Dan “The Cat Man” Trachtenberg
THE HOST
Cats are his spirit animal.
Dan grew up in Brooklyn, New York, and his first exposure to cats came at a young age at his Great Uncle’s lampshade store in Brooklyn, where his great uncle let a colony of stray cats live in the store. Dan spent as much time as he could with those cats, and he has been a cat fan ever since.
Dan adopted his first cat, Tyler, in 2000, and dedicated his first blog, Shelter Cats & Redemption, in Tyler’s memory when he began that blog in 2015. You can read the blog here. From that blog, Dan created The Shelter Cats Podcast in 2023.
Dan lives on Long Island in New York with his 6 cats.
Michelle “The Meow Maven” Nielsen
THE CO-HOST
Cat lover, designer, writer
A lifelong animal lover, Michelle has had cats and dogs for as long as she can remember - cats, dogs, birds, hamsters, fish, a turtle, and a gecko.
In 2023, Michelle was on the podcast as a guest promoting her children’s book, “The Farty Feline” inspired by her real life cat Delilah. She and Dan hit if off right away, and he immediately invited her on as his co-host.
A graphic designer by trade (this website, our logos, and all our merch!), a performer and writer by passion, Michelle was thrilled to be part of the team.
Michelle can also be found on TikTok.
Stephen R. “Mr. Producer” Quandt
THE PRODUCER
Top Cat at Catbehaviorhelp.com
Stephen Quandt, CFTBS, FFCP is the founder of Stephen Quandt Feline Behavior Associates, LLC. He is a public speaker and a certified Feline Training and Behavior Specialist and a Fear Free Certified Professional and the author of his children’s book, Happy Comes Home available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. He has close to 25 years of experience working with cats in private consultations, animal shelters and in the field. A background of nationwide rescue work with the ASPCA greatly enriched his empathy with communities of cat lovers in need of help. His current work with the Animal Care Centers of NYC advances that compassionate connection. If you would like to read articles he’s quoted in or listen to more podcasts that he’s on please visit catbehaviorhelp.com and across social media @catbehaviorhelp and on TikTok @cat_behavior_help.
Stephen is married to artist Thom Heyer who illustrated Happy Comes Home and they have two cats, blind-from-birth Jenny who rules their home and her bestie, Cricket.
Jacob “Incidental Cat Guy” Haley
THE EDITOR
Jacob Haley is an amateur editor from Albany, New York. He graduated from SUNY Geneseo with a mathematics degree and a minor in film. He has directed a few short films and documentaries. Despite being allergic to cats, he has spent most of his life around them.
