"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

"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

"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.

"I'm announcing that FIP is no longer considered fatal… and I looked up to see tears in the eyes of veterinarians around the world."

This episode is sponsored-in-part by Maddie's Fund, OcuTrap, the Feline Behavior Summit 2026, and the TNR Certification Workshop.

In this powerful and emotional episode of the Community Cats Podcast, host Stacy LeBaron sits down with renowned animal behavior expert and advocate Steve Dale to explore groundbreaking advancements in feline health that are changing—and saving—lives.

Steve shares the deeply personal story of his cat Ricky, whose diagnosis with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) sparked a decades-long mission to fund critical research through the EveryCat Health Foundation. What began as heartbreak has led to hope, including the development of a promising drug that can reverse heart enlargement in cats when caught early.

The conversation then turns to one of the most historically devastating feline diseases: FIP (feline infectious peritonitis). Once considered a death sentence, FIP is now treatable thanks to years of persistence, research funding, and global collaboration. Steve walks us through the science, the setbacks, and the stunning breakthrough that has saved countless kittens—and even contributed to antiviral treatments used during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Beyond the science, this episode highlights the evolving human-cat bond, the importance of understanding feline behavior, and why we are truly living in the "era of the cat." Whether you're a shelter professional, foster caregiver, or devoted cat owner, this conversation will leave you informed, inspired, and hopeful about the future of feline welfare.

Press Play Now For:

• The surprising origin story of a piano-playing cat that changed everything
• How one cat's diagnosis led to life-saving HCM research
• A clear, accessible explanation of FIP and why it was once always fatal
• The breakthrough antiviral treatments now curing FIP in kittens
• How feline research contributed to human COVID-19 treatment
• Why understanding animal behavior can prevent bites and build trust
• The growing momentum behind "The Year (and Decade) of the Cat"

Resources & Links

• EveryCat Health Foundation
• Steve Dale's Blog & Newsletter
• Ask the Dog by Steve Dale
• FIP Warriors
• Zen By Cat

"No cat should be euthanized because it tests positive for a virus—period."

This episode is sponsored-in-part by Maddie's Fund, The Animal Rights Foundation, Reduce Surrenders with Feline Behavior Support Certification Workshop, and The Community Cat Clinic.

Feline leukemia (FeLV) has long been one of the most misunderstood—and often feared—diagnoses in the cat world. In this eye-opening episode of the Community Cats Podcast, host Stacy LeBaron welcomes feline leukemia advocate and expert Margaret Tompkins to break down the myths, realities, and latest advancements surrounding this complex virus.

Margaret shares her personal journey into the world of FeLV advocacy, sparked by a group of rescue kittens that changed her life. From there, she dives into the science behind feline leukemia, explaining how it differs from FIV, how it spreads, and why today's understanding of the disease is far more hopeful than it was just a few decades ago.

Listeners will gain clarity on key topics such as progressive vs. regressive infections, the importance of spay/neuter in disease prevention, and whether testing is always necessary—especially in TNR (trap-neuter-return) programs. Margaret also tackles one of the most emotional questions caregivers face: what to do when a cat tests positive, and why euthanasia should not be the default response.

The conversation also explores managing mixed households, vaccine advancements (including promising new mRNA technology), and how strong immune systems play a critical role in outcomes for FeLV-positive cats.

Whether you're a rescuer, foster, veterinarian, or cat lover, this episode offers practical guidance, science-backed insights, and a much-needed shift in perspective. Feline leukemia is no longer a guaranteed death sentence—and with education, compassion, and proactive care, these cats can live meaningful, happy lives.

Press Play Now For:

• The critical difference between FeLV and FIV—and why it matters
• How feline leukemia is actually transmitted (and common misconceptions)
• Why spay/neuter is the most powerful tool for disease prevention
• When testing is essential—and when it's not worth the cost
• Understanding progressive vs. regressive FeLV infections
• What to do if your vet suggests euthanasia after a positive test
• How to safely manage mixed households with FeLV-positive cats
• The latest breakthroughs in FeLV vaccines, including mRNA technology
• Why many FeLV-positive cats can live long, healthy lives

Resources & Links

• Community Cats Podcast YouTube Library (FeLV Playlist)
• FIV/FeLV Positive Cats Facebook Group