The Community Cats Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Finding Cat-Loving People with Audrey Stratton, Clinic Supervisor at Feral Cat Coalition Sep 19, 2023

Show notes

"We need more people that are eager and willing to help see a problem and want to be a part of the solution."

This episode is sponsored in part by Urban Cat League, Doobert.com, and Maddie's Fund.

On this episode, Stacy talks to Audrey Stratton, Clinic Supervisor at the Feral Cat Coalition, an organization based in San Diego that is dedicated to reducing overpopulation and improving the lives of cats through TNR services. Founded in 1992, the Feral Cat Coalition has spayed and neutered more than 50,000 community cats.

In her conversation with Stacy, Audrey talks all about community cats and TNR. She describes the changing landscape for community cats and the growing need for more TNR volunteers. Audrey discusses several hot topics, including access to care issues and whether to spay pregnant cats. She also provides her thoughts on addressing some of the frequently encountered issues in the field, such as compassion fatigue and staffing shortage.

To learn more about the Feral Cat Coalition, visit their website or follow them on Facebook or Instagram.

Strategies for Reducing Cat Populations, with Stacy LeBaron, Host of The Community Cats Podcast Sep 05, 2023

Show notes

"First and foremost, before me telling them [why they should neuter their indoor/outdoor cat], I want to find out what will move the needle for them."

This episode is sponsored in part by Urban Cat League, Doobert.com, and Maddie's Fund.

In today's special podcast, we are proud to bring you the audio version of "Strategies for Reducing Cat Populations".

In this episode, Stacy LeBaron, host of The Community Cats Podcast, long-time TNR advocate/practitioner, and non-profit administrator, shares her experience and offers suggestions to address the most common situations that can arise when birds, raccoons, coyotes, and other species live alongside a managed community cat colony.

She discusses how she navigated working with various agencies to promote TNR and gives details on cases where both cat lovers and bird enthusiasts have come together to make it work for the benefit of all the animals - and people - involved.

The session includes a Q&A period where the audience gets their questions answered and learns some talking points to explain to others how TNR benefits wildlife. Additional insight is given by special guests Mike Phillips, president of the Urban Cat League (you can hear more from him in episode 71), and Shelia Massy, president and founder of Hard Hat Cats (who was featured on episode 494).

If you'd like to watch this presentation, you can visit our YouTube channel to check it out. To download handouts mentioned in the show, you can visit our Community Cat Pyramid page to find these, and a treasure trove of other TNR and community cat care education.

Fostering Relationships with Niki Cudsworth, Board Member of the Visalia Feral Cat Coalition Aug 29, 2023

Show notes

"One cat at a time, we can make a difference."

This episode is sponsored in part by The Urban Cat League, Doobert.com, and Maddie's Fund.

On this episode, Stacy chats with Niki Cudsworth, a board member of the Visalia Feral Cat Coalition (VFCC), an organization that seeks to reduce cat overpopulation by practicing, teaching, and raising awareness of TNR. In its efforts to curb overpopulation, the organization offers TNR Vouchers for getting community cats spayed/neutered with a $30 copay.

In her conversation with Stacy, Niki discusses VFCC's voucher program and describes how the organization's monthly clinics operate. She outlines the organization's various partnerships and explains how it collaborates with local rescues. Niki also highlights the importance of fundraising, fiscal responsibility, collaborating with the community, and fostering a relationship with veterinarians.

To learn more about the Visalia Feral Cat Coalition, visit their website or Facebook page.

The following organizations are mentioned during this episode:

Reporting on Resources with Daniel Spehar, Co-Founder of the Together Initiative for Ohio's Community Cats Aug 22, 2023

Show notes

"We really need to explore the unique needs and challenges that exist in the different parts of the state . . . so that when potential remedies are offered or additional resources are created, they can be targeted."

This episode is sponsored in part by The Urban Cat League, Doobert.com, and Maddie's Fund.

On this episode, Stacy is joined by Dan Spehar, co-founder of the Together Initiative for Ohio's Community Cats and a former guest of the show (CCP Episode 240). Dan is also an independent researcher who focuses on community cat management and has co-authored numerous published peer-reviewed articles on the subject.

In his conversation with Stacy, Dan summarizes some of his findings from his recent report, "Identifying Ohio's Community Cat Resources: A State of the State Report, 2023". This report, which resulted from research funded by Ohio Animal Advocates, provides a directory of community cat spay-neuter and TNR services by county and a comprehensive assessment of the current community cat resource landscape in Ohio.

Dan also discusses a prior report examining the efficacy of a TNR program in Newburyport, Massachusetts. Additionally, he and Stacy discuss the veterinary shortage issue, and Dan describes some of Ohio's recent legislative efforts in addressing these issues.

To learn more about Dan's work, visit the Together Initiative's website.

You can also reach out to Dan directly by email at communitycatsohio@gmail.com.

Shifting the Mindset in Municipal Sheltering with Heidi Williams, Director of the Ingham County Animal Control & Shelter Aug 15, 2023

Show notes

"Have integrity, do the right thing, and the rest of it falls into place."

This episode is sponsored in part by The Urban Cat League, Doobert.com, and Maddie's Fund.

This week, Stacy sits down with Heidi Williams, director of the Ingham County Animal Control & Shelter in Mason, Michigan. Ingham County is a municipal shelter that takes in approximately 3,000 animals per year. The county launched a TNR program in 2023 to provide support to the estimated 50,000 community cats that call Ingham County home.

Stacy and Heidi talk about her background as a first responder, and how she came to find herself in animal control and sheltering. They discuss her unique perspective as the director of a municipal shelter, and how they worked with the community to build support for a county-supported TNR program. They also discuss the role of managed intake, the importance of empowering and supporting your staff, and the other important changes Heidi has made during her tenure to help her organization become a well-respected destination adoption location.

For more information about Ingham County Animal Control & Shelter or to get in touch with Heidi, visit snipandclip.org or AC.ingham.org.

Targeted TNR & Getting the Most Bang for Your Buck, Part 2, with Bryan Kortis, National Programs Director for Neighborhood Cats Aug 08, 2023

Show notes

"You also want to know your community so your outreach is effective."

This episode is sponsored in part by Urban Cat League, Doobert.com, and Maddie's Fund.

In today's podcast, we are proud to bring you part two of the audio version of "Targeted TNR & Getting the Most Bang for Your Buck Presented by Neighborhood Cats". (If you haven't listened to part one, you can check it out here.)

The more cats you fix, the more impact your TNR program will have, right? Wrong! Spay/neuter volume alone is rarely enough by itself to keep consistently reducing a community's free-roaming cat population over time. Another aspect of the program needs to be identifying areas of high need (meaning, lots of cats) and then focusing TNR resources at that location in order to achieve high sterilization rates. Discover what targeting is, why it's so important, and how you can do it no matter how large or small your program is.

To learn more about Neighborhood Cats, you may visit their website.

If you'd like to watch this presentation, you can visit our YouTube channel to check it out. To download handouts mentioned in the show, you can visit our Community Cat Care Training and Education page to find these, and a treasure trove of other TNR and community cat care education.

Targeted TNR & Getting the Most Bang for Your Buck, Part 1, with Bryan Kortis, National Programs Director for Neighborhood Cats Aug 01, 2023

Show notes

"...if you do it in this concentrated way, where you're focused on one part of the community...by in larger you'll have defeated the vacuum effect."

This episode is sponsored in part by Urban Cat League, Doobert.com, and Maddie's Fund.

In today's podcast, we are proud to bring you part one of the audio version of "Targeted TNR & Getting the Most Bang for Your Buck Presented by Neighborhood Cats".

To learn more about Neighborhood Cats, you may visit their website.

Felines, Forensics and Affordable Care with Dr. Michelle Gonzalez (aka Dr. G), Owner of the Rascal Unit Jul 25, 2023

Show notes

"As veterinarians, we have to educate people."

This episode is sponsored in part by The Urban Cat League, Doobert.com, and Maddie's Fund.

On this episode, Stacy chats with Dr. G, owner of the Rascal Unit, which consists of two mobile veterinary hospitals that provide high-volume pet sterilization and routine veterinary care throughout Ohio.

In her discussion with Stacy, Dr. G describes the array of services that the Rascal Unit provides. She also details encounters with cat hoarding situations and describes these different types of hoarders, which include overwhelmed caregivers and rescue hoarders. Dr. G explains how she approaches these hoarding situations and how she prepares her team as well.

Dr. G also describes her work in the field of veterinary forensics, which is the application of veterinary medicine and forensic sciences to legal settings. She also talks about her podcast, the Animal Welfare Junction, where she discusses animal welfare topics and forensic cases.

You can visit Dr. G's website to learn more about her veterinary forensics work.

Tracking the Stats for Cats with Stephanie Filer, Executive Director of Shelter Animals Count Jul 18, 2023

Show notes

"There's a lot of tools that we offer to make really understanding the data easier and start to identify where the need still exists."

This episode is sponsored in part by Cats of the Wild Podcast, Doobert.com, and Maddie's Fund.

In this episode, Stacy chats with Stephanie Flier, Executive Director of Shelter Animals Count, an organization that maintains a centralized, standardized database for animal shelter statistics. The organization's database, established in 2012, tracks shelter intakes and outcomes, and in 2021, they started collecting community services data.

In her conversation with Stacy, Stephanie describes how Shelter Animals Count collects its data from the nearly 7,000 participating organizations across the country and then transforms it into interactive data dashboards. Stephanie provides some tips on how to navigate this data and highlights some of its features. She also discusses recent shelter trends, post-pandemic challenges, and more.

To learn more about Shelter Animals Count, visit their website.

Mobilizing the Community to Make TNR Happen, Part 2, with Bryan Kortis, National Programs Director for Neighborhood Cats Jul 11, 2023

Show notes

"We're not going to the with a sense of entitlement...that's not going to get you very far...you have to let organizations move at a pace they're comfortable with and realize things can accelerate once they get involved."

This episode is sponsored in part by Cats of the Wild Podcast, Doobert.com, and Maddie's Fund.

In today's podcast, we are proud to bring you part two of the audio version of "Mobilizing the Community to Make TNR Happen Presented by Neighborhood Cats". (If you haven't listened to part one, you can check it out here.)

So many cats, so few trappers… and veterinarians… and holding space… and transporters. If you live in a well-populated urban or suburban area and you're trying to use TNR to address your city or town's entire free-roaming cat population, you'll need a lot of help! How do you mobilize the public to trap the cats in their backyards, get hands-on involvement, attract volunteers, and gain community support? In parts one and two of this special release, you'll learn from the folks who started the community TNR program in New York City and helped other municipalities organize their programs. We'll go over training the public, providing support services, tracking success, gaining publicity, and more.

To learn more about Neighborhood Cats, you may visit their website.

If you'd like to watch this presentation, you can hop on over to our YouTube channel to check it out. To download handouts mentioned in the show, you can visit our Community Cat Care Training and Education page to find these, and a treasure trove of other TNR and community cat care education.

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