Dr. Annie Valuska | Source | Principal Scientist (Pet Behavior and Welfare) at Nestle Purina

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Dr. Annie Valuska

Principal Scientist (Pet Behavior and Welfare) at Nestle Purina and 1 other company
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Dr. Annie Valuska, a Principal Scientist on Nestlé Purina PetCare’s Pet Behavior team, is a leading expert in pet behavior and animal science, bringing over 20 years of animal behavior experience to her role. After a variety of undergraduate research experiences at Kenyon College, Dr. Annie received her PhD in Animal Behavior from the University of California, Davis, then went on to serve as the Post-Doctoral Behavior Research Fellow at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Since joining Purina in 2013, Dr. Annie has used her expertise to serve as the “voice of the pet,” ensuring that the needs of cats and dogs are kept top of mind in all of Purina’s products and initiatives. In addition to her professional accomplishments, Dr. Annie is an active animal shelter volunteer and a dedicated pet owner to a pit bull/shih tzu mix (Arya) and black cat (Jack).

On her social media channels, she discusses various animal behavioral topics with her community of over 170,000 TikTok followers and more than 77,000 Instagram followers. Dr. Annie has also been featured in numerous podcasts, TV news stories, and articles about pet behavior, sharing her insights to help pet owners better understand their furry companions.

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  • “A solicitation purr is a purr that's produced when cats are actively seeking food from people. The difference between these solicitation purrs and a normal purr is that solicitation purrs have a high frequency voiced component that, get this, is at the same frequency as the cries of human infants. This makes us particularly likely to tune into them!” (TikTok)

  • “The recipe for a happy cat can be summed up in one word: routine. That routine should include scheduled meal times (so no more free feeding), scheduled time to bond with you (even if that's just sitting in the same room talking to them if that's your jam or if they don't like to be petted that much), and maybe most importantly, lots of scheduled playtime.” (TikTok)

  • "Cat aloofness is actually a myth! Studies have shown that, in general, cats prefer attention from their human over a favorite treat; they have “attachment styles” and bonds with their pet parent that mimic very closely those of dogs and their family; and they can experience separation anxiety in their human’s absence." (KSEE-TV NBC)

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