Scaredy Cats! Fight, Flight, Freeze...and Feline? With Arborist Duane Hook And Feline Behaviorist Kristyn Vitale, Ph.D. And Behavioral Biologist Lee Niel, Ph.D. 6 Degrees Of Cats podcast

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Scaredy Cats! Fight, flight, freeze...and feline? with arborist Duane Hook and feline behaviorist Kristyn Vitale, Ph.D. and behavioral biologist Lee Niel, Ph.D.

4d ago 35:19

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What’s really going on with fearful cats - and why should we rethink the label “scaredy cat”? Behavioral biologist Dr. Lee Niel shares expert insights on how to read cats’ signals and understand what they’re trying to tell us. Returning guest expert Dr. Kristyn Vitale explores the environments and conditions that can create so-called scaredy cats. Finally, meet arborist and emergency responder Duane Hook, who rescues cats stuck in trees and offers a unique perspective on feline fear, trust and resilience.

Check out Cat in a Tree Emergency Rescue at catinatreerescue.com.

Special thanks to Georgia Mason, Ph.D. of the University of Guelph.

Support the podcast at https://ko-fi.com/6degreesofcats for as little as $1 / month for stickers, early access to new episodes and behind the scenes audio. View the show notes and more on The Captain’s Log, the companion podcast newsletter here: linktr.ee/6degreesofcats.

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About the experts:

Duane Hook, an Ohio-based arborist and cat rescuer has been helping cats in North America down from trees since 2010. You can watch his harrowing rescue missions on TikTok (tiktok.com/@getmeowtahere) and YouTube (@DHook) - all happy outcomes! - and learn more about his work at getmeowtahere.com.
Kristyn Vitale, Ph.D., is the founder of Maueyes and star of Netflix’s hit feature film, “The Mind of a Cat”. Her innovative research on cat behavior and human-animal interaction has been published in multiple peer-reviewed journals and been covered by such international publications as Science, National Geographic, The New York Times, and The Times of London.
Lee Niel, Ph.D., is a behavioural biologist trained in animal behaviour and welfare with expertise with both laboratory and companion animals. Dr. Niel holds the Col KL Campbell Chair in Companion Animal Welfare at Ontario Veterinary College at Canada's University of Guelph, and her research and teaching are focused on the behaviour and welfare of companion animals.

Producer, writer, editor, sound designer, host, basically everything*

Captain Kitty (Amanda B.)

* with co-executive producers Binky & Snuggles and new associate Peanut

Animal voices include:

Binky, Snuggles and Peanut _^..^_

Music:

Leathered: "Look Alive" © 2025
Additional sound effects from Pixabay.com

Logo design:

Edward Anthony © 2025 (Instagram: itsmyunzii)

Research used:

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