The Community Cats Podcast

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Dr. Sara Pizano, Veterinarian and Animal Welfare Consultant May 05, 2018

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Interview! Part 1 - Dr. Sara Pizano, Veterinarian and Animal Welfare Consultant

"Northern Kentucky will be no-kill for cats this year, absolutely, hands-down!"

Dr. Sara Pizano, who joined us previously on Episode 171, is a veterinarian who has been involved in animal welfare for over thirty years. She has extensive experience helping shelters move away from euthanasia as a means of population control and helping municipalities revise public policy to be more animal friendly. Dr. Pizano now has her own consulting company, Team Shelter USA, and she serves on steering committees for both Best Friends and the Million Cat Challenge.

In Part 1 of this two-part episode, Dr. Pizano joined us to talk about a recent project in northern Kentucky, where she worked with a district consisting of eight counties, four of which accepted cats in their municipal shelters. These shelters had a very low live outcome rate for cats when the project began, and the goal was to increase that rate dramatically through intensive spay/neuter for community cats.

The project's spay/neuter efforts were focused on two areas, "shelter/neuter/return" and then "in-field TNR." Dr. Pizano explains shelter/neuter/return as taking healthy cats and kittens that are brought to the shelter as "found" and instead of having them enter the shelter, they are sterilized, vaccinated, and returned to where they were found. Dr. Pizano believes that spay/neuter of this group of cats is the number one priority in decreasing euthanasia rates.

The next step is to TNR high-intake area to get to the core of the problem and end the constant flow of community cats and their offspring into the shelters. The next steps are managed intake and targeted spay/neuter. With all of these pieces in place, over time, shelters will be dealing with far fewer cats!

It is safe to say that Dr. Pizano's Kentucky project was a success, as she reports that in 2015, the four shelters that accepted cats took in 5,200 cats and euthanized 3,400 of those—but in 2017, the first full year of the grant-funded project, those same shelters took in 4,000 cats and euthanized just 400 of those! Eight thousand cat surgeries were completed during the first year of the project! Today, three of the four shelters in the Kentucky project are at a 90% live outcome rate, and the other is at 82%!

Dr. Pizano is very excited about the progress that's been made in Kentucky, and about the resources that are available to other shelters that need help ending euthanasia as a means of population control. Programs like Million Cat Challenge are great sources of support for those groups, and she encourages everyone to join if they haven't already!

To get in touch with Dr. Pizano, email her at drpizano@teamshelterusa.com. To learn more about Million Cat Challenge, visit millioncatchallenge.org. To learn more about Best Friends and their partner program, visit bestfriends.org.

Christina Ha, Creator of Cat Camp Apr 28, 2018

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Interview! Christina Ha, Creator of Cat Camp

"I'm so incredibly excited for Cat Camp this year!"

Christina Ha, who originally joined us on Episode 144, is back to talk about this year's Cat Camp—now known as Jackson Galaxy's Cat Camp. Galaxy, who attended last year's event, loved it so much that he wanted to expand it. Cat Camp 2017 attracted over 2,500 people from more than eight countries, and this year's event, held in New York City on May 5-6, 2018, will be even bigger and more exciting.

Christina tells us that this year's speakers include Jackson Galaxy (CCP Episode 175), Hannah Shaw "The Kitten Lady" (Episodes 85& 86), Sterling Davis (Episode 243), and even a speaker from Big Cats Rescue. The event will encompass two floors, including an adoption area that will be free and open to the public on the first floor. In addition, there will be all kinds of education and shopping opportunities—for you and your cat!—and information on advocacy as well.

For those who wish to attend the general event with shopping and breakout events, Christina tells us that the price is an incredible $25/day. For those wishing to attend the speaker presentations, the cost is just $50/day. Christina describes Cat Camp is a very open door event for anybody who cares about cats—not just professionals. The whole idea is to put all the information about how to help cats out there, and to have the seasoned professionals connect with the new generation of people guiding us into the future of animal welfare.

Christina wants attendees to be able to decide how they can best help as individuals by learning about what's going on out in the world of cats. She wants people to be able to make the maximum impact they can as individuals in the way that best fits into their lives—and also for them to be able to connect with others in order to help even more.

Christina herself is a newcomer to the world of cats, having been a baker by trade and education until her first cat came into her life about five years ago. That cat changed her entire life, inspiring her to open a cat café, Meow Parlor, and a rescue/adoption group, Meow Parlor Cats—in addition to her successful bakery and pastry shop!

To learn more about Jackson Galaxy's Cat Camp, visit catcampnyc.com

Jennifer Blough, Compassion Fatigue Expert and Author Apr 21, 2018

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Interview! Jennifer Blough, Compassion Fatigue Expert and Author

"Self care—it's not selfish; it's really charging your batteries so you can go out and have the energy to do what you love to do, which is saving animals."

Jennifer Blough, a licensed therapist, compassion fatigue expert and author of the bookTo Save a Starfish: A Compassion Fatigue Workbook for the Animal Welfare Warrior, was initially with us on Episode #78of the Community Cats Podcast. Since that time, Jennifer feels that we are starting to make some strides in awareness around compassion fatigue. Still, she thinks we have a long way to go in terms of addressing the in-fighting and "us vs. them" mentality often found between different groups of people working within animal welfare—all of which contributes to compassion fatigue.

To help with this, Jennifer started the Compassion Fatigue Podcast. One of her goals is to interview people from all different roles within animal welfare to expand understanding of the different approaches to helping animals. She wants to help people realize that we are all working toward the same goal; we just have different ways of getting there.

In spite of her work in the compassion fatigue field, Jennifer does not consider herself an expert at self-care, however. She herself tries to take baby steps (like deciding to stop checking her email right before bed), and urges others to do the same. She wants to make sure that people know that self-care is about finding what works for you, however—not about what you're "supposed to be doing"—and that what works for you can change over time. It's important to recognize that self-care is a process, and that you will need to manage your compassion fatigue for as long as you're in an environment that leads to it. She recommends a combination of pro-active self-care to help you build up resiliency and reactive self-care when you find yourself stressed and triggered.

Something new that Jennifer is offering to help those struggling with compassion fatigue is the Rescue Me retreat, an idea that came to her during a retreat for business owners where they were encouraged to slow down in order to spark innovation. The idea behind the Rescue Me retreat is to get people to slow down, learn about self-care, reconnect with nature, and be with a group of people that get you and share your passion so that you can go back recharged and ready to re-engage with your work. The retreat will have a therapeutic component as well, and Jennifer hopes it will help people heal from compassion fatigue.

Jennifer wants everyone to know that compassion fatigue is very normal, and that if you're struggling with it, it likely means you have a lot of compassion. It's just a matter of being aware of compassion fatigue and having the strength to do something about it with a self-care plan.

To learn more about Jennifer's work and her Rescue Me retreat, visit compassionfatiguepodcast.com.

Sterling Davis, Atlanta's "Trap King" Apr 14, 2018

Show notes

Sterling Davis left behind a promising rap music career to begin working with cats professionally several years ago when he took a temporary job at an animal shelter in between tours. A lifelong animal lover, Sterling soon got hooked on TNR and cats.

During his training, Sterling noticed that not many men, and not many people in the black community, are involved in animal rescue, especially with cats. Sterling would like to change this, and so he brings to the table the idea that TNR-ing cats is something that everybody can do. To Sterling, it's not about sex or age or race; he feels that "compassion is everybody's job," and he wants to let people know that being a man who loves cats doesn't mean you lack masculinity.

Sterling is currently operating his own organization, Trap King Humane Cat Solutions, but he has also teamed up with Java Cats Café in Atlanta (check out Community Cats Podcast's interview with founder Haydn Hilton in Episode #228) in order to show what he calls the "complete TNR process," from trapping to spay/neuter/vaccination to adoption. He & Haydn Hilton are also teaming up to open a second location—a joint Java Cats/Trap King venture that Sterling says will be designed like a "man cave" in the hopes of attracting more men to visit. Sterling will be teaching TNR at the new location—something he loves to do anytime he goes into a community to trap. He wants people to know that TNR is rewarding and fun!

So what are some of Sterling's favorite trapping tips? He tells us that while he loves to use jack mackerel and KFC chicken as bait, he once caught a cat using nothing but a red laser pointer to lure it into a trap! He prefers Tru-Catch traps, but will use whatever equipment is necessary to get the trapping done—and he will also work with as many different groups and clinics as needed in order to get the surgeries done! Sterling feels strongly that we get more done when we work together—and that working together can help reduce compassion fatigue in the animal welfare field.

Sterling's funding so far has come solely from sales of his Trap King t-shirts and his GoFundMe campaign. When he goes out to a community to trap, he sets up a party-type environment, complete with music, in hopes of showing people that TNR can be cool. He hopes to keep the cool vibe going by eventually setting up a group he'll call "Clowder" that he describes as "Sons of Anarchy meets TNR." He wants it to be a way for more men and other demographics besides the usual "cat ladies" to get involved in working with cats. He sees the group as eventually expanding to have chapters (he calls them "colonies") all over the country.

Sterling's biggest challenge has been that some of the existing TNR and animal rescue community has been a little wary of him and his "edgier" approach. He hopes, however, that people understand that everything he's doing is to gain more attention for TNR with different demographic groups. "It's totally passion," he says, and explains that there is a method to his madness with everything he does, including the language he uses to talk about cats and TNR. He just wants help for the cats, and he wants the energy to be positive and fun. In Sterling's opinion, if we can do this work in a way that's more fun, more people will get into it!

To learn more about Sterling Davis and Trap Humane Humane, visit him at Instagram, Facebook, and trapkinghumane.org.

Ep 242 - Vickie Fisher Apr 07, 2018

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Interview! Vickie Fisher - President of The International Cat Association (TICA)

"We cherish both pedigree and non-pedigree cats. We just want the world to value cats as companion animals."

Vicki Fisher had a successful career in finance & management, but in retirement, she has really been able to devote more time to her passion: CATS! She is the President of the Albuquerque Kennel Compadre, which is an affiliate of the Animal Welfare Department. She recently received the Albuquerque mayor's Good Samaritan award for all of her great work in this arena, and she has also created two coloring books for children on how to take care of cats. You may also remember that TICA was one of the sponsors of the recent Online Cat Conference that we just held! We're so thrilled to have her on the podcast!

Vicki has always been an animal lover and got into feeding cats outside her door ... which soon became inside the house. She has had cats for decades and has shared her love of cats all over the world. She even showed cats for many years, which helped her get involved in TICA.

TICA, which is kind of like the AKC (for dogs), is international. They register cats and sanction shows. Show cats can either be pedigreed or non-pedigreed. TICA is more interested in just getting people involved by making it fun to show your cat, no matter their breed or type. TICA is an overall registry and also does a significant amount of education and outreach, especially with children, regarding how to take care of cats as pets.

Vicki has an incredible knowledge of all the different types of cat breeds, along with their history and how many started out as alley cats. She shares some of this history with us, along with how science now gives us a lot of opportunity to make sure cats are bred properly to pass along good genes.

Finally, Vicki discusses the Winn Feline Foundation, where she is the Treasurer, which fundraises exclusively for cat research. They work on ways to focus on curing different feline diseases, particularly Feline Leukemia. They are also involved in different ringworm studies in a shelter environment.

To learn more about TICA, visit www.tica.org, and to learn more about the Winn Feline Foundation, visit www.winnfelinefoundation.org.

Ask Stacy! Online Cat Conference Review Mar 31, 2018

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Interview! Ask Stacy! Online Cat Conference Review

"I'm passionate about the idea of having a dedicated annual cat conference nationally and this was a great way to work towards providing access to everyone."

Stacy is back to discuss all of the in's and out's of how the first Online Cat Conference went this past January! She always wanted to do an online cat conference and it was a great way to provide access to people who wouldn't be able to afford an in-person conference. She was determined to make it something that was extremely accessible worldwide.

When the thought began, Stacy wasn't working with specific themes in mind, but she knew she wanted to have the ability to have international exposure. Luckily, she knew that the online component was there, with her Cat Tech Guru, Kristen, by her side.

The main challenge Stacy faced was placing her faith in the technology at hand. While she felt sure it would all work out well, she had visions of her computer melting down and was nervous about things crashing. It was more a fear of the unknown than anything specific.

There was preparation beforehand, though. All of the speakers were able to test things out with a dry-run the week before the conference and main issues were addressed before they became a bigger problem. It also allowed Kirsten to be more present during the actual conference, so she could grab pictures of people watching the webinars with their fur-babies and make it a little more entertaining.

Another highlight of the weekend were the raffles that were presented. Thanks to some fun cat trivia, the raffles turned out to be extremely successful and many prizes were contributed from different organizations.

There were 114 attendees from all over the country, as well as from Europe, Australia and Canada. Sponsors for the event were the International Cat Association and Feline Fix by Five, which Stacy can't thank enough for taking a chance on a first year online event!

After the event, Stacy sent out a form to all of the attendees to see what could be done better next year, and to find out what the highlights of the conference were for different people. She was pleased to learn that many organizations used the webinar as a chance to highlight these different topics! For example, the San Francisco SPCA had the entire conference streaming all weekend in their community room. Snacks and drinks were provided and people could come and go as they pleased to check out the different webinars. What a great way to bring the community together within their own organization!

Hot topics that have already come up for next year: Allowing different attendees to chat with each other to give more of a sense of community, along with having a little bit more capability with videos. Overall, it was a huge success and if anyone has any ideas, thoughts or ways that we can improve for next year's conference, please don't hesitate to email Stacy!

Also, hear about Taco's story, which was a result of the Online Cat Conference!

Ep240 - Daniel Spehar Mar 24, 2018

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Interview! Daniel Spehar, Co-Founder of the Together Initiative for Ohio's Community Cats

"I hope all of us can focus on a shared goal of fewer community cats instead of focusing on the differences. Let's focus on the most effective and humane ways to reach our common goal."

Daniel works to enact animal-friendly legislation as a volunteer with the Humane Society of the United States, along with working with the Together Initiative for Ohio's Community Cats. This specific group is committed to promoting and facilitating collaboration among community cat stakeholders of around 150 members, who work together to accomplish their goals. They run workshops and events, as well as provide other educational opportunities.

He co-authored two recent published papers about the effectiveness of TNR and how it has reduced free-roaming cat populations and has also been conducting research on community cats and their management since 2013. He will be presenting findings of a Case Study, which examined an iconic TNR Program (Newberry Port) at the 2018 HSUS Expo.

Daniel's passion for cats began when he was a boy, and in 2003, he had a group of feral kittens move into his yard. He ended up learning how to trap them and learned specifics about TNR and how to help them, and his passion further was ignited. This led him to decide that he wanted to dedicate the rest of his career towards the wellness of animals, specifically cats.

Through his research and case study work, he has learned of so many innovations that have been implemented that have become standard practice in many TNR programs around the country. It has helped to create a kind of "toolkit" for animal welfare, that can be used as a guide. This is what was the inspiration behind the Together Initiative for Ohio's Community Cats, which has turned into a 2-pronged mission:

Education and Outreach
Promote and facilite collaboration

Daniel can be reached through his program at communitycatsohio.org, which also has his article available.

Ep239 - Dr. Lynn Bahr Mar 17, 2018

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Interview! Dr. Lynn Bahr, Feline Veterinarian and Owner of Dezi and Roo

"I like to look at life through a cat's point of view, not my point of view, and I think that that helps me to understand them better, to communicate with them better, and to know what they need."

How did a dog-loving legal secretary end up becoming a cat-only veterinarian and founder of a cat toy company? By meeting the right cat, of course! Dr. Lynn Bahr didn't even know she liked cats until she met her first cat, Rudolph. Rudolph went on to change Lynn's life, inspiring her not only to go to veterinary school, but also to become a feline-only practitioner who focuses on the unique needs of cats. Fast forward nearly forty years, and Lynn's current cats, Dezi and Roo, have now inspired her to become an entrepreneur, starting a company called… you guessed it: Dezi & Roo. The company sells cat toys and catnip alternatives as a way to address the specific needs of today's indoor-only cats. The move to an indoor-only lifestyle for so many cats has, in fact, been the biggest challenge of Lynn's career. She feels that vets have done a great job promoting the health and safety benefits of an indoor-only life for cats, but not such a great job on helping owners know what to do with their cats now that they are inside. Lynn thinks of indoor-only cats almost as a new breed, and in her veterinary practice, she is seeing cats developing diseases and illnesses tied to being solely indoors. She worries about indoor-only cats lacking enrichment, getting little sunlight and fresh air, and having no ability to eat grass. As a veterinarian, Lynn has been able to talk with her individual clients about these issues, but over time, she found she wanted to be able to reach a larger audience—which is how Dezi & Roo got started. Through the company, Lynn hopes to provide not only specific tools to help with enriching the lives of indoor-only cats, but also education for cat owners. Lynn wants her clients and customers to try to see life from a cat's point of view, and hopes that Dezi & Roo's products—like the Hide & Sneak cat tunnel, a combination of three of cats' favorite things: paper, boxes, and tunnels—will help. Lynn points out that toy rotation is very important in order to keep cats interested in them, as is cat owners physically playing with their cats, not just leaving out a basket of toys. She wants owners to think about bringing the outdoors in for their cats in the form of cat grass, a varied diet, and by allowing their cats to "forage" for their food in a variety of ways, including things as simple as putting food up on a table to encourage cats to jump up to it. You can follow Lynn's blog and learn more at deziroo.com.

Ep238 - Kaleel Sakakeeny Mar 10, 2018

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Interview! Kaleel Sakakeeny, Founder, The Other Me Coaching

"You can't apply a one-size-fits-all for losing a pet or animal in your life. People shouldn't be ashamed of their feelings of grief when losing an animal."

Kaleel Sakakeeny is back with another great episode about dealing with the grief that can come from losing a pet. Check out his first visit with Community Cats Podcast in Episode 57! Kaleel started out his career as a journalist, but felt pulled to do something that felt more important to him. Soon, he became involved in animal communication. He also began practicing Reiki for animals, and eventually became certified in it. He found that people were suffering from the loss of animals and therapy just didn't seem to be able to handle the depth of loss they experienced. He became concerned that nobody was there for these people, and so he became a Certified Pet Loss and Bereavement Counselor. Kaleel discussed how pet grief can be different than other transitions we experience in life and how people are only now beginning to understand the animal/human bond. While we have customs and traditions around grief when a person dies, there is really nothing there for us to latch onto when a pet passes away, and many people can find that they are unequipped to deal with the loss. On average, when a pet dies, people tend to miss three to five days of work, and their productivity declines 18-22% over a three-month period. This is why specialized training is becoming more and more needed. People need to know that their grief and pain are authentic, and that they don't need to feel ashamed because it was "just an animal." Kaleel also talks about how children can have a particularly hard time with this, since a pet has more than likely been with them throughout a majority of their childhood. It can also be hard for senior citizens who may suddenly feel completely alone and unable to figure out how to move forward. Even losing a pet through divorce can be incredibly painful. For more information, please visit petgriefhelp.com.

Ep237 - Kate Cote Mar 03, 2018

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Interview! Kate Cote, Founder of Fur Love Comfort Cats

"It's always such a wonderful time to visit a place for 5 to 6 hours, letting people pet and interact with the cats, and brightening up someone's day." Kate Cote has worked with cats most of her life and Fur Love Comfort Cats involves outreach to nursing homes, schools, libraries and even individual homes to comfort people who can't otherwise have a pet. It's amazing therapy and she witnesses inspiring stories of hope and comfort everywhere she and her cats visit! Kate was only two months old when a cat saved her life by fending off a giant rat that had attacked her! Since than, her love for cats has continued to grow. She has had thirteen Fur Love cats over the years, each of which has made all the difference to a person needing a little snuggle. The idea behind the program was a natural one for Kate, as she had always taken her cats with her everywhere she went. A friend suggested that she should take the cats to a nursing home to visit with the elderly and soon, it became a reality! Kate would take her cats any place that would accept a cat for a visit! The program quickly grew and Kate trained more cats and kittens to be able to work as visiting cats!She loves how the cats bring about change in all the people that they visit -- not just the residents at a nursing home, but even the receptionists! Everyone looks forward to the visits, which are a truly positive experience that brings everyone together. Kate does need to be careful, however, when she is out and about visiting places with her cats. She never would declaw her cats, but it's also important that nursing home residents who may be on medicine or who are on the fragile side don't get scratched. Kate's policy is generally that the cats needs to stay in their comfort zone, and people aren't allowed to pick them up. Kate would ultimately love to see a partnership between animal shelters and prisons, as she believes that prisoners could benefit from the type of pet therapy she brings to nursing homes as well. For more information, head over to https://furlovecomfortcats.com/.

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