The Community Cats Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Ep166 - Jocelyn Bouchard Apr 06, 2017

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Interview! Jocelyn Bouchard, Executive Director, Yavapai Humane Society

"How do we elevate the status of cats?"

Jocelyn's work in animal welfare began as a vet tech in a spay/neuter clinic in Vancouver BC in the 1980's, when high volume clinics were cutting edge. Twenty years' experience living in Maui fueled her belief that managing colonies, including feral kitten socializing and the tracking and removing of tame abandoned cats, is as important as TNR for decreasing numbers. Jocelyn discusses her insights and goals for her recent work at Yavapai Humane Society in Prescott Valley, Arizona, and the differing challenges community cats face in Maui versus Arizona, two vastly different environments. She also discusses her battle against negative perceptions of feral cats through education, in hopes of bridging the gap between the cat reputations as wild versus domestic.

For more information, visit yavapaihumane.org or contact Jocelyn at jbouchard@yavapai.org

Ep165 - Laura Baughman Apr 04, 2017

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Interview! Laura Baughman, Director of Operations, National Kitten Coalition

"You're going to get a whole lot more kittens when you start a nursery."

As we enter "kitten season," Stacy talks to Laura about "kitten nurseries," a new and hot concept for management of neonatal kittens. Laura recently researched and wrote a manual for organizations thinking about starting their own kitten nursery that provides a complete blueprint for approaching this challenge. She notes that before an organization considers a kitten nursery, it should have a strong and capable fostering program in place. Then, it's important to identify the goals and realities of establishing a nursery, including budgeting, space, staff needs and access to medical care. Once you start a nursery, Laura observes, you're going to be a "magnet for kittens" and the task may be even more challenging than expected.

For more info check out kittencoalition.org.

Ep164 - Sara Kent Apr 01, 2017

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Interview! Sara Kent, Director of Shelter Outreach for Petfinder

"Video is a great way to let cats speak for themselves…and they don't have to say a lot."

Petfinder has brought the world of technology to shelters and potential adopters. Sara, who's been there for 17 years, speaks with Stacy about the visibility it brings to hundreds of thousands of pets seeking a home, and how it seeks to improve the adoption experience by offering ongoing support once new pet parents have selected their new family member. Petfinder was one of the first sources to offer videos of shelter pets, and, as Sarah notes, "even a 15 second clip of a cat purring in a volunteer's lap" can make a profound difference to that cat's changes. She talks about upcomig improvements to Petfinder, including enhanced search options, and a more mobile-friendly experience.

Ep163 - Julie Bank Mar 30, 2017

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Interview! Julie Bank, President and CEO of Pasadena Humane Society and SPCA

"I saw the animal shelter as a living museum."

Julie Bank is the president and CEO of Pasadena Humane Society and SPCA. She approaches running an animal shelter from the unique perspective of curating a museum—in fact, she enrolled in a museum education program purely to bring the tools of alternative education used in museum programming back to the animal shelter. Julie says that for her, it's very important that shelter messaging is holistic: the facility, uniforms, staff education, signage, all must be consistent with one another in order to communicate the appropriate message. Julie gives some advice about how to be an effective leader when in a management position at a shelter, and also tells us about Pasadena's unique Employ-a-Cat program.

To learn more about Pasadena Humane Society, please visit pasadenahumane.org.

Ep162 - Anna Murrain and Valerie Kajko Mar 28, 2017

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Interview! Anna Murrin and Valerie Kajko, Project Manager and TNR Coordinator, Metro Denver CAT Project

"Having a physical location in the community builds up trust."

Anna Murrin and Valerie Kajko are the project manager and TNR coordinator, respectively, of Metro Denver CAT Project in Denver, CO. CAT, or Cats Around Town, is a unique project in that it provides resources for all cats in a targeted area by setting up its home base in the neighborhood it serves. Still in its pilot phase, the project is currently based in the 80219 zip code, one of the many neighborhoods of Denver with a large community cat population. CAT surveys the residents of the community and the local shelters in order to identify locations of colonies and colony feeders. This project has long been in the making, as Anna and Valerie say that it is sometimes hard to get isolated animal welfare groups to work together. The results of the CAT project, however, prove to them that the slow process of putting people in contact is very worth it.

For more information on the CAT project, please visit www.denvercats.org.

Ep161 - Cheryl Fernandes Mar 25, 2017

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Interview! Part Two - Cheryl Fernandes, Shelter Care Representative, PetLink

"The microchip is the silent voice for the animal."

In part two, Stacy and Cheryl Ann dive into the complexities of microchipping once microchips have been placed—how do you scan a newly-trapped feral cat? What are best practices for animal control officers when recovering an animal afield whose microchip turns out to be a dead end? Cheryl Ann also argues for microchipping in colonies—the little chips can store information about vaccinations and other medical history, thus reducing blind precautionary measures. Don't forget that August 15th is Check Your Chip Day! You can listen to Cheryl Ann's first interview here, and to access the microchip database that Cheryl Ann mentioned in Part 1, go to www.petmicrochiplookup.org. You can also get in touch with Cheryl Ann herself by calling her cellphone at (781)-281-5167, or email her at cherylann.fernandes@datamars.

Ep159 - Heather Cammisa and Tara Sannucci, Mar 21, 2017

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Interview! Part One - Heather Cammisa, CEO and Tara Sannucci, Pet Retention Coordinator, St. Hubert's

"A database is only as good as it's maintained."

In part one of this two-part episode, Stacy talks to Heather Cammisa and Tara Sannucci, the president of St. Hubert's Animal Welfare Center and director of the Pet Retention Program, respectively. Tara and Heather detail the plethora of programs that St. Hubert's has to offer, mostly focusing on education: humane education, training and behavior help and the pet helpline, and advocacy for correct animal welfare legislation. Tara tells a story of how she counseled a distressed cat owner when she had lost her cat in a snowstorm, advising her not to give up hope, and emphasizes to Stacy that keeping faith is one of the most important parts of recovering your lost pet.

For more information on St. Huberts' many programs, please visit sthuberts.org, or search for St. Huberts on any form of major social media. For help with a pet or to reach Tara directly, you can visit sthuberts.org/pethelpline.

Ep160 - Heather Cammisa and Tara Sannucci Mar 21, 2017

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Interview! Part Two - Heather Cammisa, CEO and Tara Sannucci, Pet Retention Coordinator, St. Hubert's

"It's senseless to put out all this advice if you have someone who's not willing or able to do it all."

In part two of this two-part episode, Tara dives into details while Heather gives us the big picture. Tara has a lot of responsibilities around St. Huberts, which include handling cat behavior challenges in the shelter such as socialization of shy cats and keeping the cats happy and entertained. She also mans the Pet Helpline, and she is doing just as much rapport and trust-building with human guardians as she does with the shelter animals. Meanwhile, Heather gives us an idea of what life is like for community cats nowadays in New Jersey—the difference between now and twenty years ago, she says, is marked.

To access the trove of resources available from St. Huberts, please visit sthuberts.org, or search for St. Huberts on any form of major social media. For help with a pet or to reach Tara directly, you can visit sthuberts.org/pethelpline.

Ep158 - Lauren Burbridge Mar 18, 2017

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Interview! Lauren Burbridge, Coordinator, Massachusetts Animal Fund

"If every taxpayer in MA payed just one dollar… we could help over 40,000 cats and dogs every year."

Lauren Burbridge has figured out how to help people and animals at the same time: she is a licensed social worker who started the Massachusetts Animal Fund, an organization that seeks to develop agricultural resources to end animal homelessness in the state. Lauren works directly with the public (particularly low-income communities), Animal Control officers, and local town offices to provide spay-neuter for those who need it most—the perfect marriage of her degree in social work with her passion for animal rights. Besides funds management, Lauren also created the Core Competencies Program from scratch—a brief but thorough training for animal control officers in matters such as emergency preparedness, safe handling, animal control law, and others.

The MA Animal Fund relies solely on taxpayer donations administered by the Department of Agricultural Resources, and is always in great need. If you are a Massachusetts resident and would like to donate, remember to check the box on line 32F of your income tax form!

To learn more about the MA Animal Fund, check out their website, or follow them on Twitter: @line32F. If you live outside of Massachusetts and are interested in starting a similar program in your state, feel free to contact Lauren at lauren.gilfeather@state.ma.us.

Ep157 - Joyce Briggs Mar 16, 2017

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Interview! Joyce Briggs, President, Alliance for Contraception in Cats and Dogs

"Whenever we intervene with animals in an ecosystem, there are implications for other animals."

Joyce Briggs is the president of the Alliance for Contraception in Cats and Dogs. With a background in public health, she is concerned with how to better manage populations of cats and dogs, as well as how to sterilize these animals using non-surgical methods. This is the mission of the ACC&D, and it poses unique challenges that Joyce discusses with Stacy: how can we develop permanent contraceptives? what would contraceptives look like for community cats? how could a trapper or animal control officer tell that a cat is receiving non-surgical contraception? Joyce also provides some information on the Michelson Prize, a large grant for establishing non-surgical sterilization programs.

To learn more about the ACC&D and the work Joyce does there, please visit www.acc-d.org.

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