Grumpy Cat. Hamilton the Hipster Cat. My cat, Dixie Belle. You can’t even go on the Internet without seeing a funny or adorable (or funny and adorable) cat picture or video. Internet cats are everywhere, and we all love them. But how does the love we have for Internet cats translate in terms of actual cats? Short answer: it doesn’t.

“An unbelievably high percentage of net traffic is cat videos,” said Bryan Kortis, program manager at PetSmart Charities. “And there’s all sorts of cat film festivals all over the place of short films that people make. So, they’re really wildly popular.”

Despite this popularity, though, Kortis said millions of cats are still euthanized every year due to lack of a home.

“The issue we want to explore is [why] there is this seeming conflict,” Kortis said, “this divergence, between the popularity of cats and the reality of cats.”

Joining Kortis for this discussion is cat behaviorist and Animal Planet TV show host Jackson Galaxy.

“Jackson is, obviously, very knowledgeable about cats,” Kortis said. “He also has a shelter background, so he’s very familiar with the reality of this firsthand.”

So, why the disconnect between image and reality for cats?

“There’s research that suggests that the problem is not so much with the cats as much as with the people who own the cats,” Kortis said. “And the image of people who love cats in this culture is often perceived negatively—which is, again, another odd divergence because cats are the most popular pet in the country and yet cat owners are the most concerned about their image. So, getting people to feel better about being cat owners and having cats might go a long way toward solving that problem. ”

And figuring out how to solve this problem is exactly what they hope to do through this discussion, Kortis said.

“There’s a lot of problem-solvers [at SXSW],” Kortis said. “There’s a lot of technologically savvy people who can bring a lot of tools to the table—both with the Internet and otherwise. That’s why it made the most sense to come to this audience for help, given that the popularity is so clearly rooted in the Internet.”

When, Where & More:

Monday, March 16
3:30-4:30 p.m.

Austin Convention Center
Room 5ABC
500 E. Cesar Chavez St.

More information on this panel can be found here: http://schedule.sxsw.com/2015/events/event_IAP40229.