Feline Minds About Us

Dilara Goksel Parry

Dilara grew up in Istanbul, Turkey and holds degrees in Psychology and in Comparative Literature from Oberlin College. She has worked with animals since 1991, and was the Cat Behavior Program Coordinator at the San Francisco SPCA for over 12 years.

She has been interviewed by msnbc.com, Animal Sheltering magazine, catchannel.com , KittensUSA, served on the Best Friends/No More Homeless Pets Forums, and written for Maddie's Fund. She has also been called on as an expert witness in a Massachussetts lawsuit relating to cat behavior.

She shares her life in Richmond, CA with her family of humans, dogs, and cats - and is contemplating adding a few chickens to the 'brood' soon.

Mikel Delgado

Before starting Feline Minds, Mikel worked as a full time Cat Behavior Specialist at the San Francisco SPCA from 2002 - 2008. Prior to that, she had volunteered with the SF SPCA Cat Behavior Program since 2000. She has been interviewed for Cat Fancy magazine, The Stockton Record, and thiswildlife.com. She has done presentations on cat behavior at the Bay Area Pet Fair and the Exploratorium Museum of Science.

Mikel serves on the Board of Directors as secretary for the IAABC (International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants) and is a Certified Cat Behavior Consultant.

Mikel lives in Berkeley, California with her partner and their two cats, and is currently a psychology major at Cal State University.

We worked together in the Cat Behavior Program of the San Francisco SPCA for many years. Through this work, we acquired many hours of hands on experience with cats who exhibit behavior concerns, including temperament testing, evaluating personality and implementing behavior modification plans. We consulted with hundreds of concerned cat guardians who were experiencing behavior problems with their pets. We helped numerous clients find the perfect cat for their household through careful matchmaking.

We developed curriculum and presented workshops for the public and volunteers on many different aspects of cat behavior, including environmental enrichment for indoor cats, solving litter box problems, and introducing new pets into the home. Our presentation “A Hiss Is Just a Hiss - or Is It?” at the St. Louis Conference on Homeless Animal Management and Policy (CHAMP) in July 2003 detailed our knowledge of temperament testing and rehabilitating shelter cats. We produced educational materials for the SF SPCA, including a DVD on basic cat care and behavior ("Whisker Tips") and handouts on various cat behavior concerns.