The Community Cats Podcast

"We pay ahead. That gives them some confidence that they're not gonna lose out with a group they don't really know." This episode is sponsored-in-part by Maddie's Fund, OcuTrap, and The Little Guest House. Many TNR groups can't get a vet to say yes. Denise Bynum has nine vets working with her. Her approach is to pay ahead. When HARP starts with a new clinic, she puts $500 on account and tops it up as it runs low, so the vet never has to worry about an unfamiliar rescue group skipping out on the bill. With those partners, plus large spay days and a vet school clinic where the only cost was lunch, HARP fixed 1,443 cats last year with no clinic and no paid staff. Denise spent 28 years training nurses before she ever trapped a cat, and her first try was a disaster. She started out driving cats to spay days for HARP, and by the time she retired from nursing, she was ready to run the whole program. She also shares what the Community Cat Program Management course confirmed for her and what it changed. It confirmed putting owned cats first and writing handwritten notes to donors. It also led her to free donor software, a $10,000 Google Ad Grant, trail cams, and a smarter way to book new clients. Her advice to anyone on the fence about the course is "don't be afraid." Press Play Now For: How a retired nursing program director went from volunteer transporter to running HARP Running an all-volunteer program that fixes 1,500 cats a year without its own clinic Why paying vets up front builds trust with new clinic partners Using a vet school's student spay/neuter clinic for the cost of lunch Flat-rate pricing, sliding-scale gifts, and donors who pay extra to cover someone else Prioritizing owned cats, and why we can't adopt our way out of overpopulation Adding FVRCP and a parasite package for every cat with grant support Explaining the vacuum effect to a casino that wanted its TNR'd cats removed Filling no-show slots by testing new clients with two or three cats first Getting 100% of a colony fixed, even when you can't trap alone anymore Free donor tools, Google Ad Grants, and why older donors still love snail mail What a typical week in the eight-week course looks like Resources & Links Homeless Animals Relief Project (HARP) Community Cat Program Management Certification Course Zeffy Google Ad Grants Feline Fix by Five United Spay Alliance Alley Cat Allies

"Sometimes it just takes one clinic in one area saying, 'I have this amazing relationship with my local community cat resource. You should all be doing this.'" This episode is sponsored-in-part by Maddie's Fund, OcuTrap, and Neighborhood Cats TNR Certification. Jamie Falzone calls the Massachusetts Veterinary Medical Association (MVMA) "the voice of veterinary medicine in Massachusetts," and in this episode she makes the case that community cat advocates should be using that voice too. Jamie first joined MVMA in 2013, returned as executive director in 2020, and has led MVMA Charities since 2016. She explains what a state VMA actually does beyond continuing education: tracking animal welfare legislation at the State House, answering calls from pet owners, and connecting veterinarians with the wider animal welfare community. MVMA Charities runs two core programs. One equips fire stations with pet oxygen mask kits and trains first responders. The other, its signature Stray Animal Program, partners with municipal animal control officers across Massachusetts to fund urgent and emergency care for unowned animals, including community cats. Jamie talks candidly about why the charity stepped back from funding spay/neuter, how corporatization is changing what individual veterinarians can do, and why moral distress and compassion fatigue are shared by vets and cat advocates alike. Stacy and Jamie dig into how TNR groups can build real relationships with local clinics without coming on too strong, whether population-level spay/neuter belongs in veterinary continuing education, and what to do if you're concerned about how a practice is treating animals. Jamie's message throughout is simple: you don't have to do this alone, and your state VMA is there to help connect the dots. Press Play Now For: What a state veterinary medical association does and how advocates can work with one How MVMA Charities' Stray Animal Program funds emergency care for unowned animals, including community cats Strategies for reaching out to local vet practices as a community cat resource Why spay/neuter for cats could have a bigger place in veterinary continuing education How to raise concerns about a veterinary practice in Massachusetts Resources & Links Massachusetts Veterinary Medical Association MVMA on Facebook MVMA on Instagram MVMA on LinkedIn MVMA Charities MVMA Charities on Facebook MVMA Charities on Instagram MVMA Charities on LinkedIn Donate to MVMA Charities Scaredy Cat K95K Massachusetts Board of Registration in Veterinary Medicine PAWSitive Pantry Email Jamie: [email protected]

"They're not actually trying to scratch your couch and cause disaster. They're just doing what cats do." This episode is sponsored-in-part by Maddie's Fund, OcuTrap, and The Community Cat Clinic. Dr. Katie Hankins has been a veterinarian for nearly 30 years, and much of that time she's spent on behavioral medicine, where the root issue usually turns out to be unmet needs rather than a "bad" animal. Joining Stacy from Sydney, Australia, Katie argues that we've gotten the idea of enrichment backward. We treat it as an optional extra, like icing on a cupcake, when it's really about recognizing that we've brought a completely different species into our homes and asking what that species needs to thrive. For cats, that means scratching surfaces, vertical space, room to get away from housemates, and food that takes some work to get. Katie walks through five categories of enrichment (physical, social, dietary, sensory, and cognitive) and explains why indoor cats in particular need us to curate their world. Stressed cats don't announce it. Instead they turn up at the vet with urinary problems, over-grooming, or gut issues. She also covers practical feeding advice for both indoor cats and TNR colonies, plus why food and water bowls shouldn't sit side by side. Litter boxes get a thorough look, too. Katie explains why litter box trouble is such an avoidable reason cats end up in shelters, why three boxes lined up in a row count as just one, and why she'd happily ban long-lasting crystal litter. She shares a recent home visit where a narrow hallway turned into contested territory between two cats, and how a few shelves solved it. Finally, she introduces Savvy Enrichment, an app she built to make daily enrichment easy instead of one more thing to feel guilty about. Press Play Now For: The five big categories of enrichment and where cat owners most often go wrong Feeding advice for TNR colony cats and indoor cats, including whisker fatigue The litter box formula: how many boxes, where to put them, and which litter to avoid How vertical space can turn a small apartment into a cat playground How the Savvy Enrichment app generates daily activity ideas for your cat Resources & Links Savvy Enrichment Savvy Enrichment on Instagram Savvy Enrichment on Facebook Savvy Enrichment on YouTube  

"If you're not doing targeted trapping, you're working too hard. You're working way too hard." This episode is sponsored-in-part by Maddie's Fund, OcuTrap, and Jessica Dolce, Compassion Fatigue + Grief Educator. Julie Morriss has 30 years in animal welfare behind her, but the Summerlee Sustainable Solutions Grant Program still changed how she works. After taking the Community Cat Program Management course, she brought targeted trapping home to Waco, Texas. The results came fast. Julie walks through a 40-to-55-cat colony that reached 99% sterilization in about seven and a half months and had no new kittens this year. She also shares how she uses trap training and drop traps on the toughest cats. Stacy and Julie also discuss who the course is for and why every town needs a community cat expert. Julie's message to everyone in the field is to keep going, because every cat counts. Press Play Now For: How a kid who was allergic to cats became a TNR advocate Why Julie applied to the Summerlee Sustainable Solutions Grant Program What an experienced trapper got out of the Community Cat Program Management course Targeted trapping vs. "willy-nilly" TNR Triaging calls and focusing volunteers on colonies of 10 or more Taking a 40-to-55-cat colony to 99% in about seven and a half months Asking caregivers to withhold food before trapping, the hardest part of the job Setting up a kitten pathway before you start trapping Trap training on a rural property, and when to switch to a drop trap Who the course is for, and how many hours a week it takes Being the town's community cat expert Building transport relays with neighboring counties Resources & Links Animal Birth Control Clinic Community Cat Program Management Certification Course

"In terms of surrender prevention, this is low-hanging fruit. It costs nothing." This episode is sponsored-in-part by Maddie's Fund, OcuTrap, and Jessica Dolce, Compassion Fatigue + Grief Educator. Matt Wildman grew up with as many as nine rescue dogs and didn't have a real relationship with a cat until he was 26. That's when he met his girlfriend and her six cats. One of them, Shirley, licked him on the head while he was resting, and he was smitten. Matt went from teaching high school history in Brooklyn to humane education at Animal Care Centers of NYC. Later, at a Humane World for Animals surrender-prevention program, he asked certified cat behavior consultant Beth Adelman to teach him everything she knew. Three years and dozens of cases under her mentorship turned him into a cat behaviorist. The idea for a national helpline had been on his mind since 2013, when he built a cat behavior counseling course that trained 250 shelter and rescue staff and volunteers. Shelters kept losing their trained counselors to turnover, though, and the gap never closed. When Humane World asked him to rebuild the course, Matt saw his chance. He emailed all 250 past students, recruited his first volunteers from that list, and launched the National Cat Behavior Helpline in March. It's free for shelters and for cat owners, it runs entirely by phone, and it's built on follow-up. Volunteers keep calling until a case is resolved, and they offer practical, judgment-free advice that fits each person's time and budget. Stacy and Matt also get into the questions shelters hear every day. They cover play aggression in under-stimulated cats, why you shouldn't adopt a second cat to fix a behavior problem, how spay/neuter can change behavior, and what to do when community cats outside the window upset the cat inside. Matt also shares his "small desert" approach to litter boxes. His request to shelters is simple: send cases his way, because keeping cats in their homes is what the helpline is for.[/one_second] [one_second]Press Play Now For: How a lifelong dog person became a cat behaviorist Why so many behavior problems come from cats who aren't getting enough play Three 10- to 15-minute play sessions a day, and how to fit them in Why shelters should email client details to the helpline instead of just handing out the number Follow-up as the key to resolving behavior cases Being the cat owner's ally, especially when someone in the house wants the cat gone When the helpline calls in a veterinary behaviorist Spay/neuter as part of fixing behavior problems What to do about outdoor cats that are upsetting the cat indoors The "small desert" approach: open boxes, unscented clumping litter, scooping twice a day, and where to put the box Whether you really need one more litter box than you have cats Resources & Links Email the National Cat Behavior Helpline Safe Haven Farm Sanctuary Cat Behavior Hotline Website

"We're not hiding in back alleys in the dark at night. We're out there on the streets, on the front lines, and we're in city hall." This episode is sponsored-in-part by Maddie's Fund, OcuTrap, and Jessica Dolce, Compassion Fatigue + Grief Educator. Danielle Bays planned to be a veterinarian until a cat with his leg caught in a leghold trap was left in the parking lot of the clinic where she worked. He recovered, but the question stayed with her: how does this happen in the first place? That question led her into animal policy, and years later a family of feral cats in her new backyard brought her back to cats and to building a citywide community cat program for Washington, D.C. In this conversation with Stacy, Danielle explains where the laws that affect cats are really made: at your city council and county commission, not in Congress. The people in those seats are your neighbors. They have a lot on their plates, and you should assume they know nothing about TNR. Her advice is to introduce yourself before there's a problem, because the first thing an official usually hears about cats is a complaint. That's often how feeding bans happen. Danielle describes how cats get folded into wildlife feeding restrictions without anyone noticing until the ordinance has passed. She also lays out the alternative: timed meals instead of food left out, clean sites, permission from property owners, and caretakers who feel safe feeding in the open. As she points out, once you prohibit something, you can no longer monitor whether it's being done well. Danielle and Stacy also get into return-to-field, including what sets it apart from TNR and why the updated Return-to-Field Handbook moves away from yes-or-no rules toward decisions about each individual cat. They close with the veterinary shortage and a reminder for tense times: whatever someone's politics, you can almost always find common ground by talking about cats.[/one_second] [one_second]Press Play Now For: Why the laws that matter most for cats are made locally What to say to elected officials before the first complaint reaches them How cats end up included in wildlife feeding bans What a community feeding plan looks like in place of a ban What to do when new, un-ear-tipped cats show up in your yard How return-to-field differs from TNR, and who makes the decision Why the veterinary shortage and feeding bans are both access-to-care issues Stacy's holiday card idea for getting on your representatives' radar Resources & Links HumanePro Fighting Community Cat Feeding Bans Return-to-Field Handbook Humane Policy Toolkit Email Danielle Bays

"In truth, we prove statistically how little funding is needed to create a real impact." This episode is sponsored-in-part by Maddie's Fund, TNR Training Workshop Presented by Neighborhood Cats, and Jessica Dolce, Compassion Fatigue + Grief Educator. Daniel Leung got into TNR the way many of us do. He worked on a farm in college, ignored his manager's warning never to feed the stray cats, and soon had dozens of them. A local TNR group came in to help, Daniel started volunteering with them, and he kept doing the work, first in Maryland and later with a large colony at a New Jersey hotel while he was traveling as a respiratory therapist during COVID. Then a trip to Penang, Malaysia, changed everything. On an island that may be home to 70,000 to 100,000 stray cats, he saw cats at every market stall and on every street. After several years volunteering with local groups, Daniel felt the system was stuck, so he started something new. Cats of Penang began as a small grassroots effort and has grown into Catsoterra, which is built around the problems local caretakers kept running into: no government support, high costs and prices nobody would disclose. Daniel negotiated fixed rates with partner clinics and pre-funded the surgeries. He also built an online dashboard where volunteers book appointments, track outcomes and map where the cats come from. Volunteers pay an annual membership of 60 ringgit and can bring in as many cats as they need all year. So far, nearly 900 cats have been sterilized for about US$14,000. Stacy and Daniel talk about what scale really requires. That includes the veterinary shortage in Malaysia, the cultural habit of letting owned cats roam, and why a 10-year plan matters when you're trying to move a whole island's numbers. They also get into apathy, business partnerships and Stacy's vision of a "cat church" in every town where neighbors help one another care for community cats. Daniel's message to the field is to get out of the old models and let the data make the case. Press Play Now For: How a college job on a farm led Daniel to TNR Why returning cats is a service to the neighbors who care about them How Catsoterra brought costs down by negotiating fixed clinic rates and pre-funding surgeries The booking dashboard and geo-mapping that turn TNR into data governments can use An annual membership model where every ringgit goes straight to the clinic Malaysia's veterinary shortage and why TNR at scale is "a numbers game" Owned cats, indoor/outdoor culture and the vacuum effect Stacy's "cat church" idea: neighbors pooling resources for community cats Working with businesses, from a cat food sponsor to Stacy's early days with the Chamber of Commerce Resources & Links Catsoterra Cats of Penang on Instagram Windsor Animal Hospital Penang (Catsoterra's clinic partner)

"Cats aren't spicy. They're not mean. They're just scared." This episode is sponsored-in-part by Maddie's Fund, OcuTrap, and Jessica Dolce, Compassion Fatigue + Grief Educator. Berlin Waters grew up in a house full of cats, with a mom who handled TNR for the neighborhood, and she's been a cat lover ever since. That lifelong interest led her to a master's in shelter medicine, where her research focused on handling and socializing fearful and aggressive cats. The result is The Spicy Cat Project, a resource for shelters and caregivers who want a more humane, effective approach to cats with challenging behavior. Berlin is now a third-year vet student with her sights set on shelter medicine and access to care. In this conversation with host Stacy LeBaron, Berlin explains why the cats she works with in shelters are usually owner-surrendered, not feral. They came from homes and they're simply terrified. Rather than leaving hissing cats alone to "decompress" for days or weeks, she argues for early, guided intervention that shows them things are going to be okay. She walks through her slow, step-by-step approach to a cat in a kennel, why she gave up on tools like the fake hand on a stick, and how she uses feral boxes, carriers, and thick folded towels to keep both herself and the cat safe. Stacy and Berlin also dig into some bigger questions in cat welfare. Berlin shares why she thinks we've become over-reliant on gabapentin, which she sees as a useful adjunct but not a substitute for real socialization. Both question the value of behavioral evaluations at intake, comparing them to judging a cat's personality during a vet visit. They also touch on the possible role of pain and stress in aggressive behavior. Berlin's message to adopters and shelters is a cultural shift: a cat that hisses and growls is a scared cat, with a sweet one hiding underneath.[/one_second] [one_second]Press Play Now For: Why most "aggressive" shelter cats are scared house cats, not ferals The case for early intervention instead of leaving fearful cats alone Berlin's step-by-step method for approaching a cat in a kennel Why she stopped using handling tools and relies on towels, carriers, and feral boxes How fearful cats tend to do once they're in foster or adoptive homes Where gabapentin helps, and where over-reliance can fail cats Why behavioral evaluations at intake may not tell you much How pain and stress may factor into challenging behavior Resources & Links Website: https://www.thespicycatproject.com/ Training Videos: https://www.thespicycatproject.com/training-videos TNR Clinics: https://www.thespicycatproject.com/tnr Shelters: https://www.thespicycatproject.com/shelters Adoption Basics: https://www.thespicycatproject.com/adopters-fosters Youtube Chanel: https://www.youtube.com/@TheSpicyCatProject

"When we say age is not a disease, we also mean it for the youngest." This episode is sponsored-in-part by Maddie's Fund, OcuTrap, and Jessica Dolce, Compassion Fatigue + Grief Educator. Jordyn Purpura started out smuggling orphaned raccoons into his childhood bedroom. Twelve years of neonatal fostering later, he's in his final year of veterinary school, chasing a gap he kept running into from both sides of the exam table: almost nothing in veterinary education begins before eight weeks of age. As a foster parent, that gap sounded like a doctor saying there wasn't much anyone could do. As a shelter worker placing bottle babies, and sometimes being the one present for their euthanasia when no foster could be found, it looked like an entirely preventable loss. For a long time there was a defensible reason not to push harder on kitten medicine: it doesn't matter what a veterinarian is willing to diagnose or prescribe if there's nobody to take that kitten home and feed it every two hours. Jordyn's argument is that this excuse has quietly expired. Foster networks have grown, nurseries have opened, funding has followed. What hasn't caught up is the reflex — too small for blood work, too small for imaging, too small for a medication that was never labeled for a body this size. That reflex has a body count. Kittens remain the animals least likely to leave a shelter alive, not because their medicine is impossible but because almost no one was taught it. Jordyn is teaching it now, to veterinary technicians, to emergency teams, to his own cohort. And he'd like the rest of us to start asking for it out loud.[/one_second] [one_second]Press Play Now For: Why veterinary education effectively starts at eight weeks, and what that costs kittens The emotional weight shelter staff carry when there's no foster available Bringing tube feeding and neonatal husbandry onto hospital nursing teams What the UC Davis famciclovir research showed about recovery times Congenital hypothyroidism as an overlooked cause of "failure to thrive" Getting creative with diagnostics instead of calling a kitten too small for them How fosters and rescues can push their veterinary partners toward more Why generational openness matters more than age when shifting practice Resources & Links Vernau Laboratory at UC Davis UC Davis Feline Pediatrics on Instagram Jordyn Purpura on Instagram — The Vet Med Couple UC Davis Fracture Program for Rescue Animals Orphan Kitten Project at UC Davis Orphan Kitten Club

"Today's inside cat is tomorrow's outside cat." This episode is sponsored-in-part by Maddie's Fund, OcuTrap, and The Community Cat Clinic. Eve Salimbene spent her career in the legal field before moving into animal welfare 26 years ago — and by her own admission, she was a dog person until she landed in Polk County, Florida. There she found a county with groups working on dogs and essentially nothing for cats: a high shelter kill rate, no low-cost spay/neuter anywhere in the county, and a year-round breeding season with none of the winter respite she'd known up north. She posted a question online asking what was being done. The response pulled her in, and in 2020 a brand-new group of volunteers TNR'd 133 cats. Six years later the count is roughly 6,700 — and the 133 looks like the tip of the iceberg. The complication is that TNR isn't condoned in Polk County. The Board of County Commissioners and the sheriff who runs animal control don't believe it works, which puts Eve's team in a strange middle space: vocal enough that caregivers know they aren't alone, careful enough not to get shut down. Some of the people they've helped won't give testimonials for fear of retribution. Eve and Stacy dig into where the cats actually come from, why Eve believes proactive municipal investment beats two more decades of trap and kill, and what a real pilot project would need to look like. Three smaller municipalities have now approached her about running one — and she's pushing for a five-year window with honest baseline numbers. Press Play Now For: Why running a law firm turns out to be decent preparation for animal advocacy What it's like to lead a TNR organization in a county that officially opposes TNR The 2020 cohort of colonies now reporting zero kittens, years later Where Polk County's community cats actually originate — and why "transient population" is the honest answer The tagline that reframes owned-cat spay/neuter as a community cat issue Municipal spay/neuter funding on the move: New York City, DeKalb County, and a statewide Texas program Eve's proposed funding mechanisms, including a one-cent sales tax and corporate donors in the Tampa–Orlando corridor Stacy's pilot-project challenge: designate the worst zip code, hit the volume, and watch intake drop Why three small municipalities may end up leading where the county won't Resources & Links Street Cat Project of Polk County Coalition for Animal Rights and Education in Polk County (CARE) on Facebook Contact Eve directly: [email protected] Community Cat Program Management Certificate — University of the Pacific, Benerd College (next session begins September 14) Sustainable Solutions Grant Program — United Spay Alliance Making the Case for TNR Certification Workshop - presented by Neighborhood Cats