:08.499 --> 00:24:11.299
Michelle Fern: Giving gifts and looking at all the lights.

00:24:11.299 --> 00:24:15.099
Mark Winter: Yeah, I would take the cats to go look at them too, but they don't like to ride in the car.

00:24:15.099 --> 00:24:19.479
Michelle Fern: You know, oh well, I don't think the cats, they only see certain colors.

00:24:19.479 --> 00:24:23.579
Michelle Fern: I think like mostly, oddly enough, if I recall, gray and yellow.

00:24:23.579 --> 00:24:25.599
Michelle Fern: So I don't think the cats would like it.

00:24:25.719 --> 00:24:31.839
Mark Winter: I used to take my dog to go look at the lights, and I don't know if he could tell all the colors, but I think he just enjoyed the car ride.

00:24:31.839 --> 00:24:32.979
Michelle Fern: He was social.

00:24:32.979 --> 00:24:36.259
Michelle Fern: Well, again, Mark, thank you so much for coming on Cattitude.

00:24:36.259 --> 00:24:39.379
Michelle Fern: I'd like to thank my listeners for listening to Cattitude.

00:24:39.379 --> 00:24:41.619
Michelle Fern: Hope you enjoyed this holiday show.

00:24:41.619 --> 00:24:53.799
Michelle Fern: Thanks to Dennis, Charlotte and Molly, who are, they're my cat crew, and teach me a lot about cats and help me with narrow down my top seven lists from a lot larger list.

00:24:54.239 --> 00:24:58.979
Michelle Fern: So, you've gotten a pause up holiday list that we went through.

00:24:58.979 --> 00:25:01.759
Michelle Fern: And of course, now I could thank you in person, Mark.

00:25:01.759 --> 00:25:10.339
Michelle Fern: Thank you so much, Mark, for the magic that you're working making me and this time you sound good for all of our listeners.

00:25:10.339 --> 00:25:12.599
Mark Winter: I have to work extra hard for this one.

00:25:12.599 --> 00:25:13.619
Michelle Fern: Well, you're learning.

00:25:13.619 --> 00:25:14.639
Michelle Fern: You'll get there.

00:25:14.639 --> 00:25:16.459
Michelle Fern: Thanks so much for joining me.

00:25:16.459 --> 00:25:17.519
Mark Winter: Oh, thanks for having me.

00:25:17.519 --> 00:25:19.419
Mark Winter: We'll have to do this again sometime.

00:25:19.419 --> 00:25:20.259
Michelle Fern: Absolutely.

00:25:20.259 --> 00:25:21.499
Mark Winter: You know where to find me.

00:25:21.499 --> 00:25:22.019
Michelle Fern: Oh, yes.

00:25:22.779 --> 00:25:27.759
Michelle Fern: It's only a matter of twisting your arm so I can get you on this show because you're so busy all the time.

00:25:27.759 --> 00:25:31.719
Michelle Fern: And remember, lose the attitude, have cattitude.

00:25:31.719 --> 00:25:37.739
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