The Community Cats Podcast

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Ep85 Part 1 - Hannah Shaw Oct 12, 2016

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Interview! Hannah Shaw, "The Kitten Lady"

"I live and breathe cat advocacy…that's what I do."

Little did Hannah Shaw know that the day that she borrowed some shoes to climb a tree and save an orphaned kitten, she would be starting a career that would inform and engage cat lovers around the world. An expert in saving and raising kittens, Hannah teaches workshops, develops programs, and shares compelling (and adorable!) content through her significant social media and web presence. In this two part episode, Hannah and Stacy discuss the link between abandoned kittens and the need for spay/neuter for Community cats, how to tell stories that will inspire others to take action, and the difficult and challenging side of caring for the most vulnerable of felines. As she puts it, "there are so many lives out there that need us."

For more information please visit kittenlady.org.

Ep84 Part 2 - Mary Smith, Executive Leadership Team and Sheila D'Arpino Oct 11, 2016

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Interview - Part One! Mary Smith, Executive Leadership Team and Sheila D'Arpino, Director of Research, of Maddie's Fund In this special two-part episode of the Community Cats Podcast, Stacy interviews two leaders at Maddie's Fund, one of the most innovative and results-oriented non-profits helping animals across North America. Through its educational programs, advocacy and grants, Maddie's Fund has been a game-changer for both owned and community cats, especially through its "Million Cat Challenge" initiative. During these two episodes, Stacy engages Mary and Sheila in dialogue about the meaning of a "no kill nation," the importance of data collection, the tenets of the Million Cat Challenge, and the many grant opportunities Maddie's Fund makes available to animal welfare groups of all sizes. For more information please visit maddiesfund.org.

Ep83 Part 1 - Mary Smith, Executive Leadership Team and Sheila D'Arpino Oct 08, 2016

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Ep82 - Cindy Wiemann Oct 07, 2016

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Interview! Cindy Wiemann, Treasurer of the National Animal Care and Control Association (NACA) Cindy was instrumental to bringing TNR to the small community of Madison, Georgia. She helped research the appropriate ordinances, and ultimately Madison implemented the first 100% government operated and funded TNR program in Georgia's history. As an animal control officer, she promoted about the great contribution that community cats provide: controlling and managing the rodent population. By using this positioning, she notes, "even people who didn't even like cats began to see the benefit." Cindy discusses the best ways to get animal control and TNR groups on the same page, and the need for productive working relationships: "collaboration will benefit the animals, but fighting among each other doesn't do any good." For more information please visit nacanet.org.

Ep81 - Blake and Adrienne Kuhre Oct 06, 2016

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Interview! Blake and Adrienne Kuhre, Founders of the Furry Foundation

Blake and Adrienne are the founders of the Furry Foundation, a non-profit, foster care organization in Los Angeles focused on TNR, cat socialization, and educating the community on proper colony cat care and prevention. After visiting Buenos Aires, Argentina, curiosity led them to an investigation of health and adoption techniques at the Recoleta Cemetery, where a famous large, healthy and friendly cat colony attracts tourists from around the world. This curiosity led Blake and Adrienne to create the documentary "Guardians of Recoleta." They discuss with Stacy the circumstances revolving around the making of the film, including cultural differences that have inspired them to pursue the Furry Foundation. Visit furryfoundation.org and The Furry Foudation's facebook page for more information. Watch the "Guardians of Recoleta" trailer here.

Ep80 - Ask Stacy! Questions and Answers for Inquiring Cats Oct 05, 2016

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Stacy LeBaron, podcast host and president emeritus of MRFRS answers your questions.

As Community Cats Podcast celebrates its eightieth episode, Stacy and guest host Lisa Finkel discuss how bird lovers and cat lovers can work together to decrease both the number of free roaming colony cats and, subsequently, bird deaths. The financial and social causes of cat abandonment are also points of interest in today's episode, as well as upcoming events and opportunities to support the podcast and the community cats cause. Feel free to contact Stacy for questions or consulting inquiries atstacy@communitycatspodcast.com.

Ep79 - Christie Kamiya Oct 04, 2016

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Interview! Christie Kamiya, Chief of Shelter Medicine, Humane Society Silicon Valley

At nine years old, Dr. Kamiya's first experience adopting a dog sparked a lifelong passion for battling animal welfare issues. A graduate of the University of California's School of Veterinary Medicine, Dr. Kamiya's focus lies specifically in shelter medicine. She shares her experiences as Chief of Shelter Medicine at the Humane Society Silicon Valley, including her fight against infectious diseases among shelter cats through the non-traditional process of portalizing cages. Clearly an advocate for 'thinking outside the box,' Dr. Kamiya also discusses the freedom and importance of pilate projects for the betterment of community cats.

For more information visit www.hssv.org

Ep78 - Jennifer Blough Oct 01, 2016

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Interview! Jennifer Blough, Psychotherapist in Compassion Fatigue and Author

With experiences ranging from animal care attendant to animal control officer, Jennifer choose to passionately pursue the subject of compassion fatigue as a psychotherapist after struggling with it herself over the years. She focuses on how compassion fatigue effects those specifically in animal welfare, and has written To Save a Starfish: A Compassion Fatigue Workbook for the Animal Welfare Warrior. She discusses with Stacy the variety of symptoms as well as tools to manage it, find balance, and recognize the importance of refueling.

For more information visit deepwatermichigan.com.

Ep77 - Valerie Ingram and Alistair Schroff Sep 30, 2016

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Interview! Valerie Ingram and Alistair Schroff, Founders of The Lakes Animal Friendship Society

The combination of Valerie's nineteen years' experience in elementary education and Alistair's passion and business experience has led to inspiring changes for animal welfare in their rural British Columbia community. Co-authors of children's books Nobody's Cats and Out of the Cold, Valerie and Alistair discuss their belief that humane education is a key factor in changing the landscape for community cats. They founded The Lakes Animal Friendship Society, a program offering care and compassion education, bite-safety, spay/neuter options, and affordable dog and cat houses and flat packs. Valerie and Alistair discusses mentoring and the challenges of proposal writing as well.

For more information visit lakesanimalfriendship.ca.

Ep76 - Holly Putnam Sep 29, 2016

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Interview! Holly Putnam, Faculty Clinician, Maddie's Shelter Medicine Program, Cornell University

Dr. Holly Putnam graduated veterinary school in 2003, and initially went into private practice for small animals in Albany, NY. After moving to Austin, TX, in 2008, however, she began working at a high-volume, high-quality spay/neuter clinic for low-income neighborhoods and area shelters. Seeing the large number of community cats in these "veterinary deserts" (places with no easy access to veterinary care) sparked a new passion in her for shelter medicine.

Now residing once again in NY, she is the faculty clinician for the Maddie's® Shelter Medicine Program at Cornell University, where she gives courses on Companion Animal Welfare and Shelter Medicine. These courses expose students to issues affecting community cats, as well as teach them how to complete a spay/neuter surgery and observe practices at the local TNR shelter. Though she acknowledges that we still have a long way to go in community cat welfare, she is pleased to see the change in mindset around these animals since graduating thirteen years ago, and is optimistic that more private practice veterinarians will be willing to join the effort.

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