The Community Cats Podcast

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.

In this episode, Stacy sits down with Julie Posluns, the founder and owner of Cat School, an online training school for cats that uses clicker training to teach fun and practical behaviors and strengthen the bond between cats and their human in the process. Julie, who is a trained animal behaviorist, worked entirely with dogs until a small black kitten showed up at her back door. The cat, now called Jones, convinced the humans and the dogs in the family that he should stay—and he soon showed an interest in the training Julie was doing with her dogs. Julie began training Jones as well, and the rest is history! Stacy and Julie talk about what clicker training is, what its benefits are, and how this kind of enrichment differs from other types. (Hint: This kind is good for both of you!) Julie explains that clicker training is based on positive reinforcement, and she talks about what her program consists of, how the plan works, and how it can work in different situations (training for fun vs. training for behavior medication, for instance). They also talk about how training can work with multiple cats, how it can work in shelter environments, and about training cats to wash on a leash/harness or ride in a backpack or stroller. To learn more (or to enroll), visit the Cat School website. You can also check out their Instagram page to see lots of fun videos, including a free tutorial on how to teach your cat to fist bump.

In this episode, Stacy is joined by Camille Labchuk, an animal rights lawyer and the executive director of Animal Justice, Canada's only animal law advocacy organization. Camille also hosts the Animal Justice's Paw & Order podcast, which was reviewed in the CCP blog back in February. Stacy and Camille discuss what's going on in Canada with regard to cats, including the fact that, as Camille puts it, "People are really waking up to the idea that cat declawing shouldn't be a practice that we allow any more in society." Stacy and Camille also chat about community cats in Canada, how Camille would like to see the government give more support to community cat-related issues, and about the relatively new legal concept of putting an animal at risk. To learn more, visit the Animal Justice website, where you can also link to the Paw & Order podcast. You can find out more about Animal Justice's conferences, which are open to everyone—not just lawyers—at the Canadian Animal Law Conference website.

This episode is sponsored in part by Doobert.com, and KittySift. In this episode, Dr. Jennifer Conrad, who founded The Paw Project in 1999, joins Stacy to discuss the organization's mission to end declawing in the U.S. & Canada, using education, research, and legislation. The Paw Project is made up completely of veterinarians and the group compiled the evidence, drafted the legislation, composed the language of the legislation, built the coalition of support, and obtained the representatives for every law prohibiting declawing in the U.S. Stacy and Dr. Conrad discuss the surprising way Dr. Conrad became interested in ending declawing and educating people everywhere on its devastating effects on cats. "Declawing is a misnomer," Dr. Conrad tells Stacy. "It is really more appropriately called de-knuckling. It is the amputation of a toe bone." They discuss the behavioral issues of biting and litter box avoidance that declawed cats have been shown to be prone to, and they talk about the organization's new "Claw-Friendly" certification for veterinary practices that do not perform declaw surgeries. With legislation banning declawing passed recently in New York, and more bills in the works around the country, Dr. Conrad encourages listeners to join The Paw Project's mailing list to stay in the loop on action needed regarding legislation in their area. She notes that, "There is a reason that we need to ban declawing: It actually saves cats' lives … If we could get these bans all across the United States, we would be saving millions of cats' lives." To learn more, visit The Paw Project's website. You can also find them on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, or check out their documentary, The Paw Project on the App Store, Google Play, YouTube, and Amazon Instant.

This episode is sponsored in part by Doobert.com. This week's guest is Brad Kriser, founder of Kriser's Natural Pet and Chief Education Officer of Independent Pet Partners. Brad lives in LA with his family and a menagerie of rescued animals. Stacy and Brad chat about Brad's role with Independent Pet Partners and how he promotes education around natural pet food both within the company and out in the community. They talk about the 5 Pillars of Wellness, developed with the University of Denver, which include nourishment, play, comfort, companionship and purpose. Brad also shared the great resource Things My Human Knows, a fillable document to leave with a pet-sitter when you go away, or to have on hand in the event of an emergency. You can find their natural food retailers around the country at Kriser's (California, Illinois, Texas and Colorado), Chuck and Don's (Colorado), Loyal Companion (East Coast), and Natural Pawz (Texas).

This episode is sponsored in part by Doobert.com. Founding member of Archimedes' Printing Shoppe and Sundry Goodes, Susan Russell has had diverse experience as a writer, attorney, and animal advocate. She has led municipal animal shelters in Chicago and Philadelphia, worked as a litigator, and published an array of books including A Ruff Road Home: The Court Case Dogs of Chicago, several children's books, and the new series Gata Unbound. Susan and Stacy discuss Susan's newest book series (co written with Lucy Nolan and illustrated by Katy Lacy), Gata Unbound: A Series for Ailurophiles of all Ages. Volume One of the series features two stories, Klein's Weird Evening & Archimedes' Ear. This series aims to introduce children to the important topic of TNR. Stacy and Susan finish up their interview with the importance of bringing joy, humor and kindness to our lives. To buy Gata Unbound, you can head over to the Archimedes' Printing Shoppe and Sundry Goodes website; you can also find them on their Facebook page. A Ruff Road Home: The Court Case Dogs of Chicago can be found here. Susan's children's books can be found on Amazon: We Can't Go There. We're Bears, Shelter Dog Kisses, and Mr. Bird and Mr. Cat: How 'Bout That.

This episode is sponsored in part by Doobert.com. Writer, curator, and design and material culture historian Sarah Archer speaks with Stacy about how her love of her rescue cats led her to her newest project. Sarah is a senior curator at Philadelphia Art Alliance, a contributor to Hyperallergic and many other publications, and has worked with organizations such as Project Meow and Morris Animal Refuge in Philadelphia, PA. After a cameo by Sarah's kitten Toast, Stacy and Sarah discuss Sarah's most recent project, a book called Catland: the Soft Power of Cat Culture in Japan which explores the unique relationship between humans and cats in Japan. Japan has a rich history of cats in arts and crafts, and today images of cats proliferate all parts of Japanese culture. Because of small apartments in big cities, it's less common for Japanese people to adopt cats, which leads to a more collective style of caring for community cats. Their discussion also touches on overpopulation of cats in Japan, TNR efforts, and the phenomenon of cat islands. To find out more about Sarah and to learn where you can buy the book, visit Sarah's website. She can also be found on Twitter and Instagram. Kawaii!

This episode is sponsored in part by Doobert.com, and KittySift. Author of Hobo Finds a Home and Huck and Finn, Bookstore Cats and independent bookstore owner Kevin Coolidge is featured in this episode. The tradition of library and bookstore cats goes back to the Library of Alexandria and Kevin is keeping up the tradition with his two bookstore cats Huck and Finn, who have been featured in Cole and Marmalade's blog and in Bookstore Catsby Brandon Schultz. Stacy and Kevin talk about how Huck and Finn, and previously a cat named Hobo, found their home in the bookstore and became the stars of Kevin's children's books. You can buy the books at Kevin's website or from his bookstore From My Shelf. If you can't make it up to Wellsboro, PA for a visit, Huck and Finn can be found online on their Facebook page.

In this special episode, we celebrate National Cat Day 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 Doobert.com, and Heaven Can Wait. Kathleen O'Malley is a longtime practitioner and educator of TNR. She has worked for the Hudson County Animal League, the ASPCA, the Mayor's Alliance for New York City Animals, and Bideawee Feral Cat Initiative (FCI). In this episode Stacy and Kathleen discuss what to do if you see a stray cat, the many ways you can help with TNR, and the challenges facing those assisting community cats. Kathleen shares more about programs provided by Bideawee FCI, including education and outreach around TNR and caring for colonies, as well as support for certified TNR caretakers and the general public to connect with resources, services, and each other. To find out more, you can email [email protected] or visit Bideawee's website or the NYC Feral Cat Initiative.

This episode is sponsored in part by Doobert.com, Heaven Can Wait, and C5. This week Stacy talks to Meagan King, who has worked in pit bull rescues, animal shelters, and the pet service industry for more than eight years. She is interested in animal fear, aggression, and behavior and has worked with the SPCA of Texas as the Dallas behavior coordinator. She is a champion of fear-free cat-handling techniques. She currently works in Houston helping to identify community cat candidates in the shelter environment, as well as educating staff and the community on fear-free techniques. Meagan and Stacy discuss dealing with cats with behavior problems in shelters and how to identify the best placement for a particular cat. They also talk about Harris County's partnership with Best Friends Animal Society to create a robust TNVR, SNR (shelter, neuter, return), and community cat program. They also touch on the effects of COVID-19 on fostering, adoption, and spay and neuter. To learn more go to the Harris County Pets website or email [email protected].

This episode is sponsored in part by Doobert.com, Boulder Holistic Vet, and C5. Kathy Black, an all-breed judge from the Cat Fanciers' Association (CFA) for the past 19 years, joins Stacy in this episode. Kathy has bred and shown cats for 30 years, and she also chairs the CFA's Companion Cat World (CCW), a program that celebrates rescued and non-pedigreed cats around the world. Kathy shares a bit of the CFA's history with Stacy, and explains that even though the CFA is "mostly a registry of pedigreed cats, we have always been there to enhance the well-being of all cats and promote education, responsible cat ownership, and proper care for millions of cats worldwide." CFA's goal is to reach out to the cat people out there who have never heard of them and let them know who they are, what they stand for, and what they work for. Stacy and Kathy go on to discuss the CFA's thoughts on cat overpopulation issues around the world, including how they promote spay/neuter while also working to protect and preserve breeds. They talk about how the coronavirus pandemic has affected CFA, how CFA supports rescue groups, and their anti-declawing stance. To learn more about the CFA and Companion Cat World, including how you can register your own cat (purebred or not) with the CFA, visit their website.

This episode is sponsored in part by Doobert.com, Boulder Holistic Vet, and Kitty Sift. In this episode, Stacy chats with Sarah Moore, the clinic manager for the Animal Protective League (APL) of Springfield Illinois's spay/neuter clinic, and with Dr. Teri Kidd, the clinic's veterinarian. They discuss how Dr. Kidd got into high-quality, high-volume spay/neuter and TNR, and how things have changed in the city, numbers-wise, since the clinic opened in 2006. Stacy, Sarah, and Dr. Kidd also discuss the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on their clinic and how they were able to remain open for all but one day during the spring 2020 outbreak. They also talk about the pandemic's impact on the shelter and intake numbers and Dr. Kidd offers some thoughts regarding how leaders might better handle veterinary services in the event of another outbreak or similar situation. To learn more about the word APL does, visit their website, or check them out on social media. For more tips on advocating for veterinary services as essential in times of crisis, check out this flow chart from Bryan Kortis of Neighborhood Cats.

This episode is sponsored in part by Doobert.com's FosterSpace, Boulder Holistic Vet, and Community Cat Coalition of Clark County. In this episode, Stacy chats with Jennifer Barnes, a US Marine Corps veteran who has been colony feeding and trapping cats for TNR for over five years in New Jersey. Known online as "The Trap Queen," Jennifer largely uses her own money to fund her TNR, and she doesn't drive—but she still gets the job done. She and Stacy discuss how she became involved in rescue and, eventually, TNR, and Jennifer shares the story of how she found the strength to keep trapping after having to euthanize the first cat she ever trapped. Jennifer also talks with Stacy about the lack of diversity in animal welfare, and how, as a Black woman, her early experiences with the animal welfare industry made her consider quitting. Though she traps independently, she has since connected up with a nonprofit organization that has a Black CEO, a fact that has made her feel more at ease and like she belongs in animal welfare. Jennifer shares her advice on trapping without your own vehicle, including tips on using ride-sharing services and public transportation. She tells Stacy about her favorite baits, and about her ongoing colony feeding experiences. While Jennifer funds the majority of the work she does herself, she does accept donations to help with the colonies she feeds and any vet care they require. To learn more and follow the work Jennifer does, check her out on Facebook, Instagram, or on Twitter under the handle @trapqueen85.

This episode is sponsored in part by Doobert.com's FosterSpace, Boulder Holistic Vet, and Heaven Can Wait Animal Society. Sarah Dunsmore of CDE Animal Cages, previously featured on CCP Episode 302, joins Stacy to talk about catios, which CDE (a 2020 Online Kitten Conference sponsor) produces in all shapes and sizes for all different applications. Stacy and Sarah discuss the benefits of catios, and why a catio is preferable to letting a cat outdoors. CDE works with each individual to design a custom catio that works for their location and the needs of both the owner and the cats. They have many different options and price points, and all of their catios can be broken down for re-assembly at a new location if needed. The catio components are designed to last for many decades and are completely cleanable. To learn more, Sarah encourages you to look at what other people are doing, perhaps through a virtual catio tour, and to visit the catio page at the CDE Animal Cages website.