The Community Cats Podcast

“There’s so much noise in the world that really holds us back from doing our best work. We should just be kind to each other and work together.” This episode is sponsored in part by Humane Network, Doobert, and Maddie's Fund. Dr. Sara Pizano returns to the show (a previous CCP guest on episodes 56, 171, 246, 247, 306, and 335) to provide updates on her work, including her involvement with municipal shelters. She recently provided her 117th consult in 22 states. These shelters were able to decrease intake and lower euthanasia rates. Over the period of one year, one particular shelter, Danville-Boyle County Humane Society, was able to decrease its intake from 908 cats to 19. She stresses the importance of all organizations utilizing the community foundation model to help bridge funding gaps and shares her perspective on addressing veterinary shortages. Dr. Pizano shares information about Maddie’s Million Pet Challenge, which evolved from the Million Cat Challenge (a campaign that saved over 3.5 million cats). U

“There’s a person behind every animal and we’re trying to translate that person’s care and concern for the animal into action.” This episode is sponsored in part by Humane Network, Doobert, and Maddie's Fund. Joe Elmore has served as the President and CEO of Charleston Animal Society since 2012. When he joined, he brought 25 years of experience in the nonprofit sector to an organization in turmoil. Since his time at Charleston Animal Society, the organization has become the state’s top-rated nonprofit 7 years in a row. Joe also organized the statewide initiative No Kill South Carolina and led the effort to pass the first felony animal cruelty law in the U.S. In his conversation with Stacy, Joe describes the similarities and differences between the models of human service organizations and animal welfare organizations. He explains the challenges that animals face given their vulnerability and lack of fundamental rights. Joe also details how he was able to gather support from the public and policymakers in crea

"They have cats for companionship to give them company because they’re so isolated. There are so many stigmas attached to people who are homeless.” This episode is sponsored in part by Telecom Consultants, Buzz to the Rescues, and Maddie's Fund. Stacy chats with Dr. Jon Geller, DVM, who worked as an emergency veterinarian for nearly 25 years. He is also the national founder and director of The Street Dog Coalition, which provides free veterinary care to pets of those experiencing homelessness. The Street Dog Coalition runs mobile veterinary clinics in over 50 cities across the U.S. Dr. Geller talks about the services that The Street Dog Coalition provides to cats, as well as to their owners in their efforts to care for both ends of the leash. He also discusses the challenges that many of these individuals can face when seeking refuge in homeless and women’s shelters when accompanied by their pets. To learn more about The Street Dog Coalition, visit their, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube channel, or website. If y

“If people know what you’re doing, they will come out of the woodwork. If the commitment’s there and you really want to do it, it’s definitely possible.” This episode is sponsored in part by Telecom Consultants, Buzz to the Rescues, and Maddie's Fund. Stacy speaks with Carla Betlem, a professor at Rochester Institute of Technology where she has been performing TNR for nearly 15 years. Carla along with several RIT students came together to establish a campus club, Caring Hearts For RIT Cats, which provides care, comfort, and security to the feral cats on and surrounding RIT’s campus. Caring Hearts, which became an official college club in 2019[1], has over 400 student members involved. The club operates as a nonprofit entity and has a board of directors, along with various committees and subcommittees. Carla describes how this club was founded, how its members communicate, and the importance of training others to become leaders. She stresses the importance of educating students about the resources available in

“By being able to document [TNR] with photo and video . . . you can get those conversations started and start educating people why TNR is great, why it’s so helpful for everybody.” This episode is sponsored in part by Humane Network, Buzz to the Rescues, and Maddie's Fund. Stacy chats with Erica Danger, a pet photographer, designer, and cat rescuer located in the San Francisco Bay area. She fosters kittens, practices TNR, and volunteers with a number of rescue-focused organizations. With her business, The Catnip Dispensary, she designs and creates catnip toys, facemasks, and more to fund her rescue work. Erica shares her experience with photography, volunteering, nonprofit organizations, and TNR. She discusses the importance of sharing TNR through social media and provides helpful tips and tricks for good photography. Additionally, Erica previews her upcoming collaboration with the Community Cats Podcast. To learn more about Erica and her work, visit her Facebook, Instagram, or website. Her store, The Catnip

“It’s important for TNR groups who trap cats to realize the same “feral” behavior you see in [true] ferals, may be a sign of a scared cat and not necessarily a feral cat.” This episode is sponsored in part by Humane Network, Buzz to the Rescues, and Maddie's Fund. Stacy talks to Kat Albrecht-Thiessen, a police detective turned pet detective and the founder/director of The Missing Animal Response Network. Since 1997, Kat has worked with search dogs trained to find lost pets and is widely known as the leading authority on lost pet behavior and pet detective training. Kat has authored two books, “Pet Tracker: The Amazing Story of Rachel the K-9 Pet Detective” and “Dog Detectives: How to Train Your Dog to Find Lost Pets”. Kat talks about how she transitioned from police detective to pet detective. She had previous training in search management as part of search and rescue and found that many of the techniques for finding lost people can be applied to finding lost pets. Kat also has a blog that dispels myths about

“We’ve advanced so much in terms of understanding cat behavior but yet, we still have so far to go. We need more days like this.” This episode is sponsored in part by Humane Network, Buzz to the Rescues, and Maddie's Fund. In this episode, Stacy interviews her “Dream Team” of cat behavior experts, who are presenting at the 2022 Community Cats Podcast Online Behavior Day, which takes place on April 09, 2022. The panel features Pam Johnson-Bennett, certified cat behavior consultant and author; Dr. Rachel Geller, certified cat behavior and retention specialist, and executive director of the Cat Connection; Tabitha Kucera, CCBC, KPA-CTP, Fear-Free, and Low-Stress Handling certified registered veterinary technician; and Arden Moore, dog/cat behavior consultant, master pet first aid instructor, radio host, and author. The presenters give an overview of what they will present at Behavior Day, including cat behavior issues and concerns, vet visits and enrichment, litter box, and multi-cat household issues. Listener L

“Seeing the way that people make this [TNR] their priority, make doing something good for their community a priority, was really inspiring.” This episode is sponsored in part by Humane Network, Buzz to the Rescues, and Maddie's Fund. Stacy speaks to Jonathan Howe, who is a public defender in Bronx County Family Court and has declared his candidacy for Congress in New York’s 14th Congressional District. Jonathan and his wife were trained and certified in TNR during the COVID lockdown and now manage a small colony in Astoria, Queens. The couple shares their home with two of their own cats, Clara and Art Bell, and have helped two other kittens from the colony find new homes. Jonathan recounts his story of never having had a cat of his own but first seeing a lot of hungry outdoor cats at a friend’s house about eight years ago. Fast forward to the COVID lockdown and Jonathan noticed the outdoor cats in his neighborhood and realized he needed to take responsibility for them. His early efforts at trapping were somew

“When people use negative words, we need to help correct them. People might speak ill of cats because they don’t understand them.” This episode is sponsored in part by Humane Network, Buzz to the Rescues, and Maddie's Fund. Stacy talks to Tracie Hotchner, author, podcaster, animal wellness advocate and founder of The Radio Pet Lady Network, a network of informative radio programs, co-hosted by Tracie with top veterinarians and other pet experts. Tracie is also the founder and director of the annual NY Cat Film Festival and NY Dog Film Festival, which feature short cat-centric and dog-centric films. Premiering in New York City every year, the festivals then travel across the country, partnering with local animal welfare groups in every location that receives a portion of every ticket. Tracie lives in Vermont with her two rescue dogs and enjoys playing tennis. The discussion partially focuses on the results of a recent British research study, which surveyed pet owners to rate their cats’ level of psychopathy as

“It’s really about expanding the amount of resources that we can give to these caretakers, to these volunteers that day in and day out go out to the field to help these cats.” This episode is sponsored in part by Humane Network, Buzz to the Rescues, and Maddie's Fund. In this episode, Stacy speaks with Amy Davila Sanchez, Marketing Manager for strategic initiatives for Best Friends Animal Society. Raised in a family that loves cats and dogs, Amy has grown up with a special connection to animals, especially with cats. Her passion for animals started at a young age when she was in Puerto Rico. She currently has two rescue dogs and two rescue cats and loves to travel, cook and hike in her downtime. In her day to day at Best Friends Animal Society, Amy works with her team to provide resources and education for shelters and rescue organizations. Across the country, she helps provide these solutions and education materials. Amy and her team develop toolkits, courses, and resources to help individual people provide

“It’s really important for us to be aware of our energy. Because the imbalance that we’re currently experiencing as a collective is now translating into our cats.” This episode is sponsored in part by Humane Network, Buzz to the Rescues, and Maddie's Fund. Jessica Evans is a certified cat communicator and founder of Feline Ascension, which offers on-demand energy healing for cats and their owners. Jessica has been a cat lover all of her life and now dedicates her life to helping kitties be welcomed into homes with open arms and not be returned to a shelter due to behavior issues. It began with her first cat Dora and for Jessica, it was love at first sight. Ever since then, she’s always had cats in her life. Her childhood dream was to talk to cats and now she does! She discovered energy healing while she struggled with her own health issues in 2018. She learned how to communicate with her own body through energy healing and eventually became a certified healing practitioner. Over the past few years, clients st

This episode is sponsored in part by Humane Network, Doobert.com and Maddie's Fund. In this episode, Stacy speaks with Jane Kennedy and Adrienne Lefebvre of Two Crazy Cat Ladies, an all-natural feline product line designed to help kitties live longer and healthier lives. In addition to their products, they also host a blog and podcast called “Back In The Closet,” to help bring cat parents together and raise awareness for the health and well-being of all kitties. They also host regular Facebook and Instagram lives, connecting with cat parents and sharing helpful tips. Jane and Adrienne always thought they were dog people. That all changed when cats started coming to them and they found themselves enthralled in the care of the kitties in their lives. In 2015, they realized how much they didn’t know about nutrition when one of their cats went through a heartbreaking situation with feline leukemia. They searched for more answers and solutions but couldn’t find much information. They ended up building their own co

“I wanted to focus on keeping not just cats happy but owners happy with their cats and reducing owner surrender and things like euthanasia due to problem behaviors.” This episode is sponsored in part by Humane Network, Doobert.com and Maddie's Fund. Meet Molly Kelsey, a former vet nurse who worked with in-patient care and clinic administration, and now runs The Cat Counsellor as a feline behavior consultant, offering 1-on-1 support for cats and their owners. She’s based in New Zealand where it’s tough being a community cat. TNR practices are more restrictive and led by only grassroots volunteer-run organizations. In addition, there is public scrutiny regarding TNR due to ongoing concerns for local wildlife. In this episode, Molly tells us more about the community cat situation in New Zealand and shares more about how she started The Cat Counsellor as a way to advocate for and empower people to become more effective cat companions. She also shares important tips on how to understand and find solutions for comm

“The door is always open to work together.” This episode is sponsored in part by Humane Network, Doobert.com, and Maddie's Fund. In part two of the Return-to-Field & Targeting: The Community Cat Program webinar Bryan Kortis explores what fears people have prior to starting a return-to-field and targeting program and some of the studies and statistics that will put those fears to rest. Bryan also touches on how to discuss RTF programs with public officials and how to find common ground with bird enthusiasts and environmentalists so RTF can be used to effectively and humanely control the free-roaming cat population. Bryan also answers questions from attendees moderated by Stacy. Session Presenters: Susan Richmond Executive Director, Neighborhood Cats Bryan Kortis National Programs Director, Neighborhood Cats Notes: View the video Download the handouts Learn more about Neighborhoodcats.org. Follow them on Facebook, Instagram and view more of their content on Vimeo. Be sure to follow the Community Cats Podc

“For anything—as far as animals are related—to be completely sustainable, it has to happen in the community, it has to happen by the community.” This episode is sponsored in part by Humane Network, Doobert.com and Maddie's Fund. Mike Bricker has spent years in animal welfare improving live outcome percentages, innovating new programming, rewriting policies, and modernizing medical operations as director of operations at Camden County Animal Shelter. He then transitioned to Best Friends Animal Society as the Director of Operations of the Shelter Embed program and used his time to connect with communities and listen to the people he worked with. Stacy and Mike dive into what makes CARE, as Mike describes, “Unlike almost anything else in Animal Welfare.” He outlines the current divisions of CARE and talks about how CARE Centers, Research and Development, Narrative, and The CARE Circle work together to progress their mission. Mike discusses the importance of narrative and visibility as a core of what CARE does to

This episode is sponsored in part by Humane Network, Doobert.com and Maddie's Fund. Turning her perspective around on being a single pet caretaker inspired Beverly Means to think about what kinds of help she would want if she could no longer care for her pets due to terminal illness or an end-of-life event. After looking for options in her community, Beverly saw the need for supportive services around this common problem, and Transitions Pet Care was created. Offering services from estate planning to rehoming options, and even supportive pet care in Decatur, GA, Transitions Pet Care is a 501(c)3 foster-based rescue. TPC serves a population of elderly, health-compromised, or terminally ill people and their pets. Stacy and Beverly discuss estate planning with our animal companions in mind. Beverly outlines options from a formal and legally-binding Pet Trust to an informal written plan including care details, veterinary info, and the pet’s own preferences. She emphasizes the importance of planning for animal com

This episode is sponsored in part by Humane Network, Doobert.com and Maddie's Fund. This week, Stacy checks in with the very accomplished Dr. Gray Richter. Dr. Richter is a certified veterinary acupuncturist and certified veterinary chiropractor. In 2007 and 2008, Dr. Richter and his Montclair Veterinary Hospital team received awards from the community, including Best Veterinarian in the East Bay from Oakland Magazine, East Bay Express, and KRON 4 TV. Dr. Richter’s professional interests are in emergency, general practice, alternative care medicine, and wildlife rescue. He is also the California Veterinary Medical Association’s Alameda county representative regarding animal disaster planning. Dr. Richter is now an international bestselling author of The Ultimate Pet Health Guide. They discuss the shift in veterinary medicine away from treating cats as small dogs, and what might have prompted this enlightenment, including the Fear Free movement, more owner engagement, and the advantages it has for both veterin

This episode is sponsored in part by Humane Network, Doobert.com, and Maddie's Fund. Stacy connects with documentary Filmmaker Aaron Hancox to discuss how he came to find inspiration from his early documentary Catwalk: Tales from the Cat Show Circuit that lead him to his latest documentary, Running Wild: The Cats of Cornwall. Aaron confides that he initially expected the plight of cats in Cornwall to be a unique occurrence. Through his filmmaking, he has since learned that it is a story playing out in rural and underfunded communities all around the world. Aaron discusses the film’s main characters as they try to reduce the number of un-owned cats in Cornwall. He relates that telling their story looked like a David v. Goliath fight, but yielded insight into possible solutions and community needs in Cornwall and beyond. Much of the progress made was impacted by COVID-19 and the constant need for accessible spay and neuter Arron touches on municipal support, academic support, and private citizen support as bein

This episode is sponsored in part by Humane Network and Doobert.com. In Part 2 of 2021 Colony Caretaking Tips & Tricks, Presented by Neighborhood Cats, Bryan Kortis offers insight into constructing and maintaining winter shelters for community cats. From purchasing a kit to building your own, to making excellent use of a styrofoam cooler, Bryan covers several options. Caretaker and neighbor relations can be tricky, but Bryan offers several solutions to minimize complaints. Changing colony traffic patterns through barriers and deterrents can be a solution. Fleas, worms, gut health, and immunity boosters are all healthcare options that Bryan covers as manageable and available to community cats through their caregivers. Session Presenters: Susan Richmond Executive Director, Neighborhood Cats Bryan Kortis National Programs Director, Neighborhood Cats Notes: View the video Download the handouts Learn more about Neighborhoodcats.org and follow them on Facebook, Instagram and view more of their content on Vi