Clinic Policies
AND PROCEDURES

The Cat Behavior Clinic is founded by the leading doctors, cat behavior specialists, and pioneers of the cat behaviorist ™ specialty in the country.

cartoon purple cat | Mieshelle Nagelschneider | Cat Behaviorist | thecatbehaviorclinic.com

CLINIC POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

Cartoon Image of Mieshelle Nagelschneider | Cat Behaviorist

Our doctor and cat behaviorist team consults with cat owners worldwide from California to Australia.

In practice 28 years and founders of the Cat Behaviorist specialty, the clinic is able to achieve full success with you over the phone or by Zoom video.

Call The Clinic Today at 503-267-8888

Refunds

  • If you miss an appointment or do not give AT LEAST 72 hours notice in writing (email) to cancel or reschedule, the appointment will be forfeited and no refunds given. This is for any appointment regardless of when you scheduled because late cancellations prevents us from scheduling another cat owner.
  • The clinic has a 10 minute grace period for call start times if the cat owner or the behaviorist is running late. At the clinic’s discretion, we may recommend rescheduling to ensure there is enough time to cover everything that needs to be covered.
  • No refunds are given for unused “leftover” appointment time and you can not use the unused time for new behavior issues or any behavior issue after your 4 or 8 week program time ends. You are responsible for setting up your follow-up calls within your program time frame using the #4 form provided in your original appointment email.
  • Refunds are given for cancelled first-time appointments (not follow-ups) if you have given a minimum of 72 hour advance notice from your scheduled appointment time (no refunds are given if you have already submitted your Feline Behavior Intake Form).
  • No refunds are given if you have already completed and submitted your Feline Behavior Intake Form. NO EXCEPTIONS as the team spends a considerable amount of time evaluating you cat’s behavior case.
  • In the event the clinic does offer a refund, there is a 50.00 cancellation fee for first time appointments if given a minimum of 72 hours notice and a 100.00 cancellation fee if given less than 72 hours notice and an additional $12.50 – $16.00 credit card processing fee or Paypal processing payment fee and our additional clinic refund processing fee (16.00) that may also be deducted from any refund.
  • We do not give refunds for gift certificates or consultations purchased for a third party, but will allow the consultation program to be transferred to a shelter or another cat owner. 
  • Because behavior success is dependent upon owner involvement and animal behavior can be unpredictable, refunds are not given if your cat’s behavior issues are not remedied.
  • If after evaluating your cat’s behavior case it is determined we do not want to take your case, the clinic will send a refund within 3 to 4 business days. We do not provide behavioral referrals and we may or may not provide details of your cat’s evaluation.

Clinic Release and Agreement

  • The Clinic release and agreement online form must be signed and dated by you in order for the Clinic associates to work together with you.  If for some reason you can not complete the questionnaire on time, your consultation may still be conducted without it if the behaviorist approves, but the clinic release agreement online form will still need to be signed prior to your consultation. 
  • If you do not complete the feline history form prior to your appointment and do not give the clinic 72 hour notice minimum that you need to reschedule your call, you will forfeit your consultation fee as it would be considered a missed appointment.

Correspondence with the Clinic

  • The clinic staff generally responds to emails within 3 to 4 business days hours excluding weekends.
  • The behaviorist and veterinarians are unable to correspond with you via email. Instead, we offer free follow-up phone appointments within your 4 or 8 week program time.  If you need help or have questions, please email the clinic here using this contact form: https://www.thecatbehaviorclinic.com/contact.html  
  • To schedule a phone follow-up call during your program time, please use your Progress Report link (here). Behavior recommendations are given during your follow-up calls verbally and you will need to take notes during your call.  We do not email follow-up notes after each follow-up appointment.
  • Consultations are conducted 7 days a week, but the clinic office is closed on the weekends and most holidays.
  • The behaviorist will call you at the scheduled appointment time.  We do not send calendar invites or email reminders. If for some reason you do not receive a call, please call the clinic at 503-267-8888.

Appointments and Using Your Consult Time

  • If you request a video appointment, these are generally reserved for the first appointment only. Subsequent follow-up calls are then performed by phone instead of video unless the behaviorist deems a video call necessary.
  • Your behavior plan is given to you over the phone or video call during your initial behavior appointment.  You need to take complete and thorough notes during the call as we do not send written instructions. Certain consultation plans are progressive and will develop over time and further recommendations are then given during subsequent calls as part of your program time. 
  • Please plan for 1 to 1 1/2 hours for your first consultation. Follow-ups are 30 minutes time slots, but may last longer.
  • All allotted consultation appointment time must be used in the 4 or 8 week program time.  Program time is consecutive weeks from the date of your first appointment.  This allows the behaviorist to observe and evaluate behavior by the weekly updates you send in and during follow-up calls that typically occur every 1 – 2 weeks during your program time, and to give further recommendations for plans that are progressive or need to develop over time. 
  • No refunds are given for unused “leftover” consultation time and you can not use unused time for cat behavior issues past your 4 or 8 week program time or for an entirely separate cat behavior issue than what you originally enlisted the clinic for.  You are responsible for setting up your follow-up calls within your program time frame.
  • This is the link to send in weekly email updates for your cat’s file and to schedule follow-up calls:  https://www.thecatbehaviorclinic.com/progress-report-update.html
  • Clients past their 4 or 8 week program time can schedule a follow-up consult of up to 30 minutes for 175.00 if they are within 3 months of their last appointment and if deemed appropriate by the clinic for the specific behavior issue.  The follow-up appointment fee after 3 months of the last appointment is between 250.00 and 300.00 depending on the behavior issue. Certain issues require a new consultation vs. a follow-up especially if several months have passed from your last appointment or you have a different behavior issue than before. New behavior issues require a new appointment program vs. a follow-up call.
  • You can participate in the study reduced fee for urination and defecation one time only. After that, the fee is the regular Zoom fee of 450.00.
  • Consultation program fees include your case evaluation by the clinic, behavior plan preparation, and your first appointment.  Remaining follow-up calls are included should you need them and you are responsible for contacting the clinic to schedule your follow-ups using the weekly update/scheduling form provided in your original appointment email.
  • If you are scheduling a new one-time appointment to discuss whether a consultation program would be helpful for your cat’s behavior, the fee is $250.00.  No behavior advice will be given during this call.  If you wish to proceed with the program, the 250.00 will be deducted from the regular program fee.
  • If you do not contact the clinic to schedule a follow-up call after your initial appointment, we will assume you do not need to use your remaining appointment time. 

Thank you from the staff at The Cat Behavior Clinic

Frequently Asked Questions

All cat behavior solutions must take into consideration feline instincts and their evolutionary biology. The clinic has exclusive rights to Mieshelle Nagelschneider’s proprietary Cat Whisperer™ consulting, easy-to-implement C.A.T. Plan™ positive behavior modification, the most effective, comprehensive, and up-to-date system for curing any cat behavior problem.

Because every cat and environment is different, the plan allows for customized behavior techniques and environmental changes when needed – because cat behavior is not one-size-fits-all. Mieshelle has spent 20 years developing a method so effective that when clients follow it, their success rate is well over 90% (even higher for the most common issues).

Her science-based cat behavior book, The Cat Whisperer, has been featured in the New York Times and a best-seller on Amazon and published in 4 languages (Random House Publishing with co-writer Cameron Powell).

For cat behaviorists seeking certification, her book is a required curriculum by a number of cat behaviorist certifying organizations.

Love is born of mystery, and our cats are mysterious and loved in equal measure. But sometimes the greatest blessing of all is a bit of light thrown into a dark place. Mieshelle Nagelschneider holds that light. Allow her to share it with you.”– Gwen Cooper Author, Homer’s Odyssey: A Fearless Feline Tale, of Life With a Blind Wonder Cat (Random House), New York, NY

Veterinarian: “Over the course of many years, Mieshelle has developed and refined her unique ability to think like a cat. On numerous occasions I have witnessed the life-changing benefits Mieshelle’s techniques can bring to cats and their sometimes very frustrated owners.” – Veterinarian, Dr. James R. Shultz DVM, Portland, Oregon

Cat Behavior Veterinarian Referral from Dr. Lisa Berger DVM: “Despite all the disruptions, there have been no incidents of urination on the bed or the couch, and neither have been covered by plastic all week!” – Juanita H. Portland, Oregon

You have the African wildcat, your domestic cat’s ancestor, to thank for many of your cat’s “unwanted” cat behaviors. Learn more about this during your consultation to better understand and help your cat and solve its behavior issues. We often misunderstand cat behaviors. Once cat owners understand their cat instincts and biology, they can better understand why the behavior strategies work so well and can better apply them.

Mieshelle The Cat Whisperer™ has been the spokesperson and cat behavior expert for Comfort Zone, Arm & Hammer Cat Litter, and Cat Expert for Whiska’s International Media Tour Australia. Her cat behavior expertise is seen in the New York Times, The Today Show, NBC Dateline, MTV, Animal Planet, National Geographic, Discovery Channel, The Hallmark Channel, Modern Cat Magazine, Parade, Reader’s Digest, Cat Fancy Magazine, The New York Post, The Boston Globe, USA Today, This Wild Life, The Divine Cat, Real Simple Magazine, Salon.com, Petside, Freekibblekat, The Toronto Star, Canada Globe and Mail, Animal Rescue Site, The Daily Cat, Feline Wellness Magazine, Advisory Council Pet360.com, This Wild Life, The Cat Channel, Pets Magazine, The Circle, New Republic, The Sunrise Show, Yahoo.com, Herald Sun, Toronto Star, and countless others. See our Media Room below for the latest.

Feline behavior therapy is very different from canine behavior therapy and the approach to changing a cat’s behavior is even more unique. Cats do not display obedience problems like dogs. The help you need is not focused on physical or verbal behavior modification strategies, like dog training with a dog trainer present. All cat behaviorists conduct consultations by phone or video via Skype. Our behavior plans are specific to cats and still allow for the natural feline instincts, but when and where you want them displayed. We will cover the behavior plan during the phone or video consultation and offer follow-up over the course of several weeks for all of our consultation programs.

Call The Clinic Today at 503-267-8888

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