The Community Cats Podcast

"That's my own formula — passion and compassion tempered by dedication and humor."
This episode is sponsored-in-part by Maddie's Fund, OcuTrap, and Drop Traps: Beginning and Advanced Certification Workshop.
After more than five decades behind the exam table, Dr. Kevin Lynch has treated thousands of pets, mentored generations of veterinary staff, and built one of Long Island's longest-running animal hospitals. His new memoir, Off the Leash: Tales From a Lifetime of Healing Pets and Wonder, traces that journey from a 13-year-old kid who talked his way into a part-time job at a local animal hospital to a veterinarian whose guiding philosophy is simple: treating the animal is only half the work, and tending to the person on the other end of the leash is the rest.
Dr. Lynch and Stacy dig into one of the thorniest debates in animal welfare: the divide between "indoor-only" advocates and the realities of outdoor and community cat caregiving. Drawing on his own farm-cat memories from working summers on a dairy farm before vet school, he makes the case for listening over judging, and for meeting cat caregivers where they are instead of where a textbook says they should be. From there, the conversation turns practical: how should trappers and community cat program managers actually approach a veterinarian for the first time? Dr. Lynch's answer centers on intention, relationship-building, and showing up with a plan rather than a crisis.
The episode also gets personal. Dr. Lynch opens up about compassion fatigue and burnout, a topic he says is as urgent in veterinary medicine today as it's ever been, and shares the daily habits, including a deliberately disciplined relationship with his phone, that keep him from burning out after 51 years in practice. He and Stacy also revisit one of the most harrowing chapters of his career: volunteering with search-and-rescue dogs at Ground Zero after 9/11, an experience he says revealed both the depths of tragedy and the best of human nature.
Rounding out the conversation, Dr. Lynch shares a few of the stories from his book, including an unforgettable lesson in slowing down before attempting a DIY tick removal. He also talks about where listeners can find his memoir, his YouTube series The Pet Mindset Show, and the dental care device he invented for dogs and cats.
Press Play Now For:
How a 13-year-old's unpaid job at a Long Island animal hospital turned into a 51-year veterinary career
Dr. Lynch's perspective on the indoor-only versus outdoor/community cat debate, and why he believes there's no one-size-fits-all answer
His honest advice for trappers and caregivers on how to approach a veterinarian for the first time
Why showing up with "a plan" rather than a crisis is the fastest way to build trust with a vet
The role of compassion fatigue and burnout in veterinary medicine, and the daily habits that help him stay in the game
His "physical mailbox" approach to managing phone use and protecting mental bandwidth
A first-hand account of volunteering with search-and-rescue dogs at Ground Zero after 9/11
The story behind a Rottweiler named Big Shot, and the unexpected humanity he witnessed during that crisis
Two unforgettable cat stories from his memoir, including a lesson in patience before attempting DIY pet care
Where to find his memoir, his YouTube series, and the dental device he invented for pets
Resources & Links
Off the Leash: Tales From a Lifetime of Healing Pets and Wonder (Amazon)
Dr. Kevin Lynch's website
The Pet Mindset Show (YouTube)
Plaque Be Gone dental device

"We may not all be the same organization, but we all have a very similar goal, and that is a better world for cats ultimately."
This episode is sponsored-in-part by Maddie's Fund, OcuTrap, and Drop Traps: Beginning and Advanced Certification Workshop.
To celebrate the 10-year anniversary of the Community Cats Podcast, host Stacy LeBaron is joined by Kristen Petrie, Community Cats Central's Technical Tabby, and frequent guest/guest host Mike Phillips of the Urban Cat League in New York City. Rather than a traditional interview, this episode is a candid conversation about the podcast's journey, the evolution of the community cat movement, and what they see on the horizon.
Press Play Now For:
How the podcast launched with a five-day-a-week release schedule — and why that was, in retrospect, wildly ambitious
The evolution from a podcast into a broader educational platform, including the TNR certification workshops that have now certified over 6,000 community cat advocates
The Community Cat Pyramid — why it became a turning point for the podcast and the movement, and how it reframes the conversation around owned cats as the upstream source of community cat populations
A frank look at the veterinary access crisis: why affordable spay/neuter remains the most critical variable in population management, and what's shifting in the private practice landscape (including the potential move away from corporate ownership back toward independent practices)
The Community Cat Clinics in the Atlanta area as a model for independently owned, cat-focused veterinary practices — and how to connect with co-owner Rick DuCharme if you're curious about replicating it
The cost equation: why trap-hold-euthanize approaches are far more expensive than upstream spay/neuter investment, and how to make that case clearly to decision-makers
Advocacy strategy — including the elevator pitch, tailoring your message to your audience (a politician needs to hear "1,000 voters"; a neighbor who dislikes cats needs to hear about the vacuum effect), and the power of consistent, simple messaging
The Georgia Whole Cat Workshop — bringing community cat players together for a full-day hybrid strategic session
The Summerlee Sustainable Solutions Grant Program— an eight-week course through the University of the Pacific paired with $4,000–$8,000 in seed funding for pilot projects
What the future looks like: less hierarchy, more collaboration, and community members stepping up to answer each other's questions
Resources & Links
Community Cat Pyramid
Community Cat Calculator
Paper Collar Template
Community Cat Clinic — email stacy@communitycatscentral.com to connect with Rick DuCharme for a virtual or in-person tour
Previous CCP episodes with Rick DuCharme: Episode 416 on YouTube | Episode 545 on YouTube
Urban Cat League — including the Taming Toolkit with Mike's socializing feral cats video resources
Voters for Animal Rights (New York)
Summerlee Sustainable Solutions Grant Program — through United Spay Alliance
United Spay Alliance

"You can both celebrate them and advocate for them at the same time."
This episode is sponsored-in-part by Maddie's Fund, OcuTrap, and Drop Traps: Beginning and Advanced Certification Workshop.
Dan Rimada didn't set out to start a movement. He just started noticing cats. During the stillness of COVID, when New York City slowed down enough to actually look around, he began noticing the cats living in the bodegas of his Fort Greene, Brooklyn neighborhood and photographing them on his iPhone. What began as a hyper-local Instagram project quickly grew into something much larger — a citywide archive, an advocacy platform, a walking tour company, and now a forthcoming book. Today, Bodega Cats of New York is the most detailed documentation of working cats in New York City corner stores ever assembled, built on four years of relationship-building across all five boroughs.
At the heart of Dan's work is a real tension: bodega cats are beloved New York City cultural icons — neighborhood anchors, pest controllers, familiar faces — and they are technically illegal. Under current New York City Health Code, keeping a live animal in a food establishment can result in fines between $200 and $1,500. Dan's 14,000-signature petition changed that conversation. It led to City Council legislation that would eliminate those fines and fund spay/neuter and vaccinations for bodega cats — with Council Member Frank Morano now carrying the bill forward after Keith Powers was term-limited out. A parallel state-level bill, introduced by Assembly Member Linda Rosenthal, goes further, establishing official care standards: designated cat zones, clean water, nutritious food, rest areas, and mandatory spay/neuter. The two bills are designed to work in tandem.
Dan also co-founded Cats About Town Tours with cat historian Peggy Gavan, whose blog hatchingcatnyc.com and books on New York City's animal history made her the perfect partner. The tours run through Brooklyn Heights, the Lower East Side, and the Financial District, uncovering the hidden feline history of New York from the 1800s and 1900s — and every ticket sold triggers food donations to a 501(c)(3) cat rescue. His book, Bodega Cats of New York, featuring photography by Gulce Kilkis, arrives from Quarto Publishing in October 2026.
Press Play Now For:
How a COVID-era iPhone project in Fort Greene grew into New York City's most comprehensive bodega cat archive
What a bodega actually is — and why working cats have been part of that culture for generations
Why bodega cats are currently illegal under NYC Health Code, and what the legislation would change
The two-pronged legislative strategy: the city council bill and the state-level Assembly bill, and how they work together
How Dan's $7,400 fundraiser and 14,000-signature petition translated into real legislative action
The spay/neuter and vaccination funding mechanism proposed in the city bill — and where the money could come from
Why some rescue groups want an outright ban on bodega cats, and Dan's more pragmatic take
The story behind Cats About Town Tours and the hidden cat history woven into New York City's streets
What to expect from the Bodega Cats of New York book, coming October 2026
Resources & Links
Bodega Cats of New York — Dan's archive, advocacy updates, and book waitlist at bodegacatsofnewyork.com
@bodegacatsofnewyork on Instagram
Cats About Town Tours — NYC's cat history walking tours, running April through November
The Hatching Cat of Gotham — Peggy Gavan's blog on the history of cats (and dogs) in New York City

"With animal welfare, we're basically waiting till the roof falls in — when the animals are at the shelter, that's the roof falling in. We have to catch them earlier."
This episode is sponsored-in-part by Maddie's Fund, OcuTrap, and The Kitten Conference.
What if the animal welfare system stopped waiting for families to walk through the shelter door — and started showing up before they ever got there? That's the question driving BJ Adkins, disabled veteran and founder of Animal Angels Foundation (AAF), a prevention-first nonprofit serving seven counties in central Alabama.
After years of fostering and watching intake numbers refuse to budge, BJ decided to stop patching the system and start rebuilding its missing layer. AAF isn't a rescue organization. It's prevention infrastructure: programs designed to solve the problems that force pet surrender before surrender ever becomes an option.
Those programs include SNIP, a spay/neuter assistance initiative with a $100 stipend for income-qualifying owners; The Bridge, which addresses the financial and housing barriers that most often precede surrender; Finder-to-Foster; Adoption Boost; Landlord Partnership; and Sniff and Greet. Connecting it all is the Animal Welfare Resource Network (AWRN) — a shared technology platform that replaces organizational silos with real-time coordination across shelters, rescues, vet clinics, and community partners. Three participation levels and no cost to join means even change-resistant organizations can get on board.
To measure what's working, BJ is partnering with a University of Tennessee researcher to build the evidence base for prevention-first animal welfare — while already fielding calls from Colorado, Tennessee, and the Canadian SPCA. The data is being collected. The network is growing. And if BJ has anything to say about it, the roof won't have to fall in anymore.
Press Play Now For:
Why BJ compares the current animal welfare system to waiting for the roof to fall in — and what "upstream" intervention actually looks like
A breakdown of AAF's six core programs and how each one targets a specific point of failure before shelter intake
How the Animal Welfare Resource Network (AWRN) replaces organizational silos with a shared, real-time coordination platform
The SNIP program's $100 stipend model and why removing financial friction matters for low-income pet owners
BJ's strategy for bringing change-resistant organizations into the network — with three levels of participation and no cost to join
How AAF is partnering with University of Tennessee researchers to build a data-driven case for prevention programs
Practical advice for new nonprofit founders: research first, build relationships, and find the gap nobody else is filling
Resources & Links
Animal Angels Foundation Website
Animal Welfare Resource Network (AWRN)
Maddie's Pet Forum (where Stacy and BJ connected)

"Mother Nature provides us with all the food and medicine that we need. Food is medicine — and it is the number one thing you can do for any person or animal to help them stay healthy and help their immune system operate."
This episode is sponsored-in-part by Maddie's Fund, OcuTrap, and The Kitten Conference.
What if the best medicine for your community cats isn't found in a bottle — but in a bowl? In this episode, host Stacy LeBaron sits down with Angela Ardolino, a certified cannabis and fungi clinician with over 20 years of expertise in holistic pet wellness and founder of MycoDog, MycoCat, and CBD Dog Health.
Angela's path to holistic animal care began with her own recovery from rheumatoid arthritis using plants, mushrooms, and diet — which led her to discover that every animal shares an endocannabinoid system, the body's master regulatory system. With no quality animal products on the market, she spent two years formulating and testing full-spectrum hemp extract and medicinal mushroom tinctures at her rescue farm before bringing them to the public.
Stacy and Angela dig into the real cost of kibble — not just financially, but biologically — and make the case for real food, even in small increments, for both owned cats and colony cats. Angela also offers practical guidance on supporting senior and geriatric cats with full-spectrum hemp extract, how to spot trustworthy supplements (look for a COA), and why the endocannabinoid system is the key to keeping cats healthy from the inside out.
Press Play Now For:
Why kibble is the wrong foundation for feline health — and practical, budget-friendly alternatives for pet owners and colony caregivers alike
How the endocannabinoid system works in all animals and why supporting it is key to preventing disease
How to administer full-spectrum hemp extract to cats you can touch — and cats you can't
Why 85% of supplements on the market (for pets and humans alike) aren't worth buying, and how to identify the ones that are
When a cat becomes a "senior" vs. a "geriatric" — and why that distinction matters for their care
The feline grimace scale, telehealth options, and emerging tools that help caregivers monitor cats without a vet visit
A vision for mobile veterinary care that extends to colony sites, not just indoor pets
Resources & Links
Angela Ardolino's Website
CBD Dog Health
MycoDog
Your Natural Dog Podcast
Follow Angela on Instagram
Follow Angela on Facebook
Follow Your Natural Dog on Instagram