The Community Cats Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Justice, TNR, and Not-So-Crazy Cat Ladies with Esmerelda Alvarez, TNR Advocate Dec 06, 2022

Show notes

"I think the best way to rescue the most cats is through TNR."

This episode is sponsored in part by Doobert and Maddie's Fund.

Meet Esmeralda Alvarez, a TNR advocate and cat foster who performs TNR on a weekly basis. Her efforts began back in 2015, and she strongly believes that TNR is a social justice issue. In her conversation with Stacy, she discusses the importance of TNR and explains how its performance saves future generations of cats.

Esmerelda also discusses the many difficult choices that trappers encounter, such as deciding whether to return or keep a trapped cat. She encourages trappers to make these decisions based on what is ultimately best for the cat. "I always tell people just listen to what the cat has to say and try to the best of your ability to remove your personal feelings . . . [and] to prioritize them over your feelings."

Additionally, Esmerelda touches on her participation in the recent film "Crazy Cat Lady", which is a documentary that focuses on the feral cat crisis in Los Angeles and the dedicated (though often mischaracterized) volunteers who are on the front line.

To learn more about Esmerelda and how to get involved in TNR, visit her Instagram or TikTok.

To learn more about the documentary "Crazy Cat Lady", visit their website or Instagram.

If you enjoyed this episode, you might also be interested in listening to Stacy's interview with Tina Traster, an award-winning filmmaker, writer, and documentarian of "Catnip Nation", in episode 186.

How to Reunite Pets and Owners with Corinne Bourgoin, Operations Coordinator, MSPCA Boston Adoption Center Nov 29, 2022

Show notes

"Nothing feels better than helping a pet get back to their family that loves them."

his episode is sponsored in part by Doobert and Maddie's Fund.

In this episode, Stacy chats with Corinne Bourgoin, who serves as the Operations Coordinator at the MSPCA Boston Adoption Center. Her efforts have resulted in a program that has a feline reclaim rate that is eight times the national average of these programs.

In her discussion with Stacy, Corinne explains how the MSPCA reunites lost pets with their owners. She details what goes on behind the scenes once a stray cat is brought in. She stresses that in order to have a successful program, there needs to be an organizational mindset shift.

Corinne discusses some of the challenges in differentiating lost cats from neighborhood cats; she also provides some helpful tips on how to effectively distinguish these cats. Additionally, she talks about low-cost spay/neuter programs and TNR.

To learn more about the MSPCA, visit their website.

To get in touch with Carin, you can email her at lostpet@mspca.org or call her at (617) 522-5055.

If you enjoyed this episode, you might also be interested in listening to Stacy's interview with Kat Albrecht-Thiessen, a police detective turned pet detective and the founder/director of The Missing Animal Response Network, in episode 450.

Your Picture Perfect Cats with Brian Vermeire and Kristina Hughes, Frame Your Feline Founders Nov 22, 2022

Show notes

"Once you get one cat, you can't stop getting cats. It's an addiction like none other."

This episode is sponsored in part by Doobert and Maddie's Fund.

Meet Brian Vermeire and Kristina Hughes, stand-up comedians and entrepreneurs based in Los Angeles. The pair grew weary of the sight of cat trees and decided to take action to create more aesthetically pleasing cat furniture. Together, they developed the Feline Frame Ensemble, which combines a cat shelf with a portrait frame.

In their conversation with Stacy, Brian, and Kristina describe some of the features of the Feline Frame Ensemble, which include interchangeable frames and customizable artwork. They also discuss some of the lessons that they have learned as avid listeners of the Community Cats Podcast.

Additionally, Brian discusses his company OneBite Creative, which provides website design, logo design, social media branding, and graphic services. He stresses the importance of having an up-to-date website and one that is periodically updated. He also explains how OneBite Creative can help those that are feeling overwhelmed with their maintaining their website or social media presence.

To learn more about Frame your Feline, visit their website or Instagram. And to learn more about OneBite Creative, visit their website.

If you enjoyed this episode, you might also be interested in listening to Stacy's interview with Chelsea White, Comedian and Host of "Show Me Your Kitty", in episode 321 .

Help When Animal-Loving Humans Have It Ruff with Marisa Hernandez, Director of Operations & Co-Founder Ruff Haven Nov 15, 2022

Show notes

"We really believe in collaboration, not just in animal welfare but in human welfare."

This episode is sponsored in part by Doobert and Maddie's Fund.

On today's episode, Stacy chats with Marisa Hernandez, one of the co-founders of Ruff Haven, an organization that helps people encountering crisis situations remain united with their beloved pets. Marisa recognized the growing need for temporary crisis sheltering services in the community, which compelled her to take action.

In her discussion with Stacy, Marisa discusses how she and several friends with unique backgrounds came together to create this organization. She discusses the specifics of the program, as well as the rapid growth of the organization.

Marisa explains that Ruff Haven focuses on helping both pets and people. She stresses the importance of changing the mindset of judging homeless pet owners. Marisa talks about how COVID was beneficial in shifting the public's mindset regarding these individuals and also details some of the challenges that Ruff Haven encountered during the pandemic as well.

To learn more about Ruff Haven, visit their website, Facebook, or Instagram.

If you enjoyed this episode, you might also be interested in listening to Stacy's interview with Carol Novello, founder of Mutual Rescue, a national initiative that highlights the power of human-animal relationships, in episode 303 .

Part 2 of Colony Caretaking Tips and Tricks with Bryan Kortis, National Programs Director of Neighborhood Cats Nov 08, 2022

Show notes

"I'd prefer to have cats in my yard instead of vegetables but other people might, justifiably, feel differently and that's perfectly fine..."

This episode is sponsored in part by Kensington Books, Doobert, and Maddie's Fund.

This is a special audio presentation of our free webinar Colony Caretaking Tips and Tricks presented by Neighborhood Cats. Join Bryan Kortis for part two of this unique webinar and find out how to deal with folks who don't like cats and keep your cats out of their yard, get health hacks to control worms and fleas, and the best ways to build cozy winter shelters. All that plus many more colony caretaking challenges will be addressed by the experts from Neighborhood Cats with their 20 years of experience dealing with all things community cat.

If you would like to watch the video version of this webinar or download the handouts and slides referred to in the podcast, just visit our Colony Cat Care Training and Education page and scroll down to the bottom for media and downloads for all our free webinars.

*A Quick Note from the Production Team - There is a sound quality issue during the Q&A portion at the end of the podcast. (You'll know it when you hear it.) We felt the information given in this section was important so we left it in instead of cutting it entirely. We hope it doesn't impact your enjoyment of the show too much and thank you for your patience.

Part 1 of Colony Caretaking Tips and Tricks with Bryan Kortis, National Programs Director of Neighborhood Cats Nov 01, 2022

Show notes

"It starts off as you're their feeder but overtime they form a special relationship with you..."

This episode is sponsored in part by Kensington Books, Doobert, and Maddie's Fund.

This is a special audio presentation of our free webinar Colony Caretaking Tips and Tricks presented by Neighborhood Cats. Join Bryan Kortis for part one of this unique webinar and find out how to keep your colony cats healthy with good nutrition and hydration, establish feeding patterns, keep water from freezing or evaporating, and how to keep slugs, ants and more out of your kitties' food. All that plus many more colony caretaking challenges will be addressed by the experts from Neighborhood Cats with their 20 years of experience dealing with all things community cat.

Letting Gato Be Gato with Winter Miller, Author of Not a Cat Oct 25, 2022

Show notes

"And, so I wrote a book that is for all of those people out there who just want to be who they are."

This episode is sponsored in part by Kensington Books, Doobert, and Maddie's Fund.

In this episode, Stacy talks with Winter Miller, an award-winning playwright living in Brooklyn. She recently published Not a Cat, a children's picture book, inspired by the life of her extraordinary cat Gato.

In her conversation with Stacy, Winter provides an overview of Not a Cat and explains what inspired her to write a children's book. She also explains how writing helped her with the grieving process since her beloved Gato had recently passed away. Winter discusses some of the themes of the story, which include acceptance.

Winter also talks about her work as a playwright, provides her thoughts on TNR, and discusses some of her upcoming projects.

To learn more about Winter Miller, visit her website.

Not a Cat can be found here.

If you enjoyed this episode, you might also be interested in listening to Stacy's interview with Deb Barnes, Author and President of the Cat Writers' Association, in episode 313 .

One Less Thing To Worry About with Janice Cobb, Founder of ZInzie Pie Oct 18, 2022

Show notes

"They are love engendering machines. They are love giving machines of an unconditional nature. That's all they want to do, is love you."

This episode is sponsored in part by Kensington Books, Doobert, and Maddie's Fund.

In this episode, Stacy chats with Janice Cobb, the creator of Zinzie Pie's Save My Pet ID Tag, which is an identification tag for pet owners customized with information about the owner, their pets, and trusted contact. The Save My Pet ID Tag can be made as a necklace, bracelet, or keychain. This product offers peace of mind and reassurance, that in an emergency, your pets will be attended to.

In her conversation with Stacy, Janice talks about the inspiration behind this idea. She talks about some of the unique features of the Save My Pet ID Tag. She emphasizes the importance of being prepared and acting proactively. Janice also talks about cats in general and how she is able to keep her home stress free.

To learn more about Zinzie Pie's Save My Pet ID Tag, visit their website.

If you enjoyed this episode, you might also be interested in hearing from Frances Carlisle, an attorney, discuss estate planning for your pets in episodes 227.

Special Episode! Forward-Thinking Fundraising with Chris Roy, Doobert Forward - Better than Amazon Smile For Fundraising Oct 15, 2022

Show notes

"How do we give tools to organizations so that they have revenue coming in on a regular basis?"

This episode is sponsored in part by Kensington Books, Doobert, and Maddie's Fund.

In this episode, Doobert.com's Chris Roy returns to the show to share some of the projects he has been working on since the pandemic. Chris is a tech guy who loves solving problems for folks in animal welfare.

It has been several years since Chris was on the show and he is eager to share what is new at Doobert.com. Doobert Forward is a fundraising platform that works like Amazon Smile, but the percentage of the sale that is donated back to the organization is 5% vs less than 1% at Amazon Smile.

Stacy asks Chris to share more details about the Case Management module and if it can help manage situations where a cat or litter of kittens might be turned away from one organization to be helped with another. Each situation turns into a "Case" so that it can be transferred to other organizations therefore potentially ensuring that everyone will get help in the community.

Want to catch the past interviews with Chris on episode 433 and episode 131

To learn more about Doobert visit the Doobert Website and check them out on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

Contraception for Cats with Valerie Benka and John Boone from Alliance for Contraception in Cats and Dogs Oct 11, 2022

Show notes

"We do, in those two worlds, share some goals. We can recognize that there might be suspicion or assumptions or disagreements about how well TNR works to manage populations but by working together, those two worlds can certainly make it better." – John Boone

This episode is sponsored in part by Kensington Books, Doobert, and Maddie's Fund.

In this episode, Stacy speaks with Valerie Benka the Director of Programs for Alliance for Contraception in Cats and Dogs ("ACC&D"), and John Boone, who serves on the Board of Directors at ACC&D and is the Research Director at the Great Basin Bird Observatory.

The mission of ACC&D is to advance non-surgical sterilants and contraceptives for cats and dogs and to promote their global accessibility. The organization recognizes that some communities do not have the necessary resources for safe animal sterilization surgery and seeks to address this issue.

In their discussion with Stacy, Valerie and John talk about the research and projects that ACC&D has conducted. They detail the findings of these studies and provide tips on population management and the most effective TNR strategies. Valerie and John also discuss some of the resources available on ACC&D's website, which can serve as useful tools for individuals and organizations.

To learn more about ACC&D, visit their website.

If you enjoyed this episode, John was also a guest on CCP in Episodes 258 and 331.

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