The Community Cats Podcast

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Keith Williams, C5 Las Vegas Sep 08, 2020

Show notes

This episode is sponsored in part by Doobert.com's FosterSpace, Heaven Can Wait, and The American Association of Feline Practitioners.

In this episode, Stacy catches up with Keith Williams of the Community Cat Coalition of Clark County (C5), based in Las Vegas, Nevada. Keith was featured previously on CCP Episode 297, ad in a CCP Trapper Tips & Trips blog post.

Stacy and Keith review C5's mission and background, and they discuss how the coronavirus pandemic has affected their work. They talk about how they're bouncing back from that, and why it's so important for C5 that they focus solely on TNR. "Sterilization, spay/neuter is the way out of this," Keith tells Stacy. "It truly is the only way out of this." Keith also tells Stacy about their trapper training protocols, and about how he believes more resources must be directed toward spay/neuter.

To learn more about C5 and the work they do, visit their website.

Anna Raines, Best Friends Animal Society Sep 01, 2020

Show notes

Anna Raines, currently a community cat program manager at Best Friends Animal Society, has been involved in animal welfare for about 10 years. She started her career as a wildlife rehabilitator, where she learned about complaint mitigation and the importance of spreading the message of coexistence. From there, she became an ACO, a role in which she learned about TNR and community cats. After taking over the Best Friends community cat program in Cobb County, Georgia, Anna helped bring the county's save rate for cats from 62% to 94%.

Anna talks with Stacy about how she started out vehemently opposed to TNR and RTF after being introduced to it through her wildlife rehab work. "I was being fed a very different narrative on outdoor cats," she told Stacy, than the one she later encountered as an ACO. Now a passionate advocate for TNR and RTF, Anna is working to help change the ordinances in her area to make TNR and other community cat programs legal.

To learn more about the work Anna is doing, you can email her directly. You can also visit the Best Friends Animal Society website, where you'll find lots of resources on community cat programming.

Dr. Anne Beall, Market Researcher, Animal Advocate, Author Aug 25, 2020

Show notes

Anne Beall, CEO and founder of Beall Research, a strategic market research firm in Chicago, IL, is also an animal advocate who has written extensively about the human-animal bond. In this episode, she chats with Stacy about her most recent book, Heroic, Helpful and Caring Cats: Felines Who Make a Difference, and about how she came to be so passionate about cats after becoming the caretaker for several community cats.

Anne and Stacy discuss why Anne decided to write her first book about cats, Community Cats: A Journey into the World of Feral Cats. "I think that they have a tremendous contribution that they make to the communities that they're in," Anne tells Stacy, "and I wanted to give them a voice."

Anne also shares with Stacy the details of some research her firm did on TNR and people's perceptions of it and support for it. They talk about the importance of spreading the word about TNR. "[TNR programs] suffer for lack of awareness and for a lack of information," Anne says, "but most people are very in favor of them once they understand them."

To learn more, or to purchase Anne's books, visit her website or her Amazon page.

Julie Jacobson, Spay Tennessee and CCP Community Cats Grants Program Aug 18, 2020

Show notes

Stacy chats with Julie Jacobson of Spay Tennessee, who is also the grants coordinator for CCP's Community Cats Grants program. Julie, a frequent CCP guest (check out Episodes 2, 92, and 268, talks about how great this year's grant program had been going—until the coronavirus hit.

Julie and Stacy explain how the Community Cats Grants work: They are strictly for spay/neuter of community cats, and they are matching $1,000 grants that a group can earn by raising money through a new fundraising idea that they've never tried before. Julie tells listeners that there is a CCP webinar they can view about the grant application process, and she gives some helpful tips about live release rates, and also about Guidestar.

Stacy and Julie go on to discuss the effects that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on animal transport programs, and on spay/neuter, especially in rural areas like the ones Spay Tennessee services. All in all, Julie has deep worries about the effect of many months without spay/neuter. "Here in Tennessee," she tells Stacy, "we're going to be set back years in a lot of areas."

To learn more about the Community Cats Grants program (or to apply for a grant), visit the CCP grants page. To learn more about Spay Tennessee, visit their website.

Bonney Brown and Diane Blankenburg, Humane Network Aug 11, 2020

Show notes

Bonney Brown (CCP Episode 30 and Episode 181) and Diane Blankenburg, the president, and the CEO, respectively, of Humane Network, join Stacy to talk about the process of leadership recruitment in animal welfare. Humane Network assists organizations with this process and Bonney and Diane talk a bit about their process for going about a search and ways they can help throughout the process, depending on what their client needs. Stacy goes on to discuss with Bonney and Diane the best kind of interview questions to use in order to really get at people's core competencies, how to determine an appropriate salary range, and they discuss why the "lifespan" for executive directors and directors of development seems to be so short in animal welfare. Bonney and Diane also offer some advice for organizations that may not have paid staff but are still looking to recruit new leadership. For more information, visit the Humane Network website, or email them at info@humanenetwork.org.

Carrie Lippert Gillaspie, Television & Podcast Host Jul 28, 2020

Show notes

In this episode, Stacy chats with Carrie Gillaspie, a television and podcast host from rural central Wisconsin with a huge passion for helping animals. Last year, Carrie began noticing larger than normal numbers of barn and community cats in her area, and hearing complaints from the farms around her, that the cat numbers were out of control. Taking matters into her own hands, Carrie convinced a local group, The Fix Is In, to bring their mobile clinic to her neighborhood—and she raised the funds to make the surgeries totally free of charge to those bringing cats. That event is now being used as a prototype for six other events planned for this spring and summer.

Stacy and Carrie discuss Carrie's fundraising strategy for the event, as well as the logistics of the surgery day. They talk about what Carrie feels the impact will be on the local community, and how she is now spearheading The Fix Is In's effort to get this model out in other communities. The campaign is called The Year of the Cat 2020, with a goal of fixing 2,020 cats this year.

Another of Carrie's goals is TNR outreach. "That's my cardinal rule," she tells Stacy. "If you feed them, you fix them." She encourages listeners to embark on similar projects in their own communities—and to feel free to reach out to her with questions or for encouragement. "I literally am just an animal lover who saw a need in my community and just decided to do something about it," she says, "and that's all you need to be; that's all you need to do."

To learn more about Carrie—including about her podcast, Candidly Speaking, visit her website, or follow her on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook.

Dr. Bob Weedon, TLC PetSnip & Alliance for Contraception in Cats & Dogs Jul 21, 2020

Show notes

In this information-packed episode, Stacy sits down with Dr. Bob Weedon, a retired veterinarian who is still going strong as a volunteer at the TLC PetSnip low-cost clinic in Lakeland, FL, a board member of the Alliance for Contraception in Cats & Dogs (ACC&D), and in other volunteer posts. Bob worked in private practice and also spent many years teaching in the shelter medicine program at the University of Illinois, including teaching high-quality high-volume spay/neuter techniques to veterinary students. He also holds a Master's degree in public health. Along the way, he also became involved in TNR. "I just recognized there was such a need," he says, "and that I had the tools that… could address that need."

Stacy and Bob discuss why the "V" in trap-neuter-vaccinate-return (TNVR) is so crucial, both for the cats and for proving the value of TNVR programs to community leaders and officials. He discusses the concept of herd immunity in relation to rabies, and also goes into great detail about cats and toxoplasmosis—including how to talk with public health officials about it.

Bob also discusses his work with ACC&D and with the National Feline Research Council (NFRC–an "unbiased central repository of evidence-based information"). He tells Stacy how gratifying it is to be able to provide vet care to folks who can't afford it, and how his own views have changed over the years from feeling like low-income pet owners shouldn't have pets at all to realize how important pets can be to those folks' mental health and well-being.

To learn more about the organizations Dr. Weedon volunteers for, visit the ACC&D website, the NFRC website, and the TLC PetSnip website. You can also check out Dr. Weedon's presentation entitled "Better Together—TNVR and Public Health," or email him directly with questions or help with resources.

Sterling Davis, Atlanta's "Trap King" Jul 14, 2020

Show notes

In this episode, Stacy sits down with Sterling Davis again (she talked with him before in CCP Episode 243) to catch up on what he's been doing for the last couple of years. Sterling is still living up to his nickname of Trap King, doing lots of TNR in Atlanta—but he has also been busy doing educational events and shows. He has been working with scout troops—and hoping to get a TNR badge in place—and he has been touching on the issue of diversity in rescue. He shares some tips with Stacy on dealing with "feral humans," as well as some trapping tips.

Stacy and Sterling discuss fundraising, and the Patreon page Sterling has set up to assist him with raising funds for his one-man operation. Sterling likes the platform because it allows him to give a little something back to his followers in return for their support, and the proceeds have helped him out tremendously with traps, gas, and TNR surgeries. Sterling is available to travel for speaking engagements and he tells Stacy that his goal has been to make cat rescue and TNR "more fun and popular." In addition, he's been expanding on his "you don't lose cool points for compassion" idea lately, explaining that it's not just for cats—it's for people, too.

To learn more, visit Sterling's website, check out his Facebook page, or follow him on Instagram. You can also visit his Patreon page to learn how you can become a subscriber and support Sterling's work in the process.

Ashley Shoults, Animal Arts Jul 07, 2020

Show notes

In this episode, Stacy sits down with Ashley Shoults, a principal w/ Animal Arts, an architecture firm in Boulder, Colorado that specializes exclusively in the design of animal care facilities, including animal shelters, veterinary facilities, and pet boarding facilities. Ashley is currently working on the design of a new facility for PAWS Seattle and she recently co-authored a book covering all aspects of animal care design, Practical Guide to Veterinary Hospital Design.

Stacy and Ashley talk about the importance of design in every aspect of animal care, from feral cat feeding stations to the spaces we care for our cats in. As Ashley puts it, "We need to constantly be thinking about how the people use the space, and how the animals use the space and how do we make it an environment that the animals will also thrive in."

They go on to discuss how community cats should be accounted for in design and planning, which Ashley sees as a big area for opportunity and growth in our shelters in terms of how we house community cats and how we reduce stress for them. Ashley also has some words of advice for proceeding with a new design project from a financial perspective and how you can flex your space by having a variety of smaller "pod" spaces.

To learn more, see photos of their work, and reach out for a consultation, visit the Animal Arts website.

Steven Mornelli, Waggle Jun 30, 2020

Show notes

In this episode, Stacy chats with Steven Morelli, CEO and founder of Waggle, a new—and very different—crowdfunding platform to help pet owners and shelters/rescues raise money for animals in need of urgent veterinary care.

Steven, who has a background in finance and data analytics, found himself increasingly angry over the way various crowdfunding platforms operate. Frustrated, he decided to start Waggle to connect people who find themselves considering surrendering or euthanizing their beloved pets because they can't afford needed veterinary care with people who want to help.

Waggle differs from other platforms in that rather than funds going to the person or group raising money, they go directly to veterinarians. Waggle has a network of participating veterinarians, but they will send funds to any veterinarian an individual or group is working with.

Stacy and Steven go on to discuss matching funds and how vet clinics and shelters/rescues can establish their own funds, as well as how fees and tax deductibility work (hint: there are other areas where Waggle differs from other platforms!). Steven also tells Stacy how Waggle makes sure to send updates back to donors, to be sure that people truly feel like their money is going where they intended it to go.

To learn more, visit the Waggle website.

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