The Community Cats Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Jeff Parks, Author of "You Know Your Cat Loves You Because..." Feb 04, 2020

Show notes

Jeff Parks, a comedy writer by trade, wasn't introduced to the world of cats until he was in his 30s, but once he was, there was no going back. He quickly turned into a "cat person," and became intrigued by the ways in which cats show their affection. Finding mostly scientific answers, he began using his comedy background to come up with funny ways cats show their love that wouldn't be found in any official studies. Soon, he decided to pursue the idea as an illustrated book and began working with a co-writer and illustrator.

Jeff and Stacy discuss the results of this work, the book You Know Your Cat Loves You Because … The Sweet, Silly, and Scientific Ways Our Cats Show Us How Much They Love Us and Jeff goes into detail about how the book came to be. He tells Stacy that he wanted to write a positive book that didn't just play on the typical stereotypes of cats being aloof. The book has had a great response, and Jeff hopes it brings joy to everyone who reads it.

To learn more, you can visit the You Know Your Cat Loves You Because Facebook page. You can also purchase a copy of the book on Amazon, or email the book team with any questions or comments—they love feedback!

A Best of CCP Episode! Will Zweigart, Flatbush Cats Jan 28, 2020

Show notes

In this episode, Stacy sits down with Will Zweigart, founder of Flatbush Cats, a nonprofit focused on reducing the outdoor cat population in central Brooklyn, New York through TNR and rescue work. Flatbush Cats teaches TNR classes and offers support and resources for trappers. They are also launching a mobile spay/neuter clinic pilot program to support low-income residents, a project done in partnership with the Toby Project.

Stacy & Will talk about the work Flatbush Cats does and the organization's goals. Will talks about how he has been inspired by Stacy's Community Cat Pyramid, which helped him think about how important getting to the root of the overpopulation problem is. As Will puts it, "There's got to be a way to turn the water off, instead of just scooping buckets out of the basement."

Flatbush Cats is well known for their visual documentation of the work they do, and Will shares some of his tips and ideas on how best to use visual media. He discusses the idea of proactive fundraising by telling authentic stories and explains that platforms like Instagram help your supporters see exactly where their money is going.

To learn more about Flatbush Cats and see the extraordinary video of how Will and his partners got started, visit their website. You can also follow them on their very active Instagram.

A Best of CCP Episode! Dr. Sara Pizano, DVM, Team Shelter USA Jan 21, 2020

Show notes

Stacy sits down with Dr. Sara Pizano (a previous CCP guest on Episode 56, Episode 171, and Episodes 246 and 247) to discuss Dr. Pizano's new book, The Best Practice Playbook for Animal Shelters. The book is a result of the more than 100 assessments Dr. Pizano has done at shelters around the country as a Team Shelter USA consultant. She realized that the shelters she was working with were all struggling with the same issues. More importantly, she realized that the solutions needed to decrease euthanasia rates were always the same—so she decided to write this playbook so that those solutions can be used by anyone, anywhere.

Dr. Pizano's number one tip, which she shares in this interview with Stacy, is that your shelter space should be used only for animals with no other options. Dr. Pizano discusses with Stacy her belief that there should be no stray hold periods for cats, and her strong belief in Return-to-Field.

She and Stacy go on to discuss the best ways to talk to your elected officials, and what kind of data to focus on. "Get the information," Dr. Pizano says, "present the facts in a very professional way—not emotional—and just educate your elected officials."

Finally, Dr. Pizano talks more about her new book. It is for everyone, no matter what role you play in animal welfare, and it includes lots of success stories. The idea, Dr. Pizano tells Stacy, is to change your perspective and inspire you. "This is about the answers that every single sheltering community has at their fingertips," she says.

The Best Practice Playbook for Animal Shelters is available

Hasara Lay, Catexplorer Jan 14, 2020

Show notes

In this episode, Stacy speaks with Hasara Lay, founder of Catexplorer, a community, movement, and lifestyle brand for people who explore the world with their cats. Hasara, who is located in Australia, began exploring with her cat as a child and never stopped. When she and her husband adopted two rescue cats, she started Catexplorer as a repository for information on training cats to be explorers, but it has since expanded into more of an online community for those who like to explore with their cats. Hasara also hosts the Catexplorer podcasts, where she interviews Catexplorers about their adventures and cat experts for pro advice.

A Catexplorer, as Hasara explains it, is "either the human or the feline that are exploring together." She talks with Stacy about determining whether your cat is a good candidate for being a Catexplorer and some basic steps to work on to get your cat comfortable exploring. Hasara discusses harnesses and cat backpacks, as well as the selection process for the items Catexplorer sells in their online store. She also shares details about the Catexplorer page created especially for CCP listeners.

To learn more, including how you can access the Catexplorer podcast, visit the Catexplorer webpage, or check them out on Instagram.

Dr. Jennifer Conrad, The Paw Project Jan 07, 2020

Show notes

In this episode, Dr. Jennifer Conrad, who founded The Paw Project in 1999, joins Stacy to discuss the organization's mission to end declawing in the U.S. & Canada, using education, research, and legislation. The Paw Project is made up completely of veterinarians and the group compiled the evidence, drafted the legislation, composed the language of the legislation, built the coalition of support, and obtained the representatives for every law prohibiting declawing in the U.S.

Stacy and Dr. Conrad discuss the surprising way Dr. Conrad became interested in ending declawing and educating people everywhere on its devastating effects on cats. "Declawing is a misnomer," Dr. Conrad tells Stacy. "It is really more appropriately called de-knuckling. It is the amputation of a toe bone." They discuss the behavioral issues of biting and litter box avoidance that declawed cats have been shown to be prone to, and they talk about the organization's new "Claw-Friendly" certification for veterinary practices that do not perform declaw surgeries.

With legislation banning declawing passed recently in New York, and more bills in the works around the country, Dr. Conrad encourages listeners to join The Paw Project's mailing list to stay in the loop on action needed regarding legislation in their area. She notes that, "There is a reason that we need to ban declawing: It actually saves cats' lives … If we could get these bans all across the United States, we would be saving millions of cats' lives."

To learn more, visit The Paw Project's website. You can also find them on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, or check out their documentary, The Paw Project on the App Store, Google Play, YouTube, and Amazon Instant.

Julia Grosz, Cat Hustler Dec 31, 2019

Show notes

Julia Grosz earned the nickname "Cat Hustler" due to her ability to match cats and adopters through strategic copywriting and social media use. So it was only natural that when she developed her skills into a teachable set of cat marketing practices, she would name her organization Cat Hustler. The nonprofit specializes in creative marketing for shelter cats and also hosts community-building events like The Acatemy, a cat conference "for rescuers, by rescuers."

The next Acatemy will be held January 17–19, 2020 in the Washington DC area, and the cost is $180 for whole weekend. (Be sure to listen to the whole podcast to get a special 15% off discount code for CCP listeners!) The Acatemy started as Julia's way of trying to make sense of loss after the death of a beloved cat, and it has since grown into a way to try to bring more rescuers together to get face time with each other, and to bring awareness about TNR to different kinds of cat rescuers. The Acatemy, Julia tells Stacy, is her way of doing for others what she wishes had been done for her.

In this episode, Stacy and Julia also discuss some great marketing tips for cats, including what Julia calls the "scratch and dent" specials. She tells Stacy that the most important thing is to keep it light. "You have to make[people] smile," she says, "or there's no impact to speak of."

To learn more about Julia's organization, visit the Cat Hustler webpage. To learn more about The Acatemy, and to purchase your tickets, visit the Acatemy website.

John Boone, Wildlife Biologist at Great Bay Bird Observatory Dec 24, 2019

Show notes

John Boone, a wildlife biologist previously interviewed on CCP, joins Stacy to discuss new research on how we can use the tools we have to manage cat populations more efficiently and more effectively. This particular study was conducted by a group of people connected with the Alliance for Contraception in Cats and Dogs (ACC&D) and used computer modeling and simulation tools to predict the outcomes of various community cat management scenarios. John and Stacy discuss the methodology of the study in detail, including the new twists it involved, and what the outcomes were.

To learn more, you can read the full paper published in Frontiers in Veterinary Science, or view the story-map version on the ACC&D website. For groups with larger-scale TNR programs, John encourages you to email him so he can put you in touch with resources and people who can help with planning, setting up, and measuring your programs.

This episode is sponsored by Dr. Elsey's Veterinarian Formulated Quality Products for Cats, makers of "litter we're so confident you'll love, your first purchase is on us." Learn more!

Lizz Whitacre, Pawlytics Dec 17, 2019

Show notes

In this episode, Stacy is joined by Lizz Whitacre, founder and CEO of Pawlytics, a technology solution to help rescues manage their paperwork and gain insights from their data. Pawlytics is also expanding into the TNR/community cats space in an effort to use technology, data, and innovation to drive lifesaving efforts for community cats.

Stacy and Lizz discuss how Pawlytics came to be, and how its affordable fee structure operates. When Lizz got started working on this project, it seemed to her that all the available software was designed for large organizations. She wanted to come up with something that worked for small groups, and that was accessible to any and all potential users. To do this, her team interviewed over 400 smaller organizations to find out either why they hadn't yet adopted data management software, or, if they had, what they did and didn't like about it.

The result is Pawlytics, a stripped-down, incredibly user-friendly piece of software that can still run all the typical reports you'll need for metrics, grant applications, etc. It also works with all the major adoption platforms, like Petfinder and others, and it can upload all of your pre-existing data—even if it's in spreadsheets! Plus, they are currently working on adding all kinds of community cat-related functionality to help streamline the logistics of the TNR process for your group.

To learn more and find out how to sign up for a free trial, visit the Pawlytics website. While you're there, feel free to use their online chat feature for more information!

This episode is sponsored by Dr. Elsey's Veterinarian Formulated Quality Products for Cats, makers of "litter we're so confident you'll love, your first purchase is on us." Learn more!

Valerie Sheppard, Association for Animal Welfare Advancement Dec 10, 2019

Show notes

Valerie Sheppard, Director of Professional Development & Credentialing at the Association for Animal Welfare Advancement (AAWA), joins Stacy to discuss what the AAWA is all about these days, including details on their Learning Center.

Valerie created the Learning Center when she joined the AAWA in 2018, and it offers a variety of webinars (live and recorded) and online classes, most of which are free. Valerie wanted to make sure people from anywhere could access learning opportunities anytime instead of only having access to them at conferences, which aren't accessible to everyone.

The AAWA is a membership-based organization, but many resources, including the Learning Center, are not limited to members. Members are anyone in the animal welfare world who sees themselves as a leader or emerging leader. The organization's goal is to help animal welfare professionals advance their careers and be the best they can be to help save more lives.

The AAWA is also excited to announce its latest webinar series, which is a multi-year program in partnership with the Association of Shelter Veterinarians that will include webinars almost every month.

To learn more, visit the AAWA website, or the Learning Center website. You can also email Valerie directly with questions about the AAWA's programs.

Meagan Larrea, Joy 4 Cats Dec 03, 2019

Show notes

Meagan Larrea is a cat mom and cat lover who works as a civil engineer by day. The rest of the time, she runs Joy 4 Cats, a growing project that puts together toy and treat baskets for shelters to give away to new adopters. The program began in the fall of 2018 when Meagan heard about a local shelter with an overflow of adult cats looking for homes. As a creative way to help, Meagan created adopter baskets to bring joy to cats and to give people an incentive to adopt—and it worked! Since then, Meagan has become a major advocate for ways to keep cats healthy and happy, and Joy 4 Cats has begun helping a number of shelters around the U.S.

While not yet a 501©3, Meagan plans to become one in the future. She requests donations from cat care companies, and her baskets generally contain $50-$75 worth of goodies for new adopters. Partner shelters have found the baskets very helpful in promoting adoptions, and Megan is always happy to help more shelters in need, no matter the group's size or location—so feel free to reach out!

To learn more, you can email Meagan or check out Joy 4 Cats on Facebook and Instagram.

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