The Community Cats Podcast

An Interview with Danielle Jo Bays, Community Cats Program Manager for the Humane Society of the United States   Danielle calls on both her hands-on trapping experience and public policy work to help HSUS develop campaigns and programs that will educate and empower people who want to support cats in their community, such as webinars and tools for trappers and colony caretakers. She underscores the need to engage and communicate with neighbors to make the care of cats a group effort: “sometimes you find out there are 8 people all feeding a colony of 8 cats.” She also stresses the impact of integrating different types of programs, such as TNR and Pets for Life, to address not just  community cats, but cats who have the potential to end up outside.   For more information please visit hsus.org.

An Interview with Angela Walters Rockwell, Executive Director of the Animal Shelter Assistance Program (ASAP), Santa Barbara, California Angela shares fascinating information about ASAP’s innovative programs, particularly their recognized “Tiny Lion Tamers” initiative that socializes feral kittens within the shelter environment. So far, this program has 125 “graduates" and has made a significant difference in ASAP’s ability to deal with a large feral kitten population. There’s even a “foster dad” cat who’s available to provide a little “whupass” to kittens that need better manners! ASAP has a unique management structure, where paid staff work alongside volunteers as program managers. Angela believes that “everyone at the table should feel valued, especially volunteers."   For more information please visit www.asapcats.org.

Initially a dog person and very allergic to cats, Caitlyn Macintosh made an unlikely candidate for founder of an organization dedicated to helping community cats. Her US Marine husband’s passion for cats, however, sparked her own interest in animal welfare. When her husband was stationed at the naval base in Norfolk, VA, she found a passionate civilian community of cat advocates, as well as a pressing need for population control among the colony living on base.   This spurred her to found Cat Team 7, which she describes as a “marriage of civilian groups with Naval Station Norfolk leadership” to trap and relocate cats to other outdoor homes that may care for them. Caitlin’s work truly embodies perseverance in the face of adversity, as strict governmental policies regarding the trapping and care for community cats on military sites makes it very hard for animal welfare advocates in those areas to do meaningful work for feral cat populations.   To learn more about Cat Team 7’s various initiatives, or to expre

It’s time for another Q&A session with Stacy! In this episode, Stacy takes questions posted to the CCP Facebook page. Listeners asked for advice on how to keep the peace between an area’s cat colonies and its disgruntled residents, recommendations of safe and effective traps, the pros and cons of fee-waved adoption, and her favorite sources of information about TNR. Stacy also discusses the CCP’s newly launched grant program, Community Cat Grants, which provides funds and mentorship to grassroots organizations as well as small shelters in need of help. To find out more about Community Cats Grants or to apply, click here.   If you want to know more about the benefits and drawbacks of fee-waved adoption, click here to read Stacy’s blog post.   For more information on TNR,  visit alleycat.org or neighborhood cats.org. For resources in multiple languages, check out the Multilingual Pet Care Library.   To submit a question for the next Ask Stacy episode, please go to the CCP Facebook page and post it to the

Liz began her work with cats in 2004, when she was feeding a local cat colony and reached out to the Merrimack River Feline Rescue Society for help. Soon after, she became the MRFRS’ main trapping volunteer, and quickly rose through the ranks to Feral Cat Program Manager. From there, she elevated to Director of Operations and finally became the Executive Director of the organization in the fall of 2015. Liz outlines some of MRFRS’ many services, such as low-cost veterinary care to local families in need of financial assistance, and the Catmobile program, which is a mobile spay-neuter clinic that has serviced more than 50,000 cats since its beginning in 2008. Most importantly, Liz talks about the myths surrounding FIV-positive cats and cats with feline leukemia.   Find MRFRS on Facebook or at mrfrs.org, or email Liz at liz@mrfrs.org.

In this episode, Stacy interviews Dr. Emily McCobb, director of the Tufts Shelter Medicine Program and clinical associate professor of anesthesiology at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine.  Having volunteered at TNR clinics as a veterinary student herself, Dr. McCobb teaches shelter medicine as an emerging specialty.   She explains how her own experience working in shelters showed her that TNR clinics were the perfect way to provide hands-on experience to veterinary students, while also helping underserved animal populations, such as community cats. As a clinical associate professor at the Cummings School, she supports an on-campus spay-neuter clinic whose mission is to serve “the community and underserved animals while helping veterinary students learn clinical skills needed to become excellent vets.”  Staffed by students, the clinic acts as a site for hands-on learning, involving students in the entire process of TNR and endowing graduating students with the experience of multiple surgeries. By wo

In the field of animal welfare, “Dr. Susan” possesses a prolific resume. She opened her own veterinary-behavioral consulting service in 2000, has maintained a position as veterinary advisor for the Humane Society Veterinary Medical Association since its beginning in 2008, runs a private practice, and has volunteered her veterinary service at various local shelters in her home state of Wisconsin. In 2001, Dr. Susan founded Friends of Ferals, an adoption center and spay-neuter clinic for community cats in Dane County, WI. Considering that community cat interests were not a pressing concern at the time of its inception, this organization has done groundbreaking work in its field, rescuing over 4,500 community cats and adopting out 4,300 since 2007. Dr. Susan offers insight into successful relocation of community cat colonies, and how to successfully grow your organization through community outreach, especially in the face of push-back.   For more information, visit the Friends of Ferals website at daneferals.org

John’s background in wildlife management and a biology degree from George Washington University led him to become an animal control officer in 1994. Since then, he has served as the director of the National Animal Control Association and,since 2003, the City Animal Care and Services Program in San Jose, CA. John discusses the rewarding effects of switching to a TNR focus after the shelter intake’s substantial increase after the 2008 recession. The use of data (including specific euthanasia rates and intake numbers) to compare catch and kill programs with TNR programs is an important component in Jon’s success in convincing other communities to jump on the TNR bandwagon. For more information, visit sanjoseanimals.com or email Jon at jon.cicirelli@sanjose.gov.

From working as an animal control officer in 1989 to becoming the first person ever to complete a veterinarian residency in shelter medicine in 2001 at UC Davis, Kate’s passion for saving the lives of community cat is undeniable. Within what she calls her ‘big picture work,’ she has incorporated treatment of infectious diseases in lowering the number of shelter cats and euthanasia. Kate discusses how the excitement of peer-to-peer networking influenced her TNR program called "Million Cat Challenge", based on initiatives to balance intake, capacity for humane care in shelters, and live outcomes for cats in shelters. Visit millioncatchallenge.org and sheltermedicine.com for more information.  

A national expert in animal welfare issues, Rick is an advocate for spay/neuter programs targeting low income pet owners. He founded Jacksonville, Florida’s First "Coast No More Homeless Pets" in 2002. At that time, 23,000 was the annual number of deaths among shelter animals. Today, that number has decreased to 781. Rick discusses the concept of economic euthanasia and how a pet’s unexpected, high cost health crisis can exacerbate the number of unnecessary deaths. Rick has continued his efforts with the 2009 and 2016 openings of two new large scale spay/neuter clinics in Florida, as well as the 2008 launching of the Feral Freedom TNR program. For further information, visit fcnmhp.org or email Rick directly at rducharme@fcnmhp.org.

After her first experience losing a beloved stray to overpopulation in a Bridgeport, CT shelter, Esther’s passion for improving the quality of life for community cats across the country was ignited. Her grassroots efforts began with soliciting spay/neuter discounts among nationwide veterinarians while chartering her toll-free hotline in 1990. By 1993, she was fielding twenty-three thousand calls a month, leading to expansion programs including United Say Alliance and Spay USA. Esther discusses how her campaign, “Fixed Felines by Five”, educates the public on the positive impact that pediatric spaying and neutering has on not only feline overpopulation, but health and behavioral issues as well. Programs in countries including Panama, Costa Rica, and Australia have been modeled after Esther’s programs. For more information visit SpayUSA.org.

In her 8th grade research paper, Dr. Christine reported that up to twenty-two million cats were killed annually in shelters at the time. Almost thirty years after pursuing her DVM, those numbers have dropped to four million. Christine discusses the impact both mash-style and free-standing clinics have had on these statistics, as well as the challenges and triumphs she faced after launching the Feral Cat Spay and Neuter Project in Seattle in 1997. She and Stacy also discuss differing philosophies and approaches towards animal welfare and how education can convert donators from focusing on individual case causes to larger scale spay/neuter causes. For further related resources, visit Operation Catnip at ocgainsville.org.

With 33 years of experience as a veterinarian in Cincinnati, Ohio, Dr. Zeke founded United Pet Fund in 2010 and United Pet Resource Center in 2015. An advocate for the integration of corporate assistance within the non-profit world, he discusses the positive impact large companies could offer smaller “mom & pop” organizations with significantly lower resources. He also speaks candidly about bridging the gap between private practice and non-profit animal welfare programs, as well as fundraising challenges and potential solutions. While TNR techniques have come a long way since he started in the 1980’s, with his generation of veterinarians as “the McGyvers of the medical field,” he believes feral cats have the potential to live successfully among properly managed, gender neutral colonies. To find out more, visit unitedpetfund.org or email him at unitedpetfund@fuse.net.

A computer consultant with Microsoft by day, Amber channeled both her passion for cats and her business-sense into launching Michigan’s All About Animals Rescue in 2005. Since then, she has raised over $1 million in grants, has grown the program’s original annual budget from $80,000 to over $3 million, launched a high volume spay/neuter clinic in 2008, and founded the Spay Michigan hotline. Amber cites consistent trap availability as a critical component in TNR programs. She challenges every spay and neuter clinic to provide 100% trap accessibility for every case. She discusses the importance of collaborative relationships, networking, patience, and an open mind for fulfilling successful goals for community cats everywhere. To find out more, visit allaboutanimalsrescue.org and spaymichigan.org.

Always a lover of animals, a young Bryn Rogers thought she would take the obvious career path of veterinarian—until she shadowed at a vet office and found herself unable to stomach the reality of surgery. She didn’t let her squeamishness stop her from helping animals, however, and found meaningful work in shelters. She is now the program manager at the MSPCA adoption center in Boston, Massachusetts, overseeing the shelter’s adoption and spay-neuter events, as well as volunteer and foster care programs. Learning from her volunteers, coworkers, and the communities of other shelters is a reoccurring theme in her work, combining the knowledge and experience of the people in these spheres to more effectively achieve common goals. In conversation with Stacy, Bryn provides insightful tips for how shelters can provide high amounts of spay-neuter procedures at low cost, exposing shier cats to the public for adoption, and growing a foster care program and training volunteers—and utilizing the more seasoned among them t

Dr. Marvin Mackie began his lifelong work with animals from an early age. Raised on a farm around cows and horses, he entered veterinary school with the intent of becoming a large animal veterinarian. After seeing the dire need for more spay-neuter services while working at a 24-hour emergency clinic in Chicago, however, he eventually transitioned into pediatric small-animal medicine. With over 30 years of veterinary experience and having performed approximately 250,000 spay-neuter surgeries, Dr. Mackie provides a first-hand perspective on the evolution of spay-neuter practices in the United States from the 70s to today, describing his own Quick Spay Technique and how he has implemented it in recent years by teaching it to eager veterinarians in Mexico. He highlights the benefits of neutering from an early age and expounds upon his hopes that help from private practice will reinforce shelter work in sterilization for community cats.

Ellen Carozza is a veterinary technician with a passion for rescuing and raising neonatal kittens. She lovingly brings the kittens she raises everywhere with her, and implements innovative ways to care for them, including electrolytes, probiotics and plasma. With Stacy, she discusses the risks involved in raising kittens this young, and emphasizes that this is a task for rescuers who already have experience. To find out more visit NOVA Cat Clinic online.

Dr. David Haworth, DVM, PhD has impact on his mind. He discusses how he works to help PetSmart Charities save 1,400 lives a day, through grantmaking, adoption centers, supporting spay/neuter and other initiatives. To find out more visit PetSmart Charities online.

Michael tells Stacy about all things animal welfare in Arizona, from a ten-month kitten season to roaming packs of chihuahuas. In addition, he emphasizes the importance of working with other animal welfare groups and discusses other strategies for handling an influx of kittens, including promotions and foster networks. To find out more visit Arizona Animal Welfare League & SPCA online.

Former animal control officer Alice Burton has transformed her beliefs about trap-neuter-release. Alice tells Stacy about synergistic relationships between animal control departments and TNR organizations, resources for communities that hope to introduce TNR, and her own reluctant transition to believing in trap-neuter-release. Now working with Alley Cat Allies, Alice discusses other initiatives, like National Feral Cat Day. For more information, visit alleycat.org or call Alley Cat Allies’ national help desk at 240-482-1980. To find out more visit Ally Cat Allies online.