The Community Cats Podcast

Interview! Dr. Philip Bushby, Professor of Humane Ethics and Animal Welfare at Mississippi State University College of Veterinary Medicine "I long for the day when I can walk into a shelter and not find any cats in the shelter — and it's achievable." Dr. Philip Bushby, a veterinarian and well-known advocate for early age spay/neuter, can't remember a time that he didn't want to be a veterinarian....

Interview! Michele Tilford, Cat-Assisted Therapy Advocate Michele Tilford has over five years of experience as a cat-assisted therapy handler—but when she first became interested in cat-assisted therapy, the only programs she could find were for dogs. Eventually she connected up with a service dog trainer who also happened to be a Ragdoll breeder. The woman agreed to help Michele train one of her...

"I would really like anyone who has anything to do with lost cats to realize how important it is not to give up, and not to assume anything." Kim Freeman turned her lifelong love for cats into a career as a professional missing cat finder. When her own cat Mr. Purr went missing in 2008, Kim realized how little support families with a missing cat receive, and what bad advice they tend to be given....

Interview! Part 2 - Dr. Sara Pizano, Veterinarian and Animal Welfare Consultant "You don't need millions of dollars—you need to allocate your pie of resources intelligently … that's really the key." In part 2 of our two-part episode with Dr. Sara Pizano, she talks about the big picture in animal welfare these days, and about where she feels the focus should be for the future. Dr. Pizano discusses...

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 cont...

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...

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 initia...

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 c...

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...

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 pr...

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 wo...

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...

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 !...

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 otherwis...

Interview! Dr. Linda Harper, Clinical Psychologist, Compassionate Heart Specialist and Author "Feeling compassion fatigue isn't really a matter of if, it's a matter of when. We naturally put ourselves on the back burner over the animals we help." Dr. Linda Harper is a lifelong animal lover advocate, Author and Clinical Psychologist in the Chicago area. She is passionate about helping people help a...

Interview! Kimberley Heeney, Vice President of Operations Active for Pets "My goal is that anyone, anytime, anywhere, irregardless of economics or world areas, would be able to utilize Active for Pets for their pet's well-being and health." With over 25 years of experience in the human healthcare industry, Kimberley Heeney brings a wealth of expertise to the Active for Pets team. She has always be...

Interview! Brianna Grant, Communications Associate at Alley Cat Rescue "We believe in protecting all cats, no matter what area they are in." Brianna was always involved with cats and found a particular sweet stray when she was younger that broke her heart with how bad of shape it was in. She spent the next few months taking care of this little stray and in the process, learned a lot about TNR and...

Interview! Ann Dunn, Founder of Cat Town, Oakland, CA "Nobody wanted to be standing in a cafe making coffee, they wanted to be helping the cats. But now, we're seeing how helpful it has been to forgotten kittens and see how successful it has been." Ann Dunn founded Cat Town, which is a cat rescue organization focusing on helping the most vulnerable cats in local shelters. Cats that are too scared...

Interview! Gavin Ehringer, Author of Leaving the Wild: The Unnatural History of Dogs, Cats, Cows and Horses "It's not enough to take care of animals after they're born, we have to think about their circumstances before the act of breeding even takes place." Gavin takes a critical look at breeding and how our values shape our animals for good and bad in his new book, Wild. The book actually began a...

Interview! Nell Thompson - Coordinator of National Getting To Zero Program "I'm passionate for improving outcomes for community cats. I believe TNR would work great with cooperation and collaboration to achieve community change." Nell has worked for over 25 years in the industry and her background is exceptional, due to her veterinary technician experience and knowledge that has heavily influenced...

Interview! Keoni Vaughn, Executive Director of Lanai Cat Sanctuary "My job has helped me instantly get to the heart of what I want to do, which is rescue and protect animals that can't speak for themselves." Keoni is the Executive Director of the Lanai Cat Sanctuary, and oversees a staff of only 6, who provide daily care for almost 600 cats! Prior to working here, he was the VP and Director of the...

Interview! Natalise Kalea, CEO of poundWISHES "We want to save animals, help animals, and better the lives of animals around the world. We aim to execute on our mission through creative innovation and community." Natalise has always been an animal lover, who always dreamed of using her business skills and put them to good use. Now that she is the CEO of poundWISHES, she is doing exactly that! Nata...

Interview! Haydn Hilton, Owner of Java Cats Cafe in Atlanta, GA "If I would have known how much work a cat cafe was, I might have turned around, but the cats are where the magic is. They market the coffee shop all by themselves when people walk by!" Meet 26-year-old Haydn Hilton, owner of Java Cats Cafe. This is Georgia's first cat cafe in the heart of Atlanta and definitely wasn't where Haydn exp...

Interview! Frances Carlisle, Attorney "An important and usually neglected part of estate planning is what will happen to a client's pets and animals. Charities which are already overburdened than have to step in, taking resources away from their other needs." Frances Carlisle is an attorney in New York that prepares wills and trusts, along with trusts for animals. She was one of the original membe...

Interview! Sandy Rees, Founder and Chief Encouragement Officer - Get Fully Funde "I've always felt deep in my soul that I'm here to help lots of people. I have a sensitive heart and can't stand to see anyone suffer." Sandy helps non-profits and charities who have been used to nickel and dime fundraising work on getting to six or seven figures on their bottom line! She shows her students how to fin...