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Dr. Kelly Diehl talks with Dr. Kristyn Vitale, an assistant professor of animal health and behavior at Maine’s Unity College. They share insights on feline behavior, a neglected but important area of cat health and well-being. Dr. Vitale busts popular myths about cat sociability, trainability and more.

Dr. Kelly Diehl talks with Dr. Robin Tinghitella, an associate professor of Biology in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Denver. They discuss Dr. Tinghitella’s new project to investigate if noise pollution is harming cricket populations and, subsequently, the wildlife food chains of which they are an essential part. In this study, crickets will serve as a model for invertebrates to help answer questions about the health and reproductive consequences of noise.

Dr. Kelly Diehl talks with Dr. Patricia Harris, a European Specialist in Veterinary and Comparative Nutrition. They discuss the equine obesity epidemic and how to determine a horse’s body condition. Dr. Harris also offers advice for owners on how to help their horse lose weight, as well as strategies to prevent obesity.

Dr. Kelly Diehl talks with Dr. Marge Chandler, the clinical nutritionist for Vets Now Referrals in Glasgow, Scotland. They discuss obesity in pets, the latest science about it and what owners can do to keep their pets trim.

Dr. Kelly Diehl talks with Drs. Josh Stern and Ronald Li, Morris Animal Foundation-funded researchers at the University of California, Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine. They discuss how arterial thromboembolism in cats is treated, as well as their efforts to improve diagnosis and treatments.

Dr. Kelly Diehl talks with Dr. Anna Jolles, an Associate Professor in Epidemiology at Oregon State University. They discuss tuberculosis in African buffalo and Dr. Jolles’ Foundation-funded work to understand how disease interventions for TB can affect population health in the long run.

Dr. Kelly Diehl talks with Dr. Annette McCoy, an assistant professor of Equine Surgery at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The two discuss osteochondrosis, a significant health and welfare issue for horses. They also cover Dr. McCoy’s Morris Animal Foundation-funded study to try to identify genetic risk factors for development of the disease.

Dr. Kelly Diehl talks with Dr. Karen Munana, a professor of veterinary neurology at North Carolina State University. The two discuss seizures in dogs and Dr. Munana’s Foundation-funded study to evaluate the use of a collar-mounted accelerometer to detect seizures in epileptic dogs. The two also do a little seizure myth busting.

Dr. Kelly Diehl talks with Dr. Vanessa Barrs, a virologist and Associate Dean and Director of Veterinary Affairs at the City University of Hong Kong. The two discuss feline viruses and Dr. Barrs’ Foundation-funded study on feline panleukopenia. They also dive into the topic of COVID-19, in relation to pets.

Dr. Kelly Diehl talks with Dr. Lauren Schnabel, Associate Professor of Equine Orthopedic Surgery at North Carolina State University. The two discuss Schnabel’s new therapy to combat persistent joint infections in horses, potentially saving them from years of pain. Her team developed a platelet-rich plasma lysate that, when teamed with antibiotics, can eradicate bacterial biofilms common in joint infections.

Dr. Kelly Diehl talks with Dr. Susan Kutz, a wildlife veterinary parasitologist and Associate Professor at the University of Calgary. The two discuss how climate change impacts Arctic animals through disease. Dr. Kutz also talks about her Foundation-funded research to monitor stress levels and the health of wild musk oxen to help inform conservation strategies.

Dr. Kelly Diehl talks feline chronic kidney disease with Dr. Jessica Quimby, Associate Professor at The Ohio State University. They discuss the causes of this common disease of older cats and Dr. Quimby talks about her Foundation-funded research on how kidneys age and become damaged.

Dr. Kelly Diehl talks with Dr. Molly McCue, Associate Dean of Research, and Professor, at the University of Minnesota. They discuss equine metabolic syndrome, a serious and increasingly common disease in horses. Dr. McCue also discusses her Foundation-funded research to better define the syndrome and understand its risk factors.

Dr. Kelly Diehl talks with Dr. Jody Gookin, Professor of Small Animal Internal Medicine at North Carolina State University, about gall bladder mucoceles, an increasingly common, and potentially deadly, disease of dogs. Dr. Gookin discusses the disease, her research on how mucoceles form and how we might prevent them in the future.

Dr. Kelly Diehl talks with Dr. Judi Stella, Research Associate at The Purdue College of Veterinary Medicine, and a Morris Animal Foundation-funded researcher. The two discuss cat welfare and her research to find strategies shelter managers and private practice veterinarians can use to reduce stress for cats.

Dr. Kelly Diehl talks with Dr. Valerie McKenzie, Associate Professor in the University of Colorado, Boulder’s Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, and a Morris Animal Foundation-funded researcher. The two discuss the worldwide problem of the chytrid fungal pathogen, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) and Dr. McKenzie’s recent efforts to stop it in boreal toads.  

Dr. Kelly Diehl talks with Dr. Kate Hurley, Director of the Koret Shelter Medicine Program and the University of California, Davis, and a Morris Animal Foundation-funded researcher. The two discuss the history of animal shelters in the United States and Dr. Hurley explains her study on how to decrease cases of feline respiratory disease in shelter cats.

Dr. Kelly Diehl talks again to Dr. Missy Simpson, Study Epidemiologist for the Morris Animal Foundation Golden Retriever Lifetime Study. The two discuss the first substantial findings of the Study, about how spaying or neutering large-breed dogs can put them at a higher risk for obesity and, if done when the dog is young, non-traumatic orthopedic injuries.

Dr. Kelly Diehl talks about laminitis with Dr. Janet Patterson-Kane, Morris Animal Foundation’s Chief Scientific Officer. The two cover the disease’s scope, current treatment and new research addressing it. They also discuss what horse owners can do to help prevent this debilitating disease.

Dr. Kelly Diehl talks with Dr. Jordan Karubian, Associate Professor at Tulane University’s Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, about his latest study, which found that mockingbirds exposed to sub-lethal levels of lead in urban areas display heightened aggression. He says the findings highlight the possibility that sub-lethal lead exposure may be common among other wildlife living in urban areas and more work is needed to better understand its full effects.