The Community Cats Podcast

Dr. Nels Rasmussen, Animal Chiropractor and Spiritual Animal Healer “Everyone else is saying ‘There’s just no hope anymore,’ and I’m here to say there is.”  Dr. Nels Rasmussen is a third-generation animal chiropractor who now works as a spiritual animal healer in neuroenergetic balancing. In the early days of his practice he worked with paralyzed and injured horses, restoring them to riding shape. Now, he works mostly with dogs and some cats and horses. Dr. Rasmussen believes that many injuries and behavioral problems that have veterinarians stumped can be solved by resetting the fight-or-flight response and restoring the energy balance within the animal. In his nearly forty years of practice, Dr. Rasmussen has seen incredible results in his patients and saved many animals from unnecessary euthanization due to mobility issues.    For more information on Dr. Rasmussen’s work, or to schedule a thirty-minute phone consultation about an animal in your care, please visit healingministryforanimals.com. 

Interview! Esther Mechler, Founder of Spay USA “What’s the tipping point? What’s the age that we could get the veterinarians to agree? The answer seemed to be, by five months.” Esther is back for another episode of the Community Cats Podcast, in which she shares more information on the Feline Fix By Five campaign, an initiative to encourage veterinary practices to spay and neuter cats by five months of age. The campaign has been backed by extensive research into the benefits of fixing cats at what used to be considered a very early stage of development, as female cats can become pregnant by six months of age. Esther and her team are hopeful that the Fix By Five campaign will help drive down the kitten population and give some relief to overwhelmed shelters in areas with long kitten seasons. As of July 2017, the campaign has been officially endorsed by eight national veterinary associations. To learn more about the campaign, please visit felinefixbyfive.org. You can help spread the word by sharing Feline Fix B

Interview! Britt Collins, Author and Journalist, "Strays: A Lost Cat, a Homeless Man, and Their Journey Across America" “Being a writer can be a lonely, hard process at the best of times.” Britt Collins is a writer, journalist, and animal activist, who has written investigative journalism on animal cruelty and has volunteered at animal rescues and sanctuaries around the world. Her most recent book, Strays: A Lost Cat, a Homeless Man, and Their Journey Across America, tells the true story of a lost cat and a homeless man who find each other in Portland, OR, and develop a life-saving friendship as they embark on an a cross-country journey together. Britt tells Stacy about the difficult process of writing and publishing Strays, as well as her current project of organizing Cat Fest London and what cat rescue organizations look like in the UK. To learn more about Britt and her writing, please visit brittcollins.net. You can also find out more about Cat Fest London at catfestlondon.com.

Interview! Anna Skaya, CEO and Founder of Base Paws “The bigger database, the more associations and discoveries we can make.” Anna Skaya is the CEO and founder of Base Paws, a commercial company that conducts feline genetic testing and research. Using the results from genetic testing, we can analyze an individual cat and assess her probability of contracting certain diseases. In less than a year of work, Base Paws has determined that Feline Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM), a common (and serious) disease among cats, affects 15% of cats, using the data collected from willing pet parents and shelters. Perhaps even more importantly, Base Paws’ work can help to predict patterns not just in the individual, but the larger population. Currently Base Paws is enlisting pet parents whose cats fit certain criteria to bring their cat in for testing. This will help Base Paws build both their genetic and behavioral database. Anna says that as the database grows, the accuracy of Base Paws’ predictions and analyses will inc

Interview! Maribeth Decker, Intuitive Animal Communicator, sacredgrove.com “It’s a connection between two souls on a non-physical level.” Maribeth Decker is an intuitive animal communicator, whose dogs first began communicating with her after she became a Reiki Master. She herself only realized her gift when she adopted Tibor, a young fear-aggressive rescue dog, who sent her images of his life before coming to live with her. After that experience, Maribeth began consciously practicing animal communication, and has been doing so since 2010. Maribeth describes her communication with animals as “feelings, memories, and body sensations” shared between two beings. In this episode, she recounts some of her experiences, both with her own animals and with clients. Maribeth helps pet and pet owners deepen their connection, resolve behavioral problems, and even give mutual comfort as the pet begins to transition out of this life. She has also authored a book, Peace In Passing, which aims to provide comfort for grieving

Interview! Lorrie Shaw, Owner, Professional Pet Sitting & Blogger, Animals Unfolded “Cats’ needs for enrichment are only becoming more understood.” Lorrie Shaw is the owner of Professional Pet Sitting and specializes in helping families care for hospice and special needs pets. Through her work, she has observed that medical issues and behavioral issues are very often linked—inappropriate elimination, for example, is the most common reason for a family to rehome a cat, yet this behavior is often indicative of an underlying medical issue the family isn’t even aware of. This is where a knowledgeable pet sitter is invaluable: by observing a cat’s behavior in their home environment, the pet sitter becomes the eyes and ears for the family when they are away, and can therefore spot problems long before the family notices. Lorrie says that with proper intervention and knowledge, and a good relationship with the local vet, she has witnessed many families keep a cat they may have otherwise surrendered. You can find

Interview! Pat Brayer, Clinic Director at the Humane Society of Southern Arizona “The adopters that are drawn to the shy feral kittens are the ones that are going to make them blossom the most.” Pat Brayer is the clinic director at the Humane Society of Southern Arizona. In her shelter work, she has pioneered some of the field’s most innovative programs, such as the Kitten Kindergarten program, which has successfully socialized and adopted out 82 formerly feral kittens brought into the shelter by trappers. Perhaps the most cutting edge program at HSSAZ is the FELV vaccination program, which is an initiative to lower the stigma surrounding feline leukemia and to increase adoptions of these lovable cats. HSSAZ offers free testing and vaccinations to adopters who are interested in adopting a FELV+ cat but are concerned about the risk to the cats they already own. The program has been hugely successful, with no incidences of vaccinated cats contracting the virus from their FELV+ housemates. You can get in touch w

Interview! Nathan Winograd, Executive Director, The No-Kill Advocacy Center, Part 2 “We had to come to the realization that just because you work at an animal shelter doesn’t mean you are passionate about cats and saving their lives.” In Part 2 of this two-part episode, Nathan describes the current animal welfare legislation he is working on—namely the Companion Animal Protection Act (CAPA) and how it has been implemented, in whole or in part, in various cities and counties across the U.S. He also revisits some of his tougher experiences pushing legislation in more regressive areas and shelters, and warns against the naïveté inherent in the belief that all animal shelters or humane societies are truly interested in saving animals. CAPA seeks to make that ideal a reality by transforming shelters into “temporary waystations to a better life” for cats, not euthanasia sites. To learn more about Nathan’s work, you can visit nokilladvocacycenter.org or nathanwinograd.com.

Interview! Nathan Winograd, Executive Director, The No-Kill Advocacy Center, Part 1 “It’s actually the policies and procedures of the shelter that are responsible for whether animals die in shelters.” It’s hard to name a field of animal welfare that Nathan Winograd doesn’t have experience in: his animal advocacy work started while attending Stanford Law School, and since then he has worked in animal control, consulted for and ran animal shelters, written animal protection legislation, prosecuted in animal cruelty cases, taught at Cornell School of Veterinary Medicine, spoken internationally on animal welfare topics, and written five books! One such book, Redemption, details the “no-kill” revolution in the United States and advocates for no-kill communities, not just no-kill shelters.   In Part 1 of this two-part episode, Nathan gives a detailed description of both his history in animal welfare and the evolution of the sheltering industry in general. Nathan also defines what he means by “no-kill” community, an

Interview! Kate Benjamin, Designer, Blogger of Hauspanther, Part 2 “Not only does the design of the room at the shelter make it very functional and enjoyable, but it’s a showcase for what people can do when they get home.” In Part 2 of this two-part episode, Kate delves into how user-centered design theory can be applied to shelters, in order to make adoptable cats’ personalities shine and therefore be adopted faster. She has great praise for the new trend of cat cafes and open-concept shelters, which, if designed correctly, can encourage and inspire people to adopt cats and catify their own homes! Check out Kate’s blog at www.hauspanther.com.

Interview! Kate Benjamin, Designer, Blogger of Hauspanther, Part 1 “I’m not just writing about cool-looking stuff. I’m writing about stuff that’s going to make a difference in these cats’ lives.” Kate Benjamin has combined her professional knowledge of design and product development with her love of cats to fill a unique niche—she blogs about cat products designed with the cat consumer in mind! She’s been writing her blog, House Panther, for about ten years now, which eventually led to two New York Times best-sellers, Catification and Catify to Satisfy. Co-authored with Jackson Galaxy, the books blend his behavioral knowledge and her design perspective to instruct on how best to “catify” your home in ways that are both aesthetically pleasing and most suitable for your cat’s unique behavioral needs. Kate believes that if more cat products are designed with the needs of the cat in mind—a design concept called “user-centered design theory”—pesky behavioral problems like peeing outside the litterbox and scratchin

Interview! Meredith Hippert, Director of Field Operations, Animal Balance “Through this work, I recognized my passion for serving the underserved, and working with communities to implement change for animals.” Though largely self-educated in the field, Meredith Hippert holds an impressively broad resume in animal welfare, from admission guidelines and outreach to foster programming and TNR. Her journey started when she began caring for a colony of cats living behind the tattoo parlor where she worked in Pittsburg, PA. Using online resources such as Alleycat Allies, Meredith learned as much as she could about community cats management and care, and she now serves as the director of operations at Animal Balance in Austin, TX. Under the guidance of former CCP guests Miles Chadwick and Emma Clifford, Meredith has grown in her advocacy for animals everywhere, especially the remote islands that Animal Balance currently assists. For more information about Animal Balance, please visit animalbalance.org. You can also

Interview! Anthony Amos, Owner, HydroDog and Founder of the Bathe to Save Tour “If you want to become a part of HydroDog, you’re not just part of a franchise; you’re committing to a long-term partnership with the animal rescue world.” Anthony Amos is the owner of HydroDog, a mobile grooming salon in Australia that travels from house to house bathing beloved household pooches. He took the idea to the U.S. when he moved here with his wife, three children, three rabbits, and rescue puppy to start the Bathe to Save tour. Over the next twelve months, Anthony and his family will travel through all fifty states, washing dogs at shelters and holding events in an effort to raise $1,000,000 for sheltering, rescue, and adoption initiatives. Anthony talks about how ambitious the project was from the beginning, and the nine months he had to spend “re-learning” how to apply the business to an American context.   If you’re interested in donating or attending an event, please visit bathetosave.com to see where Anthony and hi

Interview! Erika Kelly, founder of Operation Git-Meow “The Navy has always been tied to cats, and that’s how the cats got to the base in the first place.” Only a year after graduating college, Erika Kelly is already well on her way to making waves in the animal welfare community—she started Operation Git-Meow in December 2016, a non-profit designed to help community cats living on the Guantanamo Bay Naval Station. As you may remember from Stacy’s conversation with naval-base resident Caitlyn Macintosh (Episode 53), TNR is strictly prohibited on naval bases. Instead, most community cats are trapped and euthanized, which is ineffective at controlling population and costly to the taxpayer. Operation Git-Meow is in the process of requesting an exception to the law, offering as an alternative an SPCA-funded TNR program that will manage the population of community cats on the base and transport them back to the U.S. at no cost to the taxpayer. Besides this large initiative, Operation Git-Meow seeks to make vaccinat

Interview! Karen Hollish, Director of Development and Marketing, Pima Animal Care Center “The community cats project has not only helped us save outdoor community cats; it’s helped us provide a better experience for the cats inside our shelters.” Karen Hollish is the director of development and marketing at Pima Animal Care Center. In March 2014, she started a development program for the government-run, open-admission shelter in Pima County, Arizona. The program was hugely successful: she raised millions of dollars through fundraising initiatives, and the shelter started to take in about 24,000 pets per year with a save rate of around 70%! In a state like Arizona where pet overpopulation is a big problem and kitten season lasts virtually all year round, this is a huge accomplishment. Pima Animal Care Center has managed to raise its save rate to 90% thanks to its community cat program, and it also has a unique kitten program for people with dementia and other memory issues. While the kitten is socialized, the

Interview! Erin Berry, Executive of Marketing and Communication, BoardSource "You have to think, “What is most important for this organization, not for myself?” Erin Berry is the executive of marketing and communication at BoardSource, an organization that helps strengthen the boards of non-profits. Erin has twelve years of experience in non-profit management, and she’s no stranger to volunteering, either—by the end of her high school career, she had logged around 400 hours of community service!   Erin tells Stacy about some of the exciting resources that BoardSource has to offer, including the Board Support Program, a year-round development program with almost entirely free access—perfect for smaller grassroots organizations working on the local level. Erin also gives us some of her tips on how to build a strong board and how to start a non-profit organization.   For more information, please visit boardsource.org.

Interview! Katie Lisnik, Director of Cat Policy and Protection, Humane Society of the United States "TNR is not a cruel act; it is a humane population management tool, and it should be defined as such." Katie Lisnik is back for another round of "Policy Jeopardy" on the Community Cats Podcast! This time, we get the scoop on animal welfare initiatives in Illinois, New York, Nevada, New Hampshire, and some exciting initiatives on the federal level!   If you are interested in getting involved with animal welfare legislation in your state, you can find your state director's contact information on humanesociety.org. You can also find resources for anything related to sheltering, rescue, animal control, TNR, or community cat related at animalsheltering.org. And, as always, you can email Katie at cats@humanesociety.org if you have any questions concerning animal welfare legislation and policy.

Interview! Jim Tedford, President and CEO of SAWA “The strength of SAWA is in its network.” Jim Tedford is the president and CEO of the Society of Animal Welfare Administrators (SAWA). In the early 1980s, fresh out of college with a degree in  animal science, he found his first job in animal welfare at a tiny humane society that was “held together with duct tape and love.” Since then, Jim has seen the animal welfare game change drastically in the last few decades—Jim’s last job at a shelter in New York assisted 12,000 animals a year with a staff of 70 people and over 700 volunteers. We owe much of that to SAWA’s network of professionals and resources, which has grown exponentially since its inception nearly fifty years ago. According to Jim, SAWA is the only organization of big leaders in animal welfare who also work “in the trenches,” to use his parlance.   Jim and Stacy discuss the many resources, programs, scholarships, and conferences that SAWA has to offer up-and-coming animal welfare organizations, as w

Community Cats Podcast Anniversary Show, The Podcast Team “I’m learning so much about the talents and passions it takes to make the world a better place for cats.” Community Cats Podcast celebrates it’s first year online! In the Anniversary Show, Stacy shines the spotlight on the ‘behind the scenes’ talent that has made this past year a success. She discusses the challenges and highlights of producing episodes and working to spread education and dialogue about community cats. Stacy talks with website director Kristen Petrie, social media/writer Jamie Hovey, writer/editor Anna Domings, audio engineer Danny Ozment from Emerald City Productions, and ‘Ask Stacy’ host and writer Lisa Finkel. Team links: emeraldcitypro.com mellariumcreative.com jlhvirtualservices.com

Interview! Shawn Flynn, Author, The Kitty Who Rescued Me After I Rescued Him “He had a huge impact on my life, and that’s why I decided to write a book about it.” Shawn Flynn is the author of The Kitty Who Rescued Me After I Rescued Him, a current finalist in the 2017 International Book Awards. It tells the story of Shawn’s newfound best friend and support in a large orange community cat, who he met after purchasing a house with his fiancee in Enfield, CT. To the couple’s surprise, the house came with several outdoor cats who hung around the property, one of them being Kitty—and on the day Shawn moved in, he found Kitty sitting on the front porch as if waiting for him to come home! Kitty became a central fixture in Shawn’s life, helping him through some difficult personal times. The book serves as a thank-you to Kitty for his presence in Shawn’s life.   You can find Shawn’s book here on Amazon, and you can reach the author himself at shawnpflynn@yahoo.com.