Is your cat really crazy? Ever wonder why she just stares at her toys, but won’t play? Does your cat have anger issues? Two UC Davis cat behavior experts will be taking part in a Reddit AMA, or “Ask Me Anything,” from 10 a.m. to noon this Friday (April 19) to answer all those questions and more.
Melissa Bain, a cat behaviorist and professor of clinical animal behavior at the School of Veterinary Medicine and Mikel Delgado, a postdoctoral researcher and certified applied animal behaviorist, hope to help cat owners figure out all their felines’ freaky behavior.
Delgado recently published a study that surveyed cat owners about cat food puzzles and how they help bring out the natural foraging behavior of cats.
Bain recently received the 2019 Companion Animal Welfare Award, recognizing her contributions to animal welfare.
The Reddit AMA will take place in a new thread to be posted Friday in the “Cats” subreddit.
— Amy Quinton
Bertsch drafted into WNBA
Following a record-setting four-year collegiate career in which she shattered numerous career and single-season marks, UC Davis senior biomedical engineering major Morgan Bertsch will take her talents to the professional level this summer, selected with the 29th overall pick by the Dallas Wings in the third round of the 2019 WNBA Draft last Wednesday (April 10).
“The amount of support I have received in the last 24 hours has been incredible,” Bertsch said at a news conference on campus the following day. “I could have never imagined this, but I am truly thankful that I could represent UC Davis in this endeavor and I wouldn't want to be anywhere else. I just can't wait to see where the next couple weeks leads me.”
With the WNBA preseason set to tip off on May 13, and the regular-season opener following just 11 days later, Bertsch's next step is still unclear and there's still a lot of work to do to prepare for the rigors of professional basketball. However, with the spring quarter at UC Davis not even two weeks old, a lot of attention is sure to be paid to her remaining classwork with the goal of graduating from the nation's No. 5 public university within her grasp.
“I think that it's special to be able to do engineering and still be an athlete,” Bertsch said. “When I first decided that I was going to do engineering, a lot of people told me that I was going to have to pick. I knew that it wasn't something that had to be one way or the other, there's always going to be a way that you can compromise and, I think, UC Davis has allowed me to pursue basketball as well as my academic dreams. I don't think that every university out there provides those opportunities for their student-athletes.”
Read more in the Athletics stories written about the draft Wednesday and following the subsequent press conference.
— Jason Spencer
Reactions from social media:
From the team: Dallas Wings
With the 29nd pick of with #WNBADraft, we have selected Morgan Bertsch from UC Davis. Our #WingsFam just got a little better.
Athletic director Kevin Blue
Morgan Bertsch just got drafted in the 3rd round, 29th overall, by @DallasWings. First ever @WNBA draft pick for @UCDavisWBB! So well deserved! Greatest ever on the court, great teammate, and elite scholar-athlete (biomedical engineering).
Teammate Kortney Eaton
So happy I got to be with @MoBertsch and share this moment with her. Don’t think we’ve ever yelled so loud and hugged so hard. So proud. So deserved. The GOAT!!!
Reporter David Yapkowitz
When I spoke to Morgan Bertsch a few weeks ago, she told me she definitely planned to play pro basketball whether that was overseas or the WNBA. She just got drafted by the Dallas Wings. The girl who had ONE D1 offer. Didn’t play AAU. She’s a pro now.