The Community Cats Podcast

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Interview! Anne Lindsay, Founder & President, Massachusetts Animal Coalition (MAC) – Part I Sep 22, 2018

Show notes

Anne Lindsay, the founder & president of the Massachusetts Animal Coalition (MAC), has been an animal advocate for over 30 years. Founded in 2000, MAC was one of the country's first state-wide coalitions for animal welfare professionals and volunteers. In her role at MAC, Anne works with other groups, states, and communities on setting up coalitions, and she also works with organizations on board development. In 2010, Anne earned her master's degree in counseling psychology, and she uses that training to help people and organizations work on compassion fatigue issues.

While MAC was initially started in order to approach Maddie's Fund for grant money (which they never did!), Anne and others involved in the group early on quickly realized how valuable the coalition could be in and of itself. The group realized that many of the animal welfare groups in Massachusetts weren't getting along well at the time, and that in order to do the best possible work for animals, groups needed to work on getting along better and collaborating. A state-wide coalition felt like the best, most efficient way to do that. Anne feels strongly that having a coalition helps people and groups stay focused because they have an agreed upon, common goal that they know they're going to stick with.

MAC has a number of task forces, some of which have developed into full-fledged programs over the years, including the Tufts spay/neuter clinic (now run by the school as part of its veterinary curriculum), the license plate grant program, and the Animatch program. Animatch helps move cats and dogs around the state to areas where they have a better chance of being adopted or receiving the help they need. MAC is happy to help other organization and coalitions set up a program like Animatch through a model they have developed for sharing the program, and Anne hopes that other groups will reach out to learn if a similar program could work in their area.

Stay tuned for part two of Stacy's interview with Anne, in which they talk more about setting up a coalition, and about compassion fatigue.

Darlene Duggan, Director of Operations at Tree House Humane Society Sep 15, 2018

Show notes

Darlene Duggan, the Director of Operations at Tree House Humane Society in Chicago, holds a master's degree in public health and epidemiology. Darlene originally planned to be a doctor, but just as she getting ready to go to medical school, she realized that the thing she enjoyed the most in her life was volunteering at an animal shelter. She decided to apply her knowledge and talents to the animal welfare field, and the rest is history—nearly fifteen years of history at various animal welfare organizations in the Chicago area.

Darlene's current organization was founded in 1971, and at the time, it was one of just a few cat-only shelters in the country, and one of an ever fewer number of cageless ones. Tree House has always been progressive in their thinking and structure, and they are well known on a national level for the work they do. In the early 2000s, Tree House ramped up their community cat efforts when they realized that too many shelters were having to choose between euthanizing feral cats and attempting to socialize them. Tree House chose to focus on the idea of keeping community cats in the community, rather than forcing them into the shelter environment.

Since that time, their programs for community cats have expanded greatly to include a "Cats at Work" program for cats who must be relocated for safety reasons. The cats are paired up with people and businesses battling rat problems, creating a win-win for everyone (except the rats, of course!).

Darlene feels that the future of community cat programs will be dependent on partnering with other community organizations and social service agencies. She feels that there is a real opportunity for animal welfare folks to take their place at the table of social services offered in the community.

To help with this effort, Tree House is launching a major data collection project this fall in Chicago. Their goal is to go block by block through the city, knocking on doors and asking questions to get a feel for what each block and community's cat count is, and what their community cat challenges are. Tree House will then start mapping what social service providers, churches, schools, etc. are in each neighborhood, seeing what access both people and cats in the neighborhood have to services, and also noting things like population density, types of homes, number of businesses in an area, etc. They will look at how all of those things inform what's happening with the cat population in each area—and then use that data to think about what kind of broader solutions Tree House and other animal welfare groups can bring to the city on a larger scale.

As Darlene tells us, "This next generation of animal sheltering, specifically for cats, has to start reaching into the community cats level, and we have to start considering what services … we could bring into the field for these cats … traditional animal sheltering methods are not going to serve most of the community cats population."

To learn more about Tree House, visit treehouseanimals.org, or pick up a copy of Community Cats: A Journey into the World of Feral Cats by Anne Beall, which talks about Tree House's Cats at Work program.

Olivia Westley, Development Director for Forgotten Cats, Inc. Sep 08, 2018

Show notes

Olivia Westley, a former teacher who discovered her true passion for helping cats when she started volunteering in a Forgotten Cats pet store adoption center, now serves as the group's Development Director. Forgotten Cats is a nonprofit organization with the mission of preventing the birth and suffering of unwanted kittens by controlling the free-roaming cat pop through TNVR. They provide free or low-cost sterilization for pet and free-roaming cats in Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey, and they have sterilized over 110,000 cats since they were founded in 2003.

The organization began as a "one-woman show," with the founder, Felicia Cross, trapping and transporting feral cats herself, and holding them in her garage until surgery spaces were available. Felicia found that her biggest challenge was the availability of surgery slots, and so she decided to start her own group to tackle the problem. Today, Forgotten Cats has three clinic facilities (two in Pennsylvania, and a new one in Delaware), as well as eleven adoption centers inside pet stores through the Pennsylvania-Delaware-Maryland-New Jersey area. Their clinics have tons of space for holding traps pre- and post-surgery (up to 100 traps at a time!). This allows the organization to trap an entire colonies at once for TNR.

Forgotten Cats is funded by the fees from their adoptions and other services, as well as by grants from various private foundations. The group has over 700 volunteers, a number that Olivia attributes to their presence in such a wide geographical area, as well as to the visibility of their adoption centers in so many pet stores.

To learn more about Forgotten Cats and the work they do, visit forgottencats.org.

Jim Tedford, President & CEO of The Association for Animal Welfare Advancement Sep 01, 2018

Show notes

Jim Tedford, President & CEO of The Association for Animal Welfare Advancement (formerly SAWA), who previously appeared on Community Cats Podcast episode #199, joins Stacy again to discuss his organization's new name, their rebranding, and their new commitment to making educational opportunities available to even more folks in the animal welfare world.

Formerly SAWA (Society of Animal Welfare Administrators), Jim's organization is now known as The Association for Animal Welfare Advancement or simply "The Association." The group has been around for nearly 50 years, and as that milestone approached, they felt it was time for them to evolve—just as the animal welfare industry itself has evolved and changed over the past 50 years. As a professional association of leaders in animal welfare and animal care and control, The Association wanted their new name to reflect the fact that they have something to offer toanyonewho aspires to lead in this field—not just executives from large organizations.

The Association has long helped animal welfare groups operate in a more "business-like" manner in order to ensure successful bottom lines and advance the animal welfare movement. They have done this through educational opportunities, particularly on-site conferences, but they are now realizing that there are many folks, perhaps those from smaller groups especially, who will simply never make it to a conference. The Association wants to make sure that they are offering something for everybody, from mom-and-pop-type shops to huge, multi-million dollar budget organizations. To that end, they have now hired a Director of Professional Development and Credentialing, whose role is to develop educational content—and figure out how to deliver it to folks any and everywhere—even if they never want to leave their desks!

Jim encourages everyone to consider joining The Association in order to discover the powerful network available to members, and all the folks who are involved and willing to help you as a member. The real strength of our industry, Jim tells us, is in working together, and building our network.

To learn more about The Association forAnimal Welfare Advancementand to download past conferences, learn about new upcoming educational opportunities, and download free best practice documents, visit theaawa.org.

Karen Kraus, Executive Director of the Feral Cat Coalition of Oregon, and Bob Sallinger, Conservation Director at the Audubon Society of Portland Aug 25, 2018

Show notes

Karen Kraus and Bob Sallinger's organizations, the Feral Cat Coalition of Oregon and the Audubon Society of Portland, have formed what may seem to some to be a most unlikely partnership between "cat people" and "bird people." But the truth, Karen and Bob have found, is that animal welfare and wildlife conservation have a lot more in common than people might think.

Karen's group, the Feral Cat Coalition of Oregon, is a high-volume spay/neuter program in Portland that offers TNR services for feral and stray cats and low-cost spay/neuter for owned cats. Since its founding in 1995, the group has altered over 92,000 cats. They are focused on trying reduce the numbers of stray and feral cats on the streets, but in addition to spay/neuter, they do a lot of education—part of which happens through their partnership with the Portland Audubon Society.

Portland Audubon Society (Bob's group and the largest chapter of the National Audubon Society), has a state-wide focus on protecting birds and other wildlife and their habitat. Part of that effort includes trying to reduce predation on birds by free-roaming cats—and a big part of that effort has been collaborating w/ the Feral Cat Coalition of Oregon.

The relationship between the two groups, which has been going on for two decades, formed when the groups realized that they shared common goals—reducing the numbers of outdoor cats and promoting more responsible pet ownership. "From Day One," Karen says, "our information has said that we recognize that outdoor cats predate on wildlife and that we want to see a reduction in outdoor cats to help both wildlife and for the cats." Working together has allowed these two groups to be much more creative and to explore a wider variety of strategies than they would have been possible if they'd taken an antagonistic approach to each other.

The result of this partnership is the Cats Safe at Home campaign, which encourages people to keep their cats indoors through such things as an annual "catio tour" in the area—as well as more academic projects like research to try to ensure that good information and solid statistics are available to inform decisions around the best ways to control outdoor cat populations and reduce predation on birds.

In their interview with Stacy, Bob and Karen go on to give some tips on how other similar groups might approach trying to work together on what is a highly polarized issue on the national level. Bob tells us that while it's easy to be overwhelmed by the magnitude of a challenge like decreasing outdoor cat numbers and reducing cat predation on birds, the truth is that most environmental challenges are solved "from the ground up." In other words, it's a lot of individual actions that add up to something bigger. You can help incrementally resolve this issue over time with your own cats by keeping them indoors (and if that's not possible with your current cat, maybe with the next one), or by decreasing the amount of time they spend outdoors. There are a lot of things people can do that help solve a problem, Bob tells us, and the way we make progress is by a lot of people participating.

To learn more about the Cats Safe at Home campaign (including information on their upcoming 6th annual catio tour!), visit catssafeathome.org. To learn more about Karen's organization, the Feral Cat Coalition of Oregon, visit feralcats.com, and to learn more about Bob's organization, the Audubon Society of Portland, visit audubonportland.org.

Danielle Bays, Director of Cat Protection and Policy, Humane Society of the United States Aug 18, 2018

Show notes

Danielle Bays, the new Director of Cat Protection and Policy at the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), plays "Cat Protection and Policy Jeopardy!" with Stacy in this episode. Danielle is responsible for staying on top of cat policy issues all over the country, and she fills us in on current cat legislation and issues in various states around the nation, including Delaware, where a community cat bill is currently on the governor's desk, awaiting his signature; Rhode Island, where a TNR bill got some not-so-useful things added to it along the way and didn't make it through the legislature before it went on summer break; Wisconsin, where much discussion is happening among all the stakeholders involved in community cat issues; and Hawaii, always a hot-bed for TNR issues, where the idea of a pet food surcharge to help raise funds for spay/neuter has been put forth.

In spite of all the legislative action in these states, as well as other spay/neuter funding initiatives in Idaho and New Mexico) and declawing legislation (not all successful) in New York, New Jersey, Rhode Island, California, and Denver, Danielle tells us that sometimes legislationisn'tactually what's needed. She points out that "if there isn't anything that prohibits what you're doing, you don't necessarily need to make a law that actually allows for it."

To learn more about what Danielle and the HSUS are up to in their work advocating for cats and other companion animals around the country, visit animalsheltering.org. You can also email Danielle directly at dbays@humanesociety.org—she's always happy to help if anyone needs advice about situations going on in their community!

Erin Robinson, Community Cats Program Manager at Humane Rescue Alliance Aug 11, 2018

Show notes

Erin Robinson admits that once upon a time, she simply didn't know that community cats existed, let alone what you were supposed to do about them. That all began to change when she started volunteering in a county animal services facility during college in North Carolina, and when she went on to work for a high-volume spay/neuter clinic connected to Operation Catnip in Gainsville, Florida. Erin hasn't stopped working with community cats since, and she worked with Alley Cat Allies before landing her current role as Community Cats Program Manager at Humane Rescue Alliance in Washington, D.C.

Over the past decade, Humane Rescue Alliance's community cat programs have gone from being a small, grassroots, volunteer-based part of the organization to becoming truly mission-critical. The program offers free TNR for cats within Washington, D.C., including spay/neuter surgery, distemper and rabies vaccinations, topical treatment for parasites, and microchipping as part of their TNR packages. Erin feels that it's important to do as much as possible for community cats' health in one visit, as it's likely that this will be the only touch point the organization will have with these cats.

The program is funded by donors, and includes a relocation program called Blue Collar Cats for cats who are TNR candidates, but who don't have a safe place to return. Through this program, which has already placed 117 cats, cats are relocated to a business or homeowner who has reached out to request a cat. The program has very careful acclimation guidelines (available on the program website), and while most adopters are looking for assistance with rodent control, Erin stresses that these folks are truly giving these cats a new lease on life by adopting them. She is tracking retention and while initial results look great, Erin looks forward to reporting back on the program's numbers in a few years to see how it's working. A true believer in the importance of data and metrics, Erin is eager to work on collecting statistics on this and other programs to assist folks with convincing others that TNR is the right way to handle community cat populations.

To learn more, visit humanerescuealliance.org/communitycats, where you can connect directly to the Blue Collar Cats website as well.

Pamela Merritt, Cat Advice Columnist Aug 04, 2018

Show notes

Pamela Merritt — better known as "Dear Pammy" through her cat advice blog — didn't become a cat fan until she married one. At the time, she says, cats were really still second-class citizens in this country. There weren't any no-kill shelters, and she and her first husband rescued many cats themselves. Pam learned how to be a "cat appreciator" from her first husband, and she came to realize that cats are our equals, and that our relationships with them work best if we don't think in terms of a master-owner mindset.

Pam did cat rescue for many years, and has now written a book, The Way of Cats, subtitled "How to use their instincts to train, understand, and love them." The book is currently available only in Kindle format, but a paperback version is in the works, as is a video channel. In the meantime, Pam also continues her cat advice blog on her website, where she tackles such topics as keeping cats off the kitchen counters. Pam feels that most "training" of cats happens naturally when we appreciate and care for cats properly. "If we do the cat a favor in terms of care," Pam says, "then the cat owes us a favor in terms of cooperation … and we can't make this magic happen unless we learn how to speak and read 'cat.'"

To learn more about Pam and her cat advice, visit wayofcats.com or follow her under "Way of Cats" on the various social media channels. You can also find her book on Amazon.

John Boone, Research Coordinator at Great Basin Bird Observatory, Nevada Jul 28, 2018

Show notes

John Boone's professional track has been that of a wildlife biologist, but he also serves as a consultant with Humane Society International, Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), and several other national and international organizations. He specializes in program metrics, statistical analysis, and population biology, and he has worked on many programs around the world designed to improve the welfare of free-roaming dogs and cats. John has volunteered at his local SPCA, and has fostered many special needs animals. His professional work in population biology and his personal love for companion animals collided when Maddie's Fund got involved in humane work in Nevada.

John has been involved in several projects trying to delve into whether TNR is an effective way to manage large numbers of cats. In looking at these issues, John believes that it is helpful to have an awareness of the bigger issues surrounding any TNR project, as well as the individual welfare issues connected to each cat that is affected. One major project in this area of research is launching in July of 2018 in Washington, D.C.

The "D.C. Cat Count" is a three-year program that will look atallof the cats inallof D.C. as one entity, whether they are indoor pets, outdoor cats, or shelter cats, and will look at how those segments flow into and interact with each other. This project is unique in that it involves an unusual array of different collaborators that don't usually work together, including the HSUS, a local humane organization, and science collaborators. The project will look at numbers of cats, but the main goal is to develop tools, guidelines, protocols, and training materials that animal welfare groups can use to measure their own cat populations and then apply the insights from the study's numbers to their own TNR programs, particularly at larger scales.

John tells Stacy that, "[This project is] meant to be a very inclusive approach to creating a new paradigm of how TNR can be done for those who are interested in approaching it from this population perspective, while still protecting the underlying welfare goals that are the driving force in most TNR programs." John hopes we will all stay tuned, as this is a very active time in thinking about how we can move TNR programs to the next stage.

To learn more about the D.C. Cat Project and John's work, feel free to email him at boone@gbbo.org.

Interview! Mike Keiley (MSPCA) & Carmine DiCenso (Dakin Humane Society), "The Mike & Carmine Show," Part 2 Jul 21, 2018

Show notes

Tune in to the second part of "The Mike and Carmine Show," with Mike Keiley of the MSPCA and Carmine DiCenso of Dakin Humane, as they continue their conversation with Stacy. In this episode, Mike & Carmine offer their tips for people who feel like they are hitting a brick wall around their efforts at advocating for change. Carmine suggests that people begin by looking at themselves and their approach, focusing on what they can change —and that they guard against focusing solely on the desired outcome, and instead try to break the issue up into a step-by-step process. Mike notes that we sometimes tend to lose our cool in animal welfare, and that we just need to think about adjusting our approach and trying to hit the smaller, more achievable goals, rather than trying to do everything at once

Mike, Carmine & Stacy go on to discuss transport programs, including the fact that Dakin imports animals, while MSPCA generally does not. Carmine feels it's important to continue to fulfill the traditional shelter role of in helping people find animals. Meanwhile, Mike feels that the infrastructure changes the MSPCA would have to make in order to be able to have an impactful transport program are simply not as valuable as focusing on other programs at this time. In the future, both Mike & Carmine — and Stacy! — would like to see more strategy behind importation programs. They would love to see a coordinated effort between New England groups to work together to partner with a specific area from which to bring animals, in order to make a truly big impact on that area.

In the final part of the show, Mike, Carmine & Stacy talk about what animal welfare is going to look like in the coming three to five years. Both Mike & Carmine feel that shelters and animal welfare organizations have some serious soul-searching ahead of them in terms of thinking about whether to continue doing what they've always been doing. One thing they both feel is going to have to change is making sure that we increase our focus on people and animals' connection to people. They believe that if we all work together — instead of separating ourselves with divisive labels and points of view — the animal welfare world can continue to grow and change, and to help even more animals and people in the coming years.

To learn more about Carmine DiCenso's organization and their work, visit dakinhumane.org. You can also email Carmine at cdincenso@dakinhumane.org. To learn more about Mike Keiley's organization and their work, visit mspca.org, or email Mike at mkeiley@mspca.org.

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