The Community Cats Podcast

This episode is sponsored in part by Humane Network and Doobert.com. Emily discovered the joy that adventuring brought to cats—and their people—when she and her husband took their own cat with Cerebellar Hypoplasia outside for enrichment. From catio to stroller, to harness training, Emily and Stacy chat about the best steps to take when preparing your cat to go adventuring outside. Emily talks about pet tracking devices and which features she recommends especially for cats. For the holiday season, Emily offers tips on traveling with cats and adventure cat gift ideas. Adventure Challenge is a list of different tasks for human and cat adventure teams. Teams that complete the tasks are entered in a drawing to win a prize. To join the adventure, as well as find resources on how to bring your cat with you, visit Emily's website and follow her on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter

This episode is sponsored in part by Humane Network and Doobert.com. Seven years into her work in veterinary clinics and with animal welfare organizations, Sarah Swanty learned a fact that devastated her. Of any 10 cats that were admitted to the local shelter, only four would make it out. A 60% euthanasia rate for cats drove Sarah to co-found Fort Collins Cat Rescue in 2006 which merged with Animal House Rescue in 2020 to become Animal Friends Alliance. Stacy and Sarah discuss the highs and lows of starting a cat rescue, the necessity of adding a low-cost spay/neuter clinic, and the organic growth that lead to merging two organizations. Sarah outlines the impact that spay and neuter have had on adoption and transport programs at Animal Friends Alliance in relation to regional animal homelessness. To learn more about Animal Friends Alliance visit their website follow them on facebook and instagram, or call (970)484-8516.

In this special episode, Pam Johnson-Bennett, Certified Cat Behavior Consultant and best-selling author, joins Stacy to discuss how Covid has changed cat behavioral concerns and her participation in the ARM & HAMMER™ Feline Generous program. This year, the program will host the 'Unsung Heroes' Awards which will recognize the most inspiring staff and volunteers at cat welfare organizations; those who have gone above and beyond to help "purrfectly impurrfect" shelter cats. Pam discusses how winners will be chosen in a variety of categories and details how $30,000 will be awarded to the winning shelters, plus each unsung hero will receive an award and a year's supply of ARM & HAMMER™ cat litter. This program holds a special place in Pam's heart as they serve the same kinds of cats she meets in her practice and who, in a shelter environment, are often hard to adopt to forever homes. If you would like more information or would like to nominate an unsung hero, you may visit the Feline Generous website. To learn more about Pam Johnson-Bennett's books and her practice, you may stop by her site at catbehaviorassociates.com.

This episode is sponsored in part by Humane Network and Doobert.com. Home Heart Vets was founded in 2017 by two cat-loving Veterinarians passionate about improving end-of-life care for cats in New York City, New Jersey, and Philadelphia. Stacy and Dr. Birse discuss the emotional toll of practicing Veterinary medicine as well as the rewarding aspects of the profession, counseling owners in making end-of-life decisions for their pets, and advocacy around humane euthanasia. Dr. Birse outlines some common signs of end-of-life stages in cats across different conditions and illnesses. Resources about end-of-life and the decision-making surrounding it can be found on the HomeHeart website and they offer free consultation phone calls to help guide pet parents in the process. To learn more about Dr. Birse and HomeHeart Vets, visit their website or follow them on Facebook and Instagram.

This episode is sponsored in part by Smalls Fresh Cat Food and Doobert.com. Beginning her life as a dog person, Allison talks about the value of using dog training methods to benefit cat behavior modification, and vice-versa. After losing her first companion cat in 2014, Allison focused on making cats lives better through behavior as a labor of love. Volunteering with Husker Cats changed Allison's idea of a "feral" cat and inspired her passion for working with community and companion cats. Allison and Stacy chat about how environment, body language, and building a cat's confidence are all factors that directly affect the emotional life of cats. Allison identifies cat aggression, due to miscommunication and fear, as a common issue that she works with. She tells Stacy,"I love the teaching aspect. I love seeing the people grow and love seeing the changes in the cats." To learn more about cat behavior visit: Allison Helps Cats LLC. Follow her on Facebook and keep up with the life and times of Rainy, her therapy cat, on Instagram.

This episode is sponsored in part by Smalls Fresh Cat Food and Doobert.com. If dogs and cats could choose a psychiatrist it would be Dr. Nicholas Dodman. With a drive for advocacy, a gift for research, and a never-say-quit treatment philosophy, it is no surprise that he is one of the world's most noted veterinary behaviorists. Co-founder of the Center for Canine Behaviour Studies, Dr. Dodman describes himself as a "secret cat person," as well. In this episode, Dr. Dodman and Stacy chat about enrichment for indoor cats and how clicker training with cats positively enhances their relationship with their people. Dr. Dodman takes us through behavioral conflicts that are common in cats and some that are uncommon—like separation anxiety. He outlines how pharmaceutical solutions treat behavioral issues like territorial spraying, pica, and compulsive behavior (OCD) in cats. To learn more about Dr. Dodman's current and previous work, visit the Center for Canine Behavior Studies online, and for feline-specific content visit Cat's Corner. Follow the CCBS on Facebook and Instagram.

This episode is sponsored in part by Smalls Fresh Cat Food and Doobert.com. Dr. Kelly Diehl left private practice as a Small Animal Internal Medicine Specialist to join the Morris Animal Foundation which funds research that benefits animals directly. Dr. Diehl and Stacy discuss the Happy, Healthy Cat campaign which continues to shape protocol around low-stress housing in shelters today. Dr. Diehl relates some surprising common ground uncovered in a study about bird people v. cat people and gives us a preview into an ongoing study that looks at the effects of chronic inflammation in feline behavior and cognitive health. To learn more, visit the Morris Animal Foundation website for information on studies, webinars, and videos. Find out about their FIP initiative and how the foundation determines which projects to fund. You can also follow them on Facebook and Instagram.

Kristen Hassen is the Maddie's American Pets Alive! Director overseeing Human Animal Support Services (HASS) and serves as a board member of the National Animal Care & Control Association. Kristen describes HASS as the result of almost 1,000 animal welfare professionals coming together to recognize that the current animal services system is broken. Focusing on community-driven services as opposed to traditional shelter-driven services, HASS defines itself as a collaborative project to reimagine animal services to keep families together. In this episode Stacy and Kristen touch on how fostering benefits the physical and mental health of cats as opposed to the stress encountered in conventional shelter stays. They also discuss a surprising reaction to a recent statement issued by the National Animal Care & Control Association and how community cat programs create a more humane existence for animals, and animal control officers. To keep up with Kristen Hassen and all things Human Animal Support Services, follow HASS on Facebook and Instagram or learn more on their YouTube channel.

This episode is sponsored in part by Smalls Fresh Cat Food and Doobert.com. Suzi Langer is a vet tech with a soft spot for specially-abled cats. Just a few hours into fostering her first cat with Cerebellar Hypoplasia (CH), a neurological condition that affects balance and coordination, she was hooked. Now Suzi and her kitty, Bifford, are on a mission to educate people and advocate for cats with this non-progressive condition. Stacy and Suzi discuss muscle memory, busting stigmas around specially-abled pets, and the unexpected benefits of adopting a cat with CH. Suzi's website provides resources and tools to make veterinary visits and everyday life more friendly for kitties with CH and their people. Get to know Suzi's self-described "blended house of misfit toys," including Bifford, on Instagram, Facebook, or her website.

This episode is sponsored in part by Smalls Fresh Cat Food and Doobert.com. Mandy Evans has spent over a decade as the executive director of Better Together Animal Alliance—formerly Panhandle Animal Shelter—in Ponderay, Idaho, and hosts the podcast People are animals too, Darnit! When Better Together experienced an increase in owner surrenders, the Home to Home program was born. As a result the shelter saw an astounding 33% decrease in owner surrenders and Mandy knew it was something that needed to be shared with other shelters. In this episode, Stacy and Mandy discuss big programming changes that shift perspectives on traditional sheltering mindsets. Mandy also shares tips on executive director longevity, creating a board of directors that doesn't favor fear, and the future of sheltering as she sees it. Hear more from Mandy Evans on her podcast, People are animals too, Darnit! Find out about the Home to Home program by visiting their website. Check out the Better Together Animal Alliance Website or follow them on Facebook and Instagram to see what they develop next.

This episode is sponsored in part by Smalls Fresh Cat Food and Doobert.com. Hannah Senser is the cat foster manager for Ruff Start Rescue. RSR is a foster-based rescue with a network of 1,000 active foster homes instead of a brick-and-mortar shelter. Overseeing up to 300 cats/kittens and their foster families across the state of Minnesota, Hannah tells us it is vital that she can "manage a mean spreadsheet." Stacy and Hannah discuss empowering fosters, removing barriers faced by adopters, the challenges of working in a rural community, and the impact of COVID-19 on Ruff Start Rescue's fostering and adoption programs. Learn more about Ruff Start Rescue at their website or follow them on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok.

This episode is sponsored in part by Smalls Fresh Cat Food and Doobert.com. In 2017, Caron Tuttle answered a call for fostering help from a local rescue group in Pleasanton, Texas. Intending to foster one kitten, Caron left the shelter that day with five very sick kittens and one mama cat. Shortly thereafter, she and four friends founded Atascosa Animal Allies. Atascosa Animal Allies has since grown to provide a robust TNR program and a subsidized monthly spay and neuter clinic for community-owned pets. Stacy and Caron discuss the importance of sterilization in community cat populations and the value of inviting the community to take an active part in the process. To find out more about Atascosa Animal Allies, visit their website. You can also connect with them via email or follow them on Facebook.

This episode is sponsored in part by Smalls Fresh Cat Food and Doobert.com. Michelle Major is a USA Today best-selling author of romance novels. She is passionate about animals and fosters kittens and promotes her local shelter in her free time. Her newest book, The Last Carolina Sister, the third book in the Magnolia Sisters trilogy, has a focus on animal sheltering as the protagonist, Meredith, runs an animal shelter. Stacy and Michelle talk about bringing the challenges of working in animal welfare into a pop culture setting like a novel, how Michelle uses her platform to promote animal welfare, and her tips for building a social media following. You can buy The Last Carolina Sister on Michelle's website, and you can follow her on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagramto keep up with author news as well as pet and foster news. [divider height="10" style="default" line="default" themecolor="1"]

This episode is sponsored in part by Smalls Fresh Cat Food and Doobert.com. We all know cats are great at hiding pain, but what if there was a way to monitor your cat's pain just by taking a photo of her face? That is the goal of Sylvester AI's new app Tably. Today Stacy is talking with Sanja Massey of Sylvester AI about the app and the implications for cat health as it continues developing. The Tably app uses the Feline Grimace Scale, a medical study that identified 5 facial cues that indicate whether a cat is in pain. The app reads those cues from a photo. Sanja shares some success stories from the app's development and how the app can be used by veterinary clinics to monitor how a cat is doing after a surgery or treatment. You can find them in the app store as Tably, online on the Sylvester AI website, and on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

This episode is sponsored in part by Smalls Fresh Cat Food and Doobert.com. Basel Nassar is an entrepreneur with many years of experience creating products designed to boost human digestive health. He has recently made the switch to pet digestive health with his company Boss Nation Brands. Boss Nation creates raw pet foods that act as full nutritional meals, as well as treats full of healthy supplements. Boss Nation also has a charity platform called Boss Cares which partners with local charities to support different initiatives such as TNR, animal training, and adoption. Stacy and Basel discuss the best ways to transition your pet to raw foods and the health benefits he's seen in his own pets. Basel also shares his best advice for entrepreneurs and how to cultivate the right team by developing and training people who have the right attitude, instead of trying to hire the perfect candidate. To find out more about Boss Nation's pet foods, visit their website.

This episode is sponsored in part by Smalls Fresh Cat Food and Doobert.com. Rick DuCharme has worked for many years as a no-kill advocate, working on the Mayor's Task Force for Animal Control, founding First Coast No More Homeless Pets, and now founding RLD Consulting LLC, which works to help organizations working to save animals. Rick specializes in access to veterinary care, spay/neuter clinics, nonprofit startups, and more. Stacy and Rick discuss his journey from the business space to the nonprofit world, trends in animal welfare as a result of COVID-19, the vet shortage and how to use vets more efficiently, as well as ahow to retain vets already working in nonprofit, working together with groups across the welfare space, and advice for nonprofits starting up. They also chat about Rick's work with Dr. Micheal Blackwell from the University of Tennessee and what they're doing to help provide access to veterinary care to low income pet owners. To learn more about RLD Consulting LLC, visit their website or contact Rick directly by email. Rick has been on the show before, listen to Episode 46 here.

This episode is sponsored in part by Smalls Fresh Cat Food and Doobert.com. Lisa got involved in animal welfare through volunteering at shelters. She first began transporting animals from high-kill areas in the south, but then shifted her focus to the root of the problem: access to spay and neuter services. From that was born Fido Fixers, a nonprofit providing low-cost spay/neuter for dogs and cats with mobile clinics in underserved areas. With their seven mobile clinics, they partner with local groups which operate the clinic and provide the vet. Stacy and Lisa talk about the logistics of working with local groups, the vet shortage, and how the spay/neuter clinics can expand to cover wellness, vaccines, and microchips as well. Learn more about Fido Fixers on their website, though to contact them, use their email. You can also find them on Facebook.

This episode is sponsored in part by Smalls Fresh Cat Food and Doobert.com. Christi Metropole, founder of the Stray Cat Alliance shares with Stacy how she got started with TNR in the 90s and how trapping her first cat at her apartment complex gradually blossomed into a movement. They chat about how cats have historically been left out of the animal movement, The Stray Cat Alliance provides trapping education, trap depots, help for spay/neuter surgeries, advocacy, help and education around unweaned kittens, and empowers community members to make the world better for cats. Stacy and Christi also talk about the history of TNR in Los Angeles and the barriers to TNR that the Stray Cat Alliance and other organizations have worked hard to overcome. To learn more about the Stray Cat Alliance, to find resource, or to join one of their trainings, go to their website.

This episode is sponsored in part by Smalls Fresh Cat Food and Doobert.com. Becky Mossor is a registered veterinary technician and the executive director of the Human Animal Bond Association. She and Stacy talk about the differences between certified vet techs, on the job trained veterinary assistants, the challenges veterinarians have been facing during COVID, and ideas to better address the shortage of vets. Stacy and Becky also talk about the importance of the human-animal bond, which is at the core of the Human Animal Bond Association. The association brings together pet professionals and pet parents to elevate and educate on the benefits of the human-animal bond, to support research on this topic, and to offer resources and support to veterinarians, pet parents, and communities. To find out more, visit the Human Animal Bond Association website. You can find Becky on Instagram and you can listen to her podcast Making Sense of Pets wherever you get your podcasts.

This episode is sponsored in part by Smalls Fresh Cat Food and Doobert.com. This week the script is flipped and Stacy is the one being interviewed by Michelle Fern, who hosts the podcast Cattitude on Pet Life Radio. They chat about how Stacy got her start in animal welfare and the origins of the Community Cats Podcast, what they've both seen in animal welfare during COVID-19, how TNR is a grassroots movement, the veterinary shortage in the US, and more. Michelle also shares a little about her background and how she got started with Pet Life Radio and the two shows she hosts, Cattitude and Best Bets for Pets, and her hopes for the future of animal welfare in the US. You can find Cattitude here and listen to the podcast on your favorite podcast platform.

This episode is sponsored in part by Smalls Fresh Cat Food and Doobert.com. This week Stacy interviews Chloe DiVita and Jessica Shipman, co-founders of All Pet Voices, a pet-focused media company that creates content for pet lovers in partnership with pet experts and brands. Their mission is to collaborate with other pet industry experts and bring people together to inspire, innovate, and take ideas to the next level. Stacy, Chloe, and Jessica discuss how they help small businesses and nonprofits share their story in a way that helps them connect with their audience, the best ways to grow that audience, and some of the best tech tools for staying organized. You can find out more about All Pet Voices on their website and join their Facebook group BlogPaws Community for tools and resources for nonprofits and small businesses.

This episode is sponsored in part by Smalls Fresh Cat Food and Doobert.com. Juli Cialone and Marla Valentine of Rock N' Rescue chat with Stacy this week about their unique approach to cat rescue. Juli is the co-founder and executive director of Rock N' Rescue with a background in professional photography. Marla is a social worker in long term care with over 25 years of experience. Rock N' Rescue, located in South Salem, NY, partners with shelters to match cats' temperaments to their adopters with a focus on placing animals into homes where there is a therapeutic need. They have a strong support system for adopters, resulting in low rates of return. They also do a lot of community outreach with Girl Scouts, high schools and middle schools, as well as bringing kittens to local nursing homes and assisting with occupational therapy. To find out more about Rock N' Rescue, visit their website. They can also be found on Facebook and Instagram.

This episode is sponsored in part by Smalls Fresh Cat Food and Doobert.com. This week's guest is Andee Bingham, founder of Esther Neonatal Kitten Alliance in North Carolina. Andee noticed a need for a more specialized organization that could focus on neonates and support shelters that weren't equipped to care for them. Then she realized she was someone who could start that organization and Esther Neonatal Kitten Alliance was born. Her program has a team of highly trained fosters and they work to support shelters by filling the gaps shelters have in neonatal kitten care, as well as helping shelters to build up their own program and foster network. Andee and Stacy chat about different kinds of fosters and how people find the kinds of kittens they're passionate about, what to do if you find a kitten outdoors, and Andee gives out some advice for those starting and running nonprofit organizations. You can find Esther Neonatal Kitten Alliance on their website, and on Facebook and Instagram.

This episode is sponsored in part by Smalls Fresh Cat Food and Doobert.com. In this episode, Stacy talks to Rita Reimers, a cat behavior consultant, writer, and podcast host. Rita writes a column for Catster Magazine and the Litter Genie website, and hosts the Pet Life Radio show 19 Cats and Counting with Linda Hall. She is also a cat rescue volunteer and cat owner (sharing her home with 19 cats!). Stacy and Rita discuss common behavior issues such as litter box problems and how to introduce new cats into your household. They also touch on the differing mentalities around spay/neuter and letting your cat outside that exist around the country, the importance of targeting owned cats as well as community cats with spay/neuter programs, and the problems surrounding owner surrenders. You can find out more about Rita on her website, and you can listen to her podcast here. To read her column and join a community of cat lovers, subscribe to Catster Magazine.

Originally broadcast as a special episode for National Cat Day, in this episode, we celebrate by talking with Pam Johnson-Bennett, Certified Cat Behavior Consultant and best-selling author. Pam and Stacy discuss how Pam started her career and why we need to "think like a cat," as well as her latest project with ARM & HAMMER Cat Litter's "Purrfectly Impurrfect" campaign. The campaign is kicking off on National Cat Day to shed light on cats who may be passed by for adoption because of their age, appearance, or misunderstood personality. From October 29–November 30, anyone can nominate a "purrfectly impurrfect" shelter cat. Pam and two other cat experts will be selecting three winners, and each winning shelter will receive $10,000 from ARM & HAMMER Cat LItter, plus Pam's counseling services. Pam tells us not to wait to nominate a purrfectly impurrfect cat, as the first 100 nominations will receive $100 worth of ARM & HAMMER Cat Litter! And she also reminds us that if you can't adopt, you can still help spread the word. When it comes to helping community cats, everything we do matters. Happy National Cat Day! To learn more and to nominate a purrfectly impurrfect shelter cat, go to felinegenerousstories.com and use #FelineGenerous #Contest to follow the conversation.

This episode is sponsored in part by Smalls Fresh Cat Food and Doobert.com. Daralyn Kelleher is an LA-based YouTuber who turned to furniture making during quarantine, documenting the process on her YouTube Channel. Stacy and Daralyn chat about Daralyn's cat-themed, mid-century modern furniture, the possibility of venturing into making tiny furniture for cats, and making shelters for feral cats. Daralyn is also a trapper and cat colony caretaker. She shares about the difficulties of getting used to trapping, especially when the cats react poorly to being trapped. You can find Daralyn on her YouTube Channel or on her Instagram or Twitter.

This episode is sponsored in part by Smalls Fresh Cat Food and Doobert.com. Anita Kelsey is London's only accredited cat behaviourist (BA Hons, MCFBA, CIDBT) after studying feline psychology and behaviour with renowned cat expert and biologist Roger Tabor and achieving a first class honours degree at Middlesex University based on her work practice. Anita is also qualified as a master cat groomer has a long list of regular mobile cat grooming clients in and around London. Anita is the author of two books, Claws: Confessions of a Cat Groomer and her newest book Let's Talk About Cats, which we reviewed in our last book review blog. Stacy and Anita talk about some of Anita's favorite interviews with cat professionals in Let's Talk About Cats and the varying perceptions about cats around the world. You can find out more about Anita and get the books on her website. You can also find her on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

This episode is sponsored in part by Smalls Fresh Cat Food and Doobert.com. This week's guest is Canadian actress, singer, and writer Reagan Pasternak. Reagan is the author of Griffin's Heart: Mourning Your Pet with No Apologies. An avid animal lover, Reagan works with several rescue groups based in L. A. The book Griffin's Heart came about when Reagan was mourning the loss of her cat Griffin. The loss of a pet is often not treated the same way as the loss of a human in your life, but the grief is very much the same. Reagan's book is a memoir, a healing journal, a grief guide, and a keepsake for helping you work through mourning a pet and to help you remember the wonderful things about your life together. Stacy and Reagan touch on compassion fatigue in the animal welfare industry and the importance of community building as a way to validate feelings of grief. To find out more about Reagan, visit her website. To buy the book, visit Griffin's Heart website. You can join her community on Instagram.

This episode is sponsored in part by CDE Cages and Doobert.com. This week Stacy talks to Carol Novello, founder of Mutual Rescue, a national initiative that highlights the power of human-animal relationships. She is also the author of Mutual Rescue: How Adopting a Homeless Animal Can Save You, Too. Carol worked in corporate America before transitioning to the nonprofit space, where she spent a decade as the president of the Humane Society of Silicon Valley. She is a recipient of the Maddie Hero Award and a member of the board of directors of Cuddly. Mutual Rescue was born of the idea that helping animals helps people. They created films that showcase stories of people who were saved by their rescued animal and published a book that combines those stories with the science behind the human animal bond. Now Mutual Rescue is working on creating programs in collaboration with local shelters and rescues that can provide tools and messaging that can be used by organizations all over the country and collaborating with corporate sponsors to provide national funding to local organizations. Stacy and Carol chat about what expertise in business and leadership Carol brought from her corporate jobs into the nonprofit world, how to create a culture of philanthropy, and how COVID-19 is affecting operations. To find out more about Mutual Rescue, to watch some of their inspiring videos, or to find their book, visit their website(Carol recommends the film on Josh and Scout for cat lovers).

Find out all the details about Care Dare, taking place this May, in this special episode! CARE will be sponsoring the first ever CARE DARE Community Cat Challenge. Sterling the TrapKing will set a record for the most cats trapped in 24 hours by a single person! Our Goal is to set a record, help spay and neuter as many community cats in Atlanta during Kitten Season, and educate more people on the benefits or TNR while having diverse representation. To learn more visit https://careawo.org/care-dare/ and cheer Sterling on!

This episode is sponsored in part by Kitty Sift and Doobert.com. Deborah Cribbs, a banker by trade, is the chair of the board of trustees for Joanie Bernard Foundation and the Ten movement, which works in the greater Cincinnati area to help achieve a no-kill community for cats. The foundation's ad campaigns featuring Scooter the Neutered Cat have helped increase awareness and engagement in the community about spay and neuter and community cats. The work of the foundation has helped improve the live release rate in Cincinnati shelters from just 37% to over 96%. Deborah and Stacy talk about how Deborah came to the animal welfare industry through the mission to spend the foundation's money wisely. They discuss how to target impactful spending that drives change in the community, and how to engage the public, giving them ownership of the problems in the community. Deborah shares how with a focus on spay/neuter and community cats, their ad campaigns have been able to drive community members to action. For more information on the Joanie Bernard Foundation, visit their website, and for information on the Mild Kingdom campaign and for resources on tnr, go to the Ten movement's website.

This episode is sponsored in part by CDE Cages and Doobert.com. This week Stacy talks to Rachel Herman, founder and executive director of PAWS (NY). Rachel has worked in development with the ASPCA before she transitioned to working with PAWS (NY) full time. PAWS (NY), or Pets Are Wonderful Support New York was founded in 2009 to meet the need for support for people who have physical and financial barriers to caring for their pets in New York City. Their goal is to provide services that help keep pets in their homes including vet care, dog walking and litter box maintenance, a pet food pantry, and more. They partner with other organizations in the community that serve the same demographic to help provide comprehensive care. Stacy and Rachel discuss fundraising and how COVID-19 has affected the work of PAWS (NY). You can find PAWS NY on their website and on Facebook and Instagram.

This episode is sponsored in part by CDE Cages and Doobert.com. Can you believe it's our 400th episode? This week we have a very special episode with Danielle Bays. You might remember Danielle from previous episodes or from her presentation at the 2021 Online Cat Conference. Danielle is a senior analyst for cat protection and policy at the Humane Society of the United States. She has more than 20 years experience in animal advocacy and she uses this expertise to advocate for community cat programs. Stacy and Danielle talk cat policy in Los Angeles where a citywide community cat program has finally passed, Alaska where a wildlife regulation prevents cats from being released into the wild, New Jersey which has passed the Compassion for Community Cats Act, and various states where declawing bans are in the works. They also discuss the Animal Care Expo, which begins tomorrow. To find out about local policy issues in your state, you can contact your HSUS state director, or you can contact Danielle directly. For more info about the Animal Care Expo, visit their website.

This episode is sponsored in part by TICA and Doobert.com. Dawn White works as a behavioral psychologist and a massage therapist, but you might be more familiar with her work with Lola the Rescued Cat. Dawn runs the Lola the Rescued Cat Blog and is the author of Lola: Diary of a Rescued Cat. Dawn is also a contributing writer for The Jackson Galaxy Project's Cat Pawsitive program, Chewy.com, Pet Radio Magazine, the Contemporary Pet, and more. Dawn shares with us Lola's rescue story and how it gained momentum on social media, leading to the blog and published book, as well as becoming a platform to raise awareness about adoption and raise money for shelters and rescues. Lola has also been featured in Heroic, Helpful and Caring: Felines Who Make a Difference by Anne Beall, a book about how cats touch our lives. Stacy and Dawn also discuss Dawn's partners in the The Jackson Galaxy Project Cat Pawsitive program, Catnip Nation, and the Cat Writers Association. She shares tips for writing about animals, advocacy for adoption and community cats, and how to manage social media. You can find out more about Lola on her blog or on Facebook, and you can buy Lola: Diary of a Rescued Cat on Amazon, or wherever books are sold.

This episode is sponsored in part by TICA and Doobert.com. Today's guest comes to us all the way from the United Kingdom. Stacy chats with Michelle Adams, founder of Chatty Cats Care, a cat sitting company based in London. Michelle specialises in caring for disabled pets, is passionate about rescuing cats, and shares her home with senior cat, Jerry. Michelle shares with Stacy how during the pandemic lockdowns, her cat sitting business has adapted by adding a podcast, Catmaste Chronicles, and how that has led to her latest business venture: selling eco friendly products like cat-themed beeswax wraps. Not only do Michelle's products support sustainable living, but she's also donating 30% of her profits to Feline Friends International, a charity rescuing and helping community cats all over the world. To learn more about Chatty Cats Care or to listen to the Catmaste Chronicles podcast, visit their website. You can also find Chatty Cats Care on Instagram, and Facebook.

This episode is sponsored in part by CDE Cages and Doobert.com. Stacy's guest this week, Gary Evans, works as the Clinic Director for the Humane Society of Huron Valley (HSHV), where he previously worked as a "cat wrangler" or Community Cat Coordinator. Before coming to the world of animal welfare, Gary worked in the entrepreneurial space with tech startups. HSHV is a high volume spay/neuter and full-service vet clinic, and adoption shelter. They have been working as the leading provider of TNR in Michigan for over a decade and have helped about 16,000 outdoor cats. Gary and Stacy talk about how Gary has been able to use his background to help scale up the number of cats HSHV helps, including finding better ways to use resources, mobilize volunteers, and provide tools and education to the community. While COVID-19 has slowed them down some, they're still working toward their goal to make Washtenaw County the best place in the country to be an animal. To find out more about HSHV and to find resources on community cats, visit their website.

This episode is sponsored in part by TICA and Doobert.com. This week, an inspiring chat with Peter Elueze, founder of Paw Salvation, a Chicago-based nonprofit that helps homeless people, veterans, and seniors care for their pets. Paw Salvation was founded 3 years ago and has been growing steadily, supporting those who need it by providing pet food. Stacy and Peter talk about the human-animal bond, the need for including pets when providing housing and writing policy for homeless people, how COVID-19 has affected homeless people, advice for starting a nonprofit, and finding blessings in unexpected places. Peter also shares his plans for a mobile grooming and wellness van and his hopes to be able to include flea treatment and microchipping in the future. To help Paw Salvation in their mission, donate or follow them on Instagram or Facebook. To find out more, visit Paw Salvation's website.

This episode is sponsored in part by TICA and Doobert.com. Stacy chats with Mariah McCulley, Director of Operations at Animal Friends Alliance, a limited admission, adoption guarantee shelter for cats and dogs in Fort Collins, CO. Mariah has experience with TNR, high volume spay and neuter clinics, adoption, and, her passion, fostering feral kittens. Animal Friends Alliance has a strong focus on providing community resources to keep animals in their homes. They provide subsidized cost spay/neuter, a kibble supply program, and a community cat program. Their work with TNR has seen success in reducing the volume of cats in Fort Collins and has now expanded to cover a wider range around Northern Colorado and into Wyoming and Nebraska. Mariah's passion is fostering feral kittens and she shares with Stacy some tips for successful feral fostering and how organizations can support their fosters and adopters. Some of her tips include separating feral kittens from their littermates and using play as a tool for giving confidence to kittens. She also notes it's important to prepare and support both fosters and adopters for potentially less socialized kittens, encouraging fosters to view the kittens through the lens of an adopter and making sure to be honest with adopters about what to expect. If you have questions for Mariah, you can reach her at [email protected]. You can find out more about Animal Friends Alliance on their website.

This episode is sponsored in part by TICA and Doobert.com. This week's guest is Bridget Bowhay, Director of Content and Social Media for Cuddly, a fundraising platform that supports animal rescues. Bridget is also an avid cat lover and kitten foster. Founded in 2014, Cuddly is a crowdfunding platform dedicated to helping nonprofit shelters and rescues achieve their fundraising goals. Their specific approach matches donors to specific animals, helping to provide medicine or supplies. Cuddly does not charge shelters for their services, but donors are able to tip Cuddly at check out. Cuddly has more than 2100 partner rescues and they have raised $20 million since their inception. Bridget and Stacy also chat about the podcast, From Tip to Tail, that Bridget runs for Cuddly, which features different animal rescue organizations. Visit Cuddly's website to donate or to register your nonprofit shelter or rescue. To listen to the From Tip to Tail Podcast, you can visit the podcast main page, or find them on Apple Podcasts. The episode Bridget mentions on the Little Lion Foundation can be found here.

This episode is sponsored in part by KittySift and Doobert.com. Aysha Akhtar, M.D., M.P.H., is a double-board certified neurologist and preventive medicine specialist, with a background in public health, and is a U.S veteran. For a decade, Dr. Akhtar was a Medical Officer at the Food and Drug Administration. Dr. Akhtar is a Fellow of the Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics. She is the author of the two books, Our Symphony With Animals. On Health, Empathy and Our Shared Destinies and Animals and Public Health, which argues for the need for health institutions to include animals as part of the "public" in public health. Dr. Akhtar is also the founder and CEO of the Center for Contemporary Sciences. Stacy and Dr. Akhtar discuss the importance of empathy in our society and how stopping infectious diseases, halting climate change, improving medical care, and decreasing violent crime are all connected to our empathy for animals. Increasing empathy for all animals increases our own wellbeing, which means that caring for community cats is caring for the community as a whole, and that public health models that support animals as well as people are essential to healthy communities. Dr. Akhtar also tells Stacy about her new nonprofit, founded in May of 2020, called the Center for Contemporary Sciences. The Center for Contemporary Sciences aims to end experimental testing on animals, and create a shift toward new testing methods based on human biology. Studies have found that 95% of drugs and vaccines safe and effective in animals fail in human trials. Dr. Akhtar believes the Center for Contemporary Sciences has the potential to help end cruelty to animals in the scientific setting, as well as give us a better understanding of the diseases that affect human biology. To find out more head over to the Center of Contemporary Sciences website. If you're interested in buying Dr. Akhtar's books, you can find links on her website. We recently reviewed Dr. Akhtar's book, Our Symphony With Animals, on our blog.

This episode is sponsored in part by Tamadori and Doobert.com. Steve Appelbaum has more than 40 years of dog training and pet industry experience. He is the creator of Animal Behavior College (ABC) which provides many different pet industry certifications. ABC started off with only programs for dog training but Steve noticed a big problem with cats being surrendered or euthanized for treatable behavioral problems, so he set out to fix this problem. Steve and Stacy debunk the myth that cats can't be trained and discuss how training cats isn't about teaching obedience like it is for dogs, but actually treating behavioral problems. Steve gives some tips on how to train your cat for going to the vet and shares how enrichment and training go hand in hand. We in the animal welfare community know there is a shortage of veterinary assistants and veterinarians; Stacy and Steve talk about how ABC's veterinary assistant program is their most popular program and they expect to have 2200 students enrolled in the next year. You can find Stacy's niece and her adventure cat on Instagram @lily.lebaron. To find out more about Animal Behavior College or to register for a course, visit their website or call 800-795-3294.

This episode is sponsored in part by Tamadori and Doobert.com. Maura Nevel Thomas is an award-winning international speaker, trainer, and author on individual and corporate productivity and work-life balance, and the most widely-cited authority on attention management. Maura has trained thousands of individuals at hundreds of organizations on her proprietary Empowered Productivity™ System, a process for achieving significant results and living a life of choice. She is a TEDx speaker, successful entrepreneur, and author of Personal Productivity Secrets and Work Without Walls. In this episode, Stacy and Maura talk tips for working remotely including managing attention, email best practices, guidelines for using different communication tools and apps, and how leaders can create a healthy and efficient culture at work. They also chat about Maura's book Work Without Walls, which takes her previous book on personal productivity a step farther, helping leaders and managers create a productive environment for whole teams and organizations. Maura also has a series of bite-sized books coming out over the next year or two whose goal is to "spark impact in just one hour." These will be short reads, giving specific information in an hour or less, and they will break her Empowered Productivity™ System into individual components. To find out more, get free resources, or buy her books you can visit Maura's website. To get access to Maura's on-demand training on empowered productivity, visit this website and use code SNEAKPEEK for a discount.

This episode is sponsored in part by TICA and Doobert.com. You might remember Sam Wilson, who spoke at our Online Cat Conference in January. Sam is the Program Director at Iowa Humane Alliance, a high volume spay/neuter clinic, where she manages and develops outreach programs like the Iowa Trap-Neuter-Return Resource and Assistance Program (I-TRAP). Stacy and Sam discuss how a passion for community cats and affordable spay/neuter services led Sam to Iowa Humane Alliance, how COVID has shifted their procedures, how many cities in Iowa are passing community cat friendly ordinances to support TNR and community cats and their caretakers. They touch on mentorship programs that help spay/neuter clinics get started, and the partnerships they have with community cat organizations, shelters, and rescues. The Iowa Trap-Neuter-Return Resource and Assistance Program helps to support TNR in the community by providing trap rentals, spay/neuter and vaccination packages, as well as training and education. To find out more visit their website or call (319) 363-1225. To reach Sam directly, you can email her at [email protected].

This episode is sponsored in part by KittySift and Doobert.com. This week Stacy talks to James Evans, president of CARE and multi-award winning creative strategist and leader with 25+ years of experience connecting organizations with their constituents. He has worked on numerous animal welfare projects including Gulf Spay/Neuter Campaign and HSUS' Pets for Life, Outdoor Cats Research, Stop Puppy Mills and Spayathon, as well as Best Friends Animal Society's Outreach Action Team, Maddie's Fund, and SPCA of Texas' Let's Fix This Campaign. Throughout his work, he has always advocated for more diversity and inclusion throughout the field. James shares how he came to animal welfare organically, marrying his passions for art, mass communications, and animals, and how he discovered animal welfare was an area lacking in services for underserved communities. Stacy and James discuss how to build sustainable community development and what marginalized people bring to the table when they're included. CARE, of Companions and Animals for Reform and Equity, is dedicated to saving companion animals through bringing more diversity into the animal welfare industry. CARE hopes to partner with passionate individuals in communities to create CARE Centers, which will help connect people in underserved communities with services from vets and shelters. Ultimately CARE will provide both needed services as well as jobs for communities. To find out more about CARE, visit their website.

This episode is sponsored in part by Doobert.com. You might already know Nathan Khen from Instagram or Tik Tok, where he is known as @nathanthecatlady. Today Stacy talks to Nathan about cats (of course), building a following on social media platforms, reaching younger audience, balancing social media and mental health, the effects of COVID-19 on the world of cat rescuing, and dating as a cat person. Nathan is an actor, cat lover, volunteer with Milo's Sanctuary and the Cat Cafe Lounge, and a spokesperson for Tabby Dates, a new dating app for cat lovers. Studies have shown that men who pose with cats in their profile pictures on dating apps are less likely to get a match. Tabby Dates eliminates that problem, as well as all negative stereotypes related to cat people, since everyone on the app is a cat person. To find out more about Tabby Dates, visit their website or download the app from the Appstore. You can find Nathan on Instagram, Tik Tok @nathanthecatlady, Twitter, and Youtube.

This episode is sponsored in part by Doobert.com. Our guest this week, Allen Kamrava, has an impressive and widely varied resume focused on both business and medicine. Dr. Kamrava is a colorectal and general surgeon and the founder and CEO of Eusoh, a powerful platform working to change the insurance industry by helping pet owners afford their vet bills. Eusoh is an online community of pet lovers committed to helping each other with unexpected vet bills. It is an alternative to pet insurance, which Dr. Kamrava notes, only about 1% of pet owners have, though 67% of Americans have a pet in their household. Stacy and Dr Kamrava talk about how Eusoh is committed to creating a more transparent and efficient system, reducing economic euthanasia, and building partnerships with employers to offer Eusoh memberships to employees in benefit or perks packages. To find out more, or to get signed up, visit Eusoh's website.

This episode is sponsored in part by Doobert.com. Mikaela Fleisher is the secretary for a nonprofit spay and neuter organization called PennyFix. She has been involved in animal rescue since 2009, volunteering with various organizations as well as working as a receptionist at a busy animal hospital. Stacy and Mikaela discuss PennyFix, an organization founded in 2017 whose goal is to partner with pet food companies to add one penny to the cost of each can or bag of pet food sold to fund spay and neuter as well as rabies and distemper vaccines. This would help to take the burden of federal and local governments to help fund spay and neuter. The organization is still young but so far PennyFix has funded 15 clinics in 11 states and they hope to grow to cover the whole United States. This episode also delves into identifying areas of greatest need for spay and neuter services, the shortage of funding for those services, and the growing trend of animal shelters with food pantries partnering with human food pantries to make sure people are able to feed their pets during the hardships of COVID-19. To find out more, visit PennyFix's website. You can also find them on Facebook and Instagram.

This episode is sponsored in part by Doobert.com, and KittySift. Our guest this week has a very impressive bio. Dr. Michael Blackwell had a doctorate of veterinary science as well as a masters in public health. He directs the Program for Pet Health Equity at the University of Tennessee, chairs the Access to Veterinary Care Coalition, and serves as a member of the HSVMA Board of Directors. In the past he has served as dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Tennessee, the chief of staff at the Office of the Surgeon General of the U.S., the deputy director of the Center for Veterinary Medicine at the Food and Drug Administration, and the chief veterinary officer of the U.S. Public Health Service and The Humane Society of the United States. During 23 years of active duty, he achieved the rank of Assistant Surgeon General of the U.S Public Health Service Commissioned Corps. He has owned two private practices and has received numerous awards and recognitions. Dr. Blackwell chats with Stacy about how veterinary practice and public health can work together to provide a fuller picture of how animals and people are intertwined. Dr. Blackwell's mission is to increase access to veterinary care to families with limited means. He bases his work on the "One Health" paradigm which works to address the needs of people, their pets, and their ecosystem holistically. He has launched Align Care, a conceptual healthcare system that works from this principle and provides for families that have both human and animal members. Stacy and Dr. Blackwell talk the billion dollar question of funding and how community cats and spay/neuter initiatives fit into the future of Dr. Blackwell's work. To find out more about Align Care and the Program for Pet Health Equity, visit their website.

This episode is sponsored in part by Doobert.com's FosterSpace. In this episode, Stacy chats with Holly Ganz, Ph.D., a micro-ecologist who studies how microbes and mammals interact, with a specific interest in the role that the gut microbiome plays in gastrointestinal (GI) conditions in cats and dogs. In 2015, Holly founded Animal Biome to create better diagnostics and therapeutics for cats and dogs with GI conditions. She and Stacy discuss how she became interested in this field, and the Kitty Biome Kickstarter that began the whole thing. They review what the term gut microbiome means and how all this relates to animal welfare work. Today, Animal Biome offers microbiome testing and fecal transplant capsules for dogs and cats that can be given at home. Holly explains what a fecal transplant is, how it works, and what conditions it can be helpful for, and she discusses what's ahead for Animal Biome. To learn more, visit the Animal Biome website, where you can find all of their products, as well as a new article on a potential cure for FIP. You can also read a reporter's chronicle of using Animal Biome's fecal transplant capsules in his cat with GI lymphoma.

In this information-packed episode, Stacy sits down with Dr. Bob Weedon, a retired veterinarian who is still going strong as a volunteer at the TLC PetSnip low-cost clinic in Lakeland, FL, a board member of the Alliance for Contraception in Cats & Dogs (ACC&D), and in other volunteer posts. Bob worked in private practice and also spent many years teaching in the shelter medicine program at the University of Illinois, including teaching high-quality high-volume spay/neuter techniques to veterinary students. He also holds a Master's degree in public health. Along the way, he also became involved in TNR. "I just recognized there was such a need," he says, "and that I had the tools that… could address that need." Stacy and Bob discuss why the "V" in trap-neuter-vaccinate-return (TNVR) is so crucial, both for the cats and for proving the value of TNVR programs to community leaders and officials. He discusses the concept of herd immunity in relation to rabies, and also goes into great detail about cats and toxoplasmosis—including how to talk with public health officials about it. Bob also discusses his work with ACC&D and with the National Feline Research Council (NFRC–an "unbiased central repository of evidence-based information"). He tells Stacy how gratifying it is to be able to provide vet care to folks who can't afford it, and how his own views have changed over the years from feeling like low-income pet owners shouldn't have pets at all to realize how important pets can be to those folks' mental health and well-being. To learn more about the organizations Dr. Weedon volunteers for, visit the ACC&D website, the NFRC website, and the TLC PetSnip website. You can also check out Dr. Weedon's presentation entitled "Better Together—TNVR and Public Health," or email him directly with questions or help with resources.