Cat behavior seminar or stand up comedy act?
March 27, 2017 by Leave a Comment
Daniel “DQ” Quagliozzi of Go Cat Go Behavior Consulting in San Francisco, teaches his seminar / stand up comedy routine, “Live in the Meow”, a class tailored for understanding the body language and emotions of humans and cats, with a focus on shelter cats and stress. A great class for continuing shelter education and cat guardians that just want to understand their cats a little better.
If you know a shelter, cat cafe, or any venue that might want to sponsor a cat behavior class, please email DQ at gocatgosf@gmail.com
The Regulars: Touching humans’ hearts through feline friends
February 21, 2017 by Leave a Comment
SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle
It’s an overcast Tuesday morning and Daniel “DQ” Quagliozzi is listening to a voicemail left by one of his clients as he sips a hot cup of green tea. The woman speaks quickly, her short sentences punctuated by uneasy sighs.
“I just don’t know what to do. Things are totally out of control. I really hope you can help us,” she pleads.
“By the time they’re reaching out to me, this is usually the case. I’m their last hope,” DQ says as he reflects on the message and takes down notes.
DQ prepares to meet with this client by gathering together an assortment of “tools” necessary for the job: A long, retractable rod with a tuft of bird feathers at one end. Thick, padded gloves, which roll past the wrist to the elbow. A small flashlight, which shines an eerie purple hue when switched on. These are tools of the Cat Behavior Specialist, a unique job which DQ has been developing for the past four years. After leaving his 9-to-5 job at the San Francisco SPCA, DQ wanted to use his skills in decoding the mysterious and often frustrating conduct of cats.
Photo: Max Bouvatte, Special To The Chronicle
“The emotional connection people have with their cats is very deep, and very profound, but it’s also one that takes a lot of personal surrender,” DQ says as he drives to visit a client in Marin County.
DQ’s approach to diagnose his clients’ cat problems is to thoughtfully observe the cat’s living space.
“I go in there with my cat eyes,” he says.
His tone is calm and curious as he speaks with a woman whose cats have begun to urinate everywhere but the litter box.
“I have sat with people for hours talking to them about what’s going on with their cat, only to later uncover that ‘Oh, by the way, I’m going through this horrible divorce, and everyday I come home and I’m crying. Now my cats are peeing and fighting.’ So, the way you handle a personal issue, a lot of times carries into how the cats are perceiving their environment.”Giving advice, particularly when it comes to your pets, isn’t about judgment, it’s just about making sure that we move forward with positive change,” says DQ, as his cat, Cubby, leans into his his leg purring gratefully.
Watch an accompanying video at www.sfchronicle.com/theregulars. The Regulars is a weekly photo and video column that offers a glimpse into the lives of ordinary people in the Bay Area, caught in routine activities of modern urban life. If you know a regular, email kduncan@sfchronicle.com.
Balancing Style & Purrspective
May 23, 2016 by Leave a Comment
By Daniel “DQ” Quagliozzi
Your home is a sacred place for both you and your cats. It’s where you retreat, recharge and relax. If you’re a cat person, it means so much more. Let’s face it, some of us are home a lot. So, why not create an environment that exemplifies your style, keeps your stuff organized and allows your cats to share the same space with you, while still calling it their own? It can be done….even in your tiny apartment!
I think most people are hesitant to add cat furniture to their homes, because the choices we are used to are bleak and unattractive. I mean, beige on beige carpet is cool and all, but we’re living in modern times. We ARE doing so much better with cat enrichment and design. You just have to take the time to create the design. Manifest the vision. It’s meow or never.
My consult in Mountain View with my clients, Sean & Bonnie and their cats, Dudley, Xena & Clyde was a total blast! I just had to feature their catification project on my blog, because I think it really combines aesthetic style, attention to comfort, cat logistics and just straight up consideration for the happiness of their cats. Virtually every nook and cranny in this house has thoughtful cat enrichment of some kind, paying extra attention to scent soaked areas like scratch pads, posts and perches.
Using Kate Benjamin & Jackson Galaxy’s book, “Catify to Satisfy” as a guide, the preferences of each cat to get up off the ground and into the mix have been embraced and catered to with modern elegance and kitsch. They added cabinets and shelves to areas that had the most social significance, like home offices, workshops and of course, the living room and bedroom areas.
Check out their hard work below. Most of the cabinets are Ikea models and the climbing pole was DIY, based on the book referenced above.
