Meet Cristin Coll of The Cat Counselor

Today we’d like to introduce you to Cristin Coll.

Cristin, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I grew up in a house that was a little bit like Dr. Dolittle, so naturally, I’ve always loved animals. We had all different types of pets; dogs, cats, rabbits, fish, birds, guinea pigs, an occasional turtle and we even rescued and rehabilitated an abandoned baby sparrow. My true fascination, admiration, and dedication to my feline friends began about six years ago when I relocated to Los Angeles.

I adopted two, bottle-baby Siamese kittens, who were rescued from the Baldwin Park Shelter and immediately fell in love. I had never experienced such a special bond as I had with these two and knew I needed to get involved with a rescue group. I joined an amazing organization, Kitten Rescue, as a volunteer at one of our adoption venues, but quickly got involved in fostering, bottle feeding, socializing, trapping and really anything else that I could help with!

Unfortunately, I was not so good at fostering and now have six (amazing) cats! I realized that I needed to find a more sustainable way to keep cats out of the shelter and decided to get my certification in Feline Behavior. Sadly, Los Angeles struggles with a serious animal overpopulation problem, specifically with cats.

It’s estimated that we have between 1-3 million homeless cats and each year, an incredibly high number of cats and un-weaned kittens are put to sleep in the shelter systems. Many cats that are abandoned or surrendered to the shelters end up there as a result of completely resolvable behavioral issues.

As a Certified Feline Behavior Consultant, my mission is to help keep cats happy, in their homes and out of the shelters. Cats, just like dogs, are very trainable and with the appropriate tools, information and education, most behavior issues can be prevented or resolved. I have to say, it’s been pretty amazing what a profound impact two little, blue-eyed balls of fluff have had on my life!

Has it been a smooth road?
I had all the cat and behavior expertise down but getting the actual business set-up was a bit more of a learning curve. I learned a lot, and thankfully, it turned out to be a pretty smooth process.

Tell us about your business/company. What do you do, what do you specialize in, what are you known for, etc. What are you most proud of as a company? What sets you apart from others?
Basically, my job as The Cat Counselor is to figure out what may be causing the cat to perform the behavior(s) that the pet parent deems as inappropriate and to work-up a behavior modification plan to improve these behavior(s). By helping pet parents better understand their cat’s needs and behaviors, we are able to improve their relationships and the issues they are experiencing.

The most common cases I work with are litter box issues, cat on cat aggression and aggression toward humans. I also see lots of anxiety cases, destructive scratching, compulsive chewing issues, excessive vocalization, and over-grooming. I also have a lot of people reach out for first time cat-parenting consultations and what I call my “happy habitat” session. These are both more proactive approaches that ensure that the cat/kitten is set up for success and help prevent behavior issues down the road.

My current certifications are through the Animal Behavior Institute. It was a one year program, including courses in Feline Behavior & Enrichment, Feline Training, Feline Nutrition, General Animal Behavior, and Advanced Feline Training. After all the coursework was done, I completed 100 volunteers, field hours dedicated to both in-home and shelter behavior cases. All focused on cats of course!

Once that was complete, I earned my CFTBS (Certified Feline Training & Behavior Specialist) and CAFTP (Certified Advanced Feline Training Professional). I make sure I am always furthering my education and staying up on all the best ways to help cats and their families. The animal behavior & training field is fairly unregulated, so it is very important that people do their research on their behavior consultants and trainers.

One of the most rewarding parts of what I do is my volunteer work with under-socialized cats. Being able to help them come out of their shells and trust again is a truly magical experience. Watching them go to their forever home makes all the hard work totally worth it! I’m so proud to be able to play a small part in keeping cats out of the shelter.

Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and the least?
Aside from the traffic and cost of living, what’s not to love about LA? We have the most beautiful weather, tons of culture and can be to the beach or mountains within a few hours. I do wish it was a bit easier around so I could have more time to work with more cats!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.TheCatCounselor.com
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: @thecatcounselor
• Facebook: @thecatcounselor
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/the-cat-counselor-santa-monica

Image Credit:
Sara Iyer

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