The Community Cats Podcast

"If we all came together to solve the problem, to solve the issue, and work together — those are the areas that we would see the most improvement."
This episode is sponsored-in-part by Maddie's Fund, OcuTrap, and Strategies to Reunite Lost Cats with Families Certification Workshop and Increasing Your Impact With Targeted TNR Certification Workshop.
The kittens are coming. We know it every spring, but this year, Shelter Animals Count has the data to prove exactly how big the wave will be — and which organizations will feel it hardest. If your shelter or rescue isn't already ramping up fosters, supplies, and community outreach, this episode is your signal to start today.
Tori Fugate is the Director of Communications for Shelter Animals Count — now a program of the ASPCA — and she has spent more than a decade at the intersection of animal welfare and strategic communications. Before joining SAC, she was Chief Communications Officer at KC Pet Project, where she helped transform one of the country's most visible municipal shelters into a national model for innovative, lifesaving work.
Tori joins host Stacy LeBaron to unpack the latest findings from SAC's 2025 Annual Data Report — including the striking reality that 59% of all cats entering shelters in 2025 were kittens under five months of age. They dig into how to use zip-code-level intake data to target foster recruitment and community outreach before the floodgates open, and why creative thinking — think paper collars with QR codes to crowdfund spay/neuter costs — may be just as important as resources and policy.
They also tackle one of the industry's most alarming trends: only 23% of cats entering shelters in 2025 arrived already spayed or neutered, nearly 3% below pre-pandemic levels. Tori explains how SAC's groundbreaking Altered Status at Intake Report is helping organizations understand where access-to-care gaps are widest — and what shelter communicators can do right now to start closing them.
Press Play Now For:
Why cats and kittens are just as marketable as dogs — and why the most ridiculous cat names often drive the most adoptions
The significance of 59% of all 2025 cat shelter intake being kittens under five months of age
How government shelters and contract shelters are seeing disproportionately higher intake of kittens under eight weeks
Why only 23% of cats entering shelters in 2025 were already spayed or neutered — and what that means for resource allocation
SAC's Altered Status at Intake Report: five years of data showing a nearly 3% decline from 2019 pre-pandemic levels
Creative approaches to community spay/neuter funding, including paper collar QR codes to crowdfund costs
How shelters can use zip-code-level intake data to target outreach, neighborhood meetings, and foster recruitment
Practical kitten season communication strategies: media outreach, foster spotlights, and targeted Amazon wishlists
The importance of flexible, dynamic thinking when managing kitten surges — and how to support community members who can't bring kittens in right away
SAC's publicly available dashboards including the National Animal Welfare Statistics Dashboard (10 years of data!) and state-level breakdowns
Resources & Links
Shelter Animals Count
SAC 2025 Annual Data Report
SAC Data Reports
SAC Altered Status at Intake Report
KC Pet Project
PetHelpFinder.org
Pets.FindHelp.com
United Spay Alliance
United Spay Alliance Spay/Neuter Locator
Community Cats Central

"Rescue and adoption actually don't scale. It doesn't matter how many you do—you're not preventing more from showing up."
This episode is sponsored-in-part by Maddie's Fund, OcuTrap, and The Community Cat Clinic.
In this compelling episode of the Community Cats Podcast, host Stacey LeBaron sits down with Will Zweigart, the visionary behind Flatbush Cats and creator of the investigative podcast Underfoot. Together, they unpack the "hidden cat crisis" affecting urban communities—particularly in New York City—and explore why traditional approaches to rescue and adoption fall short of creating lasting change.
Will shares how his background in strategy and communications shaped a systems-level approach to animal welfare, leading to a bold realization: rescue alone doesn't scale. Instead, sustainable impact lies in increasing access to affordable veterinary care, particularly high-volume spay/neuter services. The conversation dives into the evolution from grassroots rescue work to launching a full-scale clinic, Flatbush Vet, which performed over 7,000 surgeries in a single year.
This episode goes beyond storytelling—it's a blueprint for change. From addressing volunteer burnout to building scalable teams, advocating for municipal accountability, and reimagining the role of cities in animal welfare, Will outlines a transformative vision for 2035. Listeners will gain insight into how policy, funding, and public awareness intersect—and why nonprofits must often lead the charge in both service delivery and media storytelling.
Whether you're a seasoned rescuer, nonprofit leader, or passionate advocate, this episode challenges you to think bigger, act strategically, and embrace solutions that create lasting impact for cats and communities alike.
Press Play Now For:
Why rescue and adoption alone cannot solve cat overpopulation
The concept of the "hidden cat crisis" and why it lacks media coverage
How scaling spay/neuter services creates measurable, long-term impact
The transition from volunteer rescue work to building a veterinary clinic
Practical strategies to prevent volunteer burnout through delegation and systems
The role of municipalities—and why policy inaction is a key barrier
A bold 2035 vision for animal welfare infrastructure in major cities
How storytelling and media can drive awareness and systemic change
Resources & Links
Flatbush Cats
Flatbush on Instagram
Flatbush on Facebook
Flatbush on TikTok
Flatbush on YouTube
Underfoot
Flatbush Vet

"What's better than bringing home a life you saved instead of a souvenir that just sits on a shelf?"
This episode is sponsored-in-part by Maddie's Fund, OcuTrap, and The Community Cat Clinic.
What does it take to transform a country's approach to stray animal care? In this inspiring episode of the Community Cats Podcast, host Stacy LeBaron reconnects with Julie Kelley—entrepreneur, philanthropist, and founder of Let's Be Smart Greece—to explore how one vision is reshaping feline welfare across borders.
Julie shares the story behind her move from the United States to Greece and how witnessing widespread stray populations sparked a mission rooted in education, community collaboration, and sustainable solutions. Through Let's Be Smart, Julie has developed a multifaceted model that blends Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR), municipality partnerships, and innovative "Smart Yards" to create safer, more structured environments for community cats.
Listeners will get an inside look at Julie's unique shelter concept—a home-like villa where cats live freely alongside volunteers from around the world. This approach not only improves feline well-being but also accelerates socialization and adoption success. Julie also discusses the organization's growing "adoption vacation" initiative, helping tourists responsibly bring Greek cats home after proper medical preparation.
The conversation dives into recent legislative progress in Greece, the importance of youth education, and the evolving role of municipalities in animal welfare. Julie's long-term vision? A global shift toward more humane, integrated shelter models that treat animals as family—not inventory.
Whether you're involved in rescue, advocacy, or simply love cats, this episode offers a powerful reminder: meaningful change happens when compassion meets strategy.
Press Play Now For:
How Let's Be Smart Greece is tackling the stray cat crisis through education and community partnerships
The concept of "Smart Yards" and why structured feeding stations matter
A behind-the-scenes look at a villa-style, home-based cat shelter model
How international volunteers contribute to animal welfare efforts in Greece
The rise of "adoption vacations" and how tourists can responsibly adopt abroad
Why municipalities play a critical role in scaling TNR and veterinary access
Julie Kelley's long-term vision for transforming global shelter standards
Resources & Links
Let's Be Smart Greece
Julie Kelley at the Online Cat Conference 2022
Workaway Volunteer Program
Nine Lives Greece (Acropolis Cat Initiative)

"Community cats — it's really about the community. It brings the community together."
This episode is sponsored-in-part by Maddie's Fund, OcuTrap, and the Feline Behavior Summit 2026.
What does it take to build a community cat program from scratch in a rural, under-resourced area where nearly everyone — officers, residents, and administrators alike — is convinced it won't work? In this episode of the Community Cats Podcast, host Stacy LeBaron sits down with TyAnn Sumpter, Manager of Shelter Support at Charleston Animal Society, to walk through one of the most compelling TNR success stories in recent memory. TyAnn came to animal welfare from the business world, and it was that entrepreneurial mindset that helped her see past the resistance and build something lasting in Florence County, South Carolina.
TyAnn shares how she designed and launched the region's first TNR initiative using existing call log data, enthusiastic volunteers, and animal control officers who already knew which neighborhoods needed help. What started as a one-year, grant-funded pilot ended up spaying and neutering 1,700 cats in year one alone. By year two, the shelter that had previously taken in roughly a thousand cats annually had dropped its intake to just 73.
The ripple effects are just as remarkable. Neighboring Darlington County started calling to ask why they didn't have a program, and TyAnn helped them get set up. Florence County eventually hired its own dedicated community cat coordinator, purchased its own transport van, and secured permanent budget funding — all things that would have seemed unimaginable when TyAnn first walked through that shelter door. She also makes a compelling case for using complaint call reductions and cost savings to win over skeptical municipal administrators.
Press Play Now For:
How TyAnn built Florence County's first TNR program with no roadmap and no buy-in
Why mining call log data was the key to finding the community's hidden cat advocates
The dramatic shelter intake drop — from 1,000 cats per year to just 73
How the program expanded into neighboring counties and became permanently self-funded
The role animal control officers played in identifying colonies and building community trust
Making the financial case to county administrators using complaint call metrics
How Charleston Animal Society handles high-volume TNR surgeries two hours away
Why a nonjudgmental, community-first approach is the most powerful tool in TNR
The unexpected expansions: pet pantries, low-cost owned-cat spay/neuter, and more
Resources & Links:
Charleston Animal Society
TyAnn Sumpter on LinkedIn
Best Friends Animal Society
United Spay Alliance

"We might think access to veterinary care is just an issue for low-income families—but the reality is, it affects people across income levels, for very different reasons."
This episode is sponsored-in-part by Maddie's Fund, OcuTrap, and the Feline Behavior Summit 2026.
Access to veterinary care is one of the most pressing—and complex—issues facing pet families today. In this episode of the Community Cats Podcast, host Stacy LeBaron sits down with researcher Claire Shuch, PhD, to unpack the latest findings from a groundbreaking national study on barriers to veterinary care.
Drawing from her work with the University of Tennessee Knoxville's Program for Pet Health Equity, Claire shares insights from the updated Access to Veterinary Care: Barriers and Insights from Pet Families report. This research builds on the foundational 2018 study and reveals how economic pressures, workforce shortages, and lingering pandemic effects continue to shape how—and whether—families can care for their pets.
Listeners will discover surprising truths about who struggles to access care (hint: it's not just low-income households), why many cats remain unspayed or unvaccinated, and how logistical challenges like scheduling and clinic availability play a major role. The conversation also explores the broader "One Health" framework, highlighting how human, animal, and environmental health are deeply interconnected.
For community cat advocates, this episode offers valuable context on intake trends, stray adoption patterns, and opportunities for intervention through education and accessible services. Claire also paints a compelling vision of a more integrated future—where human and animal healthcare services are co-located or mobile, reaching underserved communities more effectively.
Whether you're a rescuer, veterinarian, policymaker, or passionate cat lover, this episode provides both data-driven insights and hopeful possibilities for improving care access nationwide.
Press Play Now For:
Key findings from the latest national veterinary care access study
Why affordability is only part of the access problem
Insights into cat ownership trends and stray intake patterns
The real reasons cats aren't always spayed or neutered
How COVID-19 reshaped pet ownership and care challenges
The growing impact of veterinary workforce shortages
A practical introduction to the "One Health" model
Innovative ideas for co-located and mobile care services
How community programs can better support both pets and people
Resources & Links
Access to Veterinary Care: Barriers and Insights from Pet Families
University of Tennessee Knoxville – Program for Pet Health Equity (PPHE)
One Health Community Forum (Maddie's Fund)
Original 2018 Access to Veterinary Care Study (AVCC)
Episode Update!
Since the recording of this episode, The Program for Pet Health Equity (PPHE) is now the Center for Pet Family Well-Being (CPFW). The links listed above and mentioned in the episode should forward you to the new, relevant information, but you can check out this article for all the details about the change.