The Community Cats Podcast

Latest Episodes:

"Community cats are not homeless..they are loved and cared for." Jul 20, 2016

Show notes

When Scott accepted the challenge of joining the Washington Humane Society, their live release rate was 28%…today it is 90%. Scott outlines the various programs that have moved the dial, including improved coordination and cooperation with animal control, their Pets for Life program, and targeted TNR that fixed over 2500 cats last year alone. Today, he's working with local authorities on helping more low income individuals keep their cats to reduce abandonment with a "Pets in Housing" program. Plus, he lovingly shares his passion for socializing feral kittens, and his foster failures, the "Gang of Four."

To find out more visit the Washington Humane Society online.

"You don't have to change the world in 20 minutes." Jul 19, 2016

Show notes

Kit reflects on the "bad old days" 30 years ago when "cats were third class citizens, who came in and went out the back door" and there was no formal way for rescues or shelters to share information and build community regarding programs to help them. She describes the kitty she met who changed her mind about cats living outdoors: "When I met his eyes, I realized he was a cat who had his own world and his own way of surviving." She stresses the importance of organizations celebrating every small change they make and building on them.

To find out more visit the PetSmart Charities online.

"Don't be afraid to ask complete strangers for help." Jul 16, 2016

Show notes

Rachael started her career as an academic scientist and brings disciplined thinking to her cageless cat shelter and TNR efforts. She and her mother founded Here Today, Adopted Tomorrow after attending a Best Friends workshop. She describes how the cats in her care stay healthier because their stress levels are lower and notes that it's important to have an optimal number of cats: "people get overwhelmed if there are too many cats and they can't choose and walk out without a cat." TNR wasn't her initial interest, but she but began becausel "I saw that it needed to be done." She's a big believer in asking questions and learning from others: "Don't reinvent the wheel…look at what others are doing and do exactly the same thing."

**Please excuse the sound quality of this interview. The information is so valuable it's worth sticking with it!

To find out more visit the Here Today, Adopted Tomorrow online.

"The first thing you want to do is find out who's going to be a good partner." Jul 15, 2016

Show notes

Nancy, who has been involved in the start-up of community cat TNR programs in Florida and now in Delaware, identifies several of the critical factors for building a successful effort: educating and developing working partnerships with community entities, concentrating on cats in a small area first, and keeping detailed records of the number of cats affected. "Numbers, numbers, numbers…getting grants is all about the numbers." She also shares her experience mentoring different size groups seeking to build their TNR capabilities, and the different challenges they face.

To find out more visit the Brandywine SPCA online.

"We all have stories…and it's those stories that can empower us to believe that we can do more for cats." Jul 14, 2016

Show notes

In this episode, Stacy's in the interview chair and speaks about her motivation for launching the Community Cats Podcast, the wide array of volunteers, services and skills necessary to support cats, and her four biggest priorities for making big picture difference. Among those priorities is fundraising, which Stacy calls "an everlasting challenge" for supporting spay/neuter initiatives: "we're at the point where we need to offer free spay/neuter, a 20 pound bag of food, and transportation" to get some cats into a clinic…and that requires financial support." She also introduces us to the concept of the "kitten free zone" that was achieved by the Merrimack River Feline Rescue Society with its efforts on the Newburyport, MA waterfront.

To find out more visit the The Merrimack River Feline Rescue Society online.

"Cats are resourceful and a lot smarter than we give them credit for." Jul 13, 2016

Show notes

Jessica has had broad exposure to many different functions necessary to helping community cats: TNR, high volume spay/neuter clinics, and even managing a pet food pantry. When she joined Indy Humane, there were nearly 800 cats on the waiting list for spay/neuter services and describes her efforts to shorten these waiting times. She also talks about the "trapper's rush" she experienced watching three kittens walk into a trap together: "trapping requires a lot of strategy...it's a game of you against the cat." She also detail her efforts to provide services and support to community cat caretakers, and the amazing increase in live release rates for cats in her area.

To find out more visit the Indy Humane online.

"You can save more lives by fixing one cat than you can with one adoption." Jul 12, 2016

Show notes

Julie applied her for-profit experience and strategic mindset to the issues facing Community Cats in her years at PetSmart Charities and Executive Director of the Feral Cat Spay/Neuter Program in Washington State. She points out how important it is for all groups — no matter their size — to figure out what they do best, and focus on those skills to build sustainability. Rather than try to "do it all," she recommends that every organization find like-minded partners who complement their expertise. She also shares great ideas about how to personalize fundraising for spay/neuter initiatives.

To find out more visit the PetSmart Charities online.

"If we can keep a cat that has a solvable, fixable behavior problem in its home, it's better for the cat and for the owner." Jul 09, 2016

Show notes

Volunteering at the Gifford Shelter, and helping socialize fearful, shy and semi-feral cats launched Rachel into her role today as a certified cat behaviorist. She describes the cat behavior and retention program she founded at Gifford, and has shared with other organizations as well as the Humane Society of the United States. Her passion for helping those in need extends beyond cats to developing a program for shelters to bring developmentally challenged children in as volunteers, and advocacy for nursing homes to embrace allowing seniors the therapeutic benefit of owning cats. Finally, she counsels Stacy on how to keep her cat Hooch from waking her up every night!

To find out more visit the Gifford Cat Shelter online and click here to check out the presentation Rachel mentions in the episode!

"Long term vision and careful planning leads to success." Jul 08, 2016

Show notes

In this episode, Karen describes how she went about determining what type of efforts and program might best solve the community cat problem in Louisville. She's a big believer in planning and patience; when founding Alley Cat Advocates, she spent a whole year developing organizational infrastructure so that its future activities would have a sound base to build on. She also talks about coalition building with both public and non-profit animal control and rescues, volunteer engagement, and the importance of partnering not only with community cat caretakers, but respecting and assisting those who prefer to have cats out of their yards and neighborhoods. "We must have a culture of caring," she notes.

To find out more visit the Alley Cat Advocates online.

"We simply can't say, "I'm an animal person…I don't want to deal with people." Jul 07, 2016

Show notes

In this episode, Katie chronicles her wide-ranging activities as a proponent for improving outcomes for cats and communities. She details her work helping improve public policies relating to cats, advocating for coalitions to join together in a community to address their cat issues, and the many resources HSUS makes available to interested individuals and groups who want to work on behalf of change. "The HSUS works to protect all animals," notes Katie, and then talks about the ways that the cat community and wildlife community need to listen to each other, rather than fight it out. Ultimately, she says, "if you keep the population of free-roaming cats down, you have fewer issues with the birding community."

To find out more visit the The Humane Society of the United States online.

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