Podcast Summary: "My BFF Stole My Cat, Congress Talk, Am I The Worst Friend Ever?"

Podcast: Katching Up With Katie
Host: Katie Van Slyke
Date: October 22, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode is a candid, lighthearted catch-up session filled with stories about farm life, horse shows, motherhood, and, infamously, a (maybe, maybe not) stolen cat. Katie is joined by close friends Becca and Matt (with input from Nate and others), and the conversation bounces between tales of the All American Quarter Horse Congress, the realities of farm animals, parenting, small-town nostalgia, and their enduring friendship. The banter is genuine, often funny, and offers a look into the rhythms of southern rural life.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Quarter Horse Congress Adventures

• First-Timer Experiences:
  • Matt, Nate, and Becca attended their first Quarter Horse Congress, a major annual horse show.
  • Becca describes Congress as a blend of “lots to watch, lots to eat, lots to shop” (03:23).
• Family & Competition Traditions:
  • Katie shares how showing at Congress shaped her youth, sometimes even taking precedence over big family events, like Becca’s wedding.
    • “You asked me to be your bridesmaid...but then you, like, crushed my dreams immediately. You're like, you can't come, though...you planned my wedding during Congress.” — Katie, (01:36)
• Kids Experiencing Congress:
  • Lots of joy seeing the event through the kids’ eyes; shopping excursions, memorable photos with champion horse Denver.
  • Anecdote about instructing the kids to “look at the horse” for the win photo, resulting in “Kinsley…burying a hole with her eyes into Denver's shoulder” (04:17–04:32).

2. The “Cat Theft” Saga

• Ongoing Joke:
  • Running gag about Becca “stealing” Katie’s barn cat, Sabrina.
  • Becca and her husband Evan love cats; Evan grew up with exotic breeds. Sabrina gravitates to him.
  • “If we didn’t even ask. We said, ‘we’re taking Sabrina.’ And you were like, ‘no, you’re not.’” — Becca (13:08)
• Clarification for Fans:
  • Many listeners are invested in Sabrina’s fate; Katie clarifies: “Sabrina is not coming home with me...she pops in and visits, but she’s not there all day.” — Becca (17:44)
  • Discussion on barn cat versus house cat ‘savvy’ and why it’s hard for older cats to adapt between lifestyles.
• Farm Animal Dynamics:
  • Lighthearted debates about pet hierarchy, integrating new animals, and how parenthood changes one’s capacity for pet messes (15:00).

3. Lifelong Friendship & No Drama

• Easy Camaraderie:
  • The group reflects on their friendship, noting there’s never been a serious falling out, partially due to their age gap and non-competitive dynamic.
    • “I honestly feel like our age difference saved us from…any big spat.” — Katie (30:57)
  • Memorable “bad friend” moment: Katie once slept through a pre-dawn babysitting call when Becca went to give birth (33:33–34:47).
    • “I was late to having my own baby.” — Becca (34:22)
    • “That is my chronic flaw, my chronic flaw is I will always be 15 minutes late.” — Katie (34:46)
• On Differences and Friendship Strength:
  • Strong friendship endures because they respect boundaries and have separate interests/social circles.
  • “We could never live together. We know the limit.” — Katie & Becca (31:41–31:48)
  • “There’s things you’re into that I’m just, like, not, and so I just, like, just leave. Yeah.” — Becca (31:51)

4. Farm & 4H Animal Updates

• Kids and Showing Animals:
  • Presley plans to show her first livestock in 4H; anticipation for calves and possibly a blue roan Simmental.
  • Update on Bo, the beloved, aging family horse who now faces health issues (ring bone and possible future hardship).
    • “We could be faced with some, like, really difficult decisions on his part. So, yeah, I’m really praying that we don’t have to do that.” — Katie (22:03)
    • “The day that anything happens to Bo will be the hardest of any animal on this property.” — Becca (20:21)

5. Small Town & School Reflections

• Stories about small-town schools, neighbors thinking they’re sisters, and friends with “Disney witch school”-sounding high school names (Ravenwood) add local flavor.
• “Ravenwood sounds like a Disney witch school.” — Matt (27:39)

6. Social Media & Recognition

• Becca is occasionally recognized because of her association with Katie online; Evan gets stopped too.
• Running joke that Matt and Nate are frequently mistaken for each other by fans.
  • “You are one person to the Internet.” — Katie (38:11)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “I would have zero worry about [Presley] getting on [Denver], like, at home or something. Like, maybe not in the big business…” — Katie (05:13)
• “She’s a cat girl. She wants to show cats, so that’s fine.” — Katie, about Kinsley’s aspirations (06:30)
• “[Sabrina] will just disappear for, like, three days, and then she’ll come back with some sort of war wound, and we gotta doctor on her for, like, three days. And then she leaves again.” — Katie (13:38)
• “I just don’t like live music ever.” — Becca on personal tastes (32:12)
• “That is my chronic flaw, my chronic flaw is I will always be 15 minutes late. And I hate that about myself.” — Katie (34:46)
• “Have you ever had a falling out? No. Never. Never…I think it was mostly when I was younger and you were so much older than me… our age difference saved us…” — Katie & Becca (30:01–31:10)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:00–03:23 | Quarter Horse Congress, missing Becca’s wedding, family traditions
• 03:23–05:59 | Becca’s first Congress experience, shopping & win-photo memories with kids
• 06:30–08:54 | Showing cats, barn cats vs. house cats, animal show nostalgia
• 13:07–17:44 | The “stolen cat” saga and clarifying Sabrina’s status
• 18:00–24:20 | 4H show animal plans for the kids, Bo’s health struggles, family history with horses
• 30:01–31:48 | Friendship dynamics, why there’s “never been drama”
• 33:33–34:47 | The 4AM “bad friend” baby story
• 37:03–38:11 | Social media recognition antics, Matt and Nate confusion
• 27:39–28:12 | “Ravenwood” high school magical name riffing

Overall Tone and Takeaways

Funny, easy, and driven by the real warmth of longstanding friendships and rural life. Katie and her crew don’t shy from poking fun at themselves, admit to their quirks, and lean into the big and small dramas of country life—whether it’s horses, kids, or cats. The “cat theft” arc is a recurring joke but handled with a wink to the audience. At the heart, this episode underscores loyalty, growing up together, and embracing change with humor.

Listeners will enjoy: behind-the-scenes farm tales, lessons on animal care and kids, genuine friendship moments, and the constant dance between chaos and routine on a working ranch.