The Community Cats Podcast

"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

"When we look at things on a neighborhood level and we're noticing patterns, noticing new colonies — when something's predictable, it's preventable."
This episode is sponsored-in-part by Maddie's Fund, OcuTrap, and The Kitten Conference.
What does it look like to build a community cat program from scratch — not just logistically, but with real intention about how change happens in a neighborhood? In this episode, Stacy LeBaron speaks with Tonya Cook, Community Cat Program Manager at Ohio Alleycat Resource (OAR) in Cincinnati, about her remarkable journey from neonatal kitten foster to full-time community cat advocate, and what she's learned about scaling impact when you're a team of one.
Tonya's path into animal welfare began in 2020 when she started fostering neonatal kittens with Cincinnati Animal CARE. Night feedings and fragile lives gave her a front-row seat to how many kittens were being born outside — and how few resources existed to stop the cycle at the source. That question drove her toward TNR and, ultimately, toward a complete career change. In 2022, she left behind 15 years as a professional photographer to pursue animal welfare full-time, gaining hands-on experience at UCAN and Cincinnati Animal CARE before joining OAR in 2025 to build its community cat program from the ground up.
In its pilot year, that program has facilitated the TNR of over 400 cats — most of them trapped by Tonya herself, two days a week, before she recognized the limits of that approach. When burnout began to set in, she did something harder than trapping: she stepped back. That decision led to the creation of OAR's Neighborhood Cat Ambassador Program, which embeds trained volunteers directly into high-need zip codes identified through shelter and rescue data. Ambassadors walk their streets, distribute flyers with QR codes linking to a community cat census, connect caregivers to resources, mediate neighbor disputes, and trap for those who can't. The result is a program that feels less like a service and more like a movement — and one that's bringing neighbors together in the process.
Tonya also shares an inspiring story from a mobile home park 20 miles outside Cincinnati, where she spent last spring trapping 58 cats. Earlier this year, the park reached back out — not to ask for help, but to learn how to do it themselves. They've since purchased their own traps, gone door to door, posted on social media, and started bringing cats in weekly. That's the long game Tonya is playing: not just TNR, but teaching communities to sustain the work themselves.
Press Play Now For:
How fostering neonatal kittens led Tonya to TNR — and a complete career change
Why Tonya insisted on doing the work herself first before bringing in volunteers, and what she learned from that approach.
The story of Sonny, the neighborhood cat who introduced a whole street of strangers to each other
How OAR's Neighborhood Cat Ambassador Program works, who it recruits, and why ambassadors stay engaged longer than traditional trapping volunteers
A mobile home park success story: from one organization doing the work to a community sustaining TNR on their own
Why "when something's predictable, it's preventable" is the mindset shift that defines neighborhood-based cat management
How to find common ground with neighbors who hate cats and neighbors who love them
Resources & Links
Ohio Alleycat Resource (OAR) — Website
OAR Community Cat Program
OAR on Instagram (@ohioalleycat)
OAR on Facebook
Tonya Cook on Instagram (@cincycatlady)

"If you wanna have a real superpower, learn cat first aid."
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.
Cats are both predator and prey — and that dual nature means they respond to emergencies unlike any other animal. They have five weapons of mass destruction, a flexible spine, and no apologies. When the uh-oh happens, are you ready? In this episode, Stacy sits down with Arden Moore, bestselling author, host of the longest-running pet podcast on the planet, and founder of Pet First Aid 4 U, to talk about what every cat caregiver — whether you're a TNR volunteer, a shelter worker, a foster, or a pet parent — needs to know when a cat is in crisis.
Arden draws on 15 years as a master certified pet first aid and CPR instructor to break down how to safely approach an injured or unconscious cat, the right way to perform two-handed CPR (and yes, even kitten CPR), how to transport an injured cat without spiking their fear and stress, and what to keep in your car and home to be truly safety-ready. Stacy and Arden also talk about why community cats present a unique challenge — and how many of the same skills transfer directly to TNR work in the field.
You'll also hear about the surprising void in veterinary education around pet first aid, why even vets have frozen during a pet emergency, and how Arden's famous sidekick, Pet Safety Cat Casey — a shelter alum from San Diego Humane Society who stole the show at the Virginia Cat Festival with over 350 people in the room — makes learning these life-saving skills both practical and fun.
Stacy and Arden are proud partners through the Community Cats Central e-learning platform, where group packages allow organizations to get their entire teams certified together. If your group of 10 wants to watch, learn, and get individually certified, this is the course for you.
Less than 5% of pet owners have ever taken a pet first aid class. That's a big void — and this episode is your invitation to fill it.
Press Play Now For:
Why cats in emergencies are nothing like small dogs — and how to adjust your approach for their unique physiology and stress responses
How to perform one- and two-handed CPR on a cat, including two-finger CPR for neonatal kittens
The kitty Heimlich, safe towel-wrapping technique, and the right way to use a top-loading carrier for transport
What to keep in your car and home for a pet first aid kit — and when to check it (hint: sync it with clock changes)
Why TNR caregivers are uniquely positioned to respond to field emergencies, and why a transfer cage may be better than a carrier
The ASPCA Poison Control and Pet Poison Helpline as 24/7 resources for toxic ingestions
Why you should always call ahead to the vet — and put your hazards on during transport
How Arden's "Arden's Army" of 500+ certified instructors is spreading life-saving skills across shelters, rescues, vet clinics, and beyond
How to become a certified pet first aid instructor yourself through the ProPet Hero instructor program
How the Community Cat Central / Pet First Aid 4 U partnership works, including group certification packages
Resources & Links
Pet First Aid 4 U
Arden Moore's Website
Oh Behave! Podcast on Pet Life Radio
ProPet Hero Instructor Training
Arden Moore on YouTube
Arden Moore on Instagram
Arden Moore on Facebook
ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center  (888) 426-4435, available 24/7
Pet Poison Helpline  (855) 764-7661, available 24/7

"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