What is The Community Cats Podcast?

The Community Cats Podcast is the brainchild of Stacy LeBaron. Stacy has over 20 years experience working with Community Cats in Massachusetts. She was the president of the Merrimack River Feline Rescue Society for 16 years and since 2011, she ran the MRFRS Mentoring program, assisting over 80 organizations with setting up TNR programs and getting funding to support those programs.

Our Vision

To create a humane community for all cats.

Our Mission

To provide education, information, and dialogue that will create a supportive environment, empowering people to help cats in their community.

What We Do

We offer a podcast, an informative blog, a grant and mentoring program, online conferences, and networking and sharing opportunities. We participate in cat-related events, and we offer consulting and visioning workshops for organizations.


Meet Your Host, Stacy LeBaron

Stacy LeBaron has been involved in animal welfare for almost 30 years. She currently hosts a weekly podcast called the Community Cats Podcast where she interviews nationally and internationally renowned experts helping with the problem of cat overpopulation and cat welfare. She has recorded over 500 episodes. In addition to the podcast, Stacy is committed to the model of virtual education by holding three weekend conferences, the Online Cat Conference, The United Spay Alliance Conference and the Online Kitten Conference. She hosts day-long sessions covering specific topics around Feline Leukemia and Behavior, and she partnered with Neighborhood Cats to hold monthly virtually trapper training and certification workshops to better introduce individuals to best practices for trapping community cats. In 2023 she also introduced a surrender prevention certification workshop series with Dr. Rachel Geller. The Community Cats Podcast also has a Community Cats Grants Program helping small grassroots learn fundraising skills to raise the desperately needed funds for spay/neuter surgeries and match the money raised from the Community Cats Grants program. This program has assisted over 200 groups.

Her mission is to encourage folks to “Turn their passion for cats into action”.

Previous to starting the podcast, Stacy served for 16 years as president of the Merrimack River Feline Rescue Society (MRFRS). An expert in her field, she is President of the Board for PAWSitive Pantry in Vermont and Massachusetts, Treasurer at the Vermont Humane Federation, Treasurer for the Merrimack River Feline Rescue Society, and Treasurer and strategic director at the United Spay Alliance. She is a past board member of Massachusetts Animal Coalition and the New England Federation of Humane Societies. She serves as the current administrative trustee for the LeBaron Foundation.

In addition to the above Stacy is also available for individual and group consulting to encourage others to think strategically about how they are reducing cat overpopulation in their communities by utilizing the Community Cat Pyramid and Community Cat Calculator needs assessment.

Stacy graduated from Vassar College with a degree in Urban Studies. She now lives in Vermont with her husband.

  • Providing online TNR classes adds another dimension to our community cat toolkit. Caretakers are thankful for the convenience, flexibility, and easy access. We’re thankful we can trust they’re learning from the best. Having the option to watch a recording of the session is another plus. If something came up that day preventing a caretaker from participating in the live class, they don’t have to wait an entire month to take the next class before getting started TNRing. In addition to learning best practices, the TNR class has served as an effective way for us to communicate how people can utilize our spay/neuter services. We accomplish this with an add-on recording and link to handouts of what we need caretakers to know. This saves our staff an enormous amount of time.
    Catherine Garrett
    Director of Development and Marketing
  • I recently got hooked on your podcast! What a wonderful educational and fascinating show you have! I can’t stop listening and I can’t stop telling people about it. Such an amazing show! A heartfelt thank you to everyone who keeps Community Cats podcast going. It is such an educational insight into our national cat community. When I listen to your show it feels like I’m sitting down with a group of close friends and we’re all conspiring to change and fill the world with more love, knowledge, and compassion for animals. I absolutely love what you do! I will keep binging episodes and keep spreading the word about Community Cats Podcast to anyone who will listen... That is when I’m not blabbing on about my ridiculously adorable fosters!
    Kris
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  • I recently found your podcast and it has been incredibly helpful. It has taught me to stay on track and really work my neighborhood over to get everyone done before I move on; and inspired me to keep checking in on the caretakers to see if anyone new has joined them. The podcast has also helped me to be kinder to the caretakers. I was a bit irritated/frustrated at first when they wouldn’t withhold food or when they got cold feet because they were worried about the operation. All of the people you interview, I am sure, have gone through similar if not worse situations, but they stick to the positive. It has really showed me by example how to conduct myself during the TNR process. Thank you for everything, especially for helping new TNR recruits to be mindful and kind as they learn and grow toward helping more cats/people.
    Sarah
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  • I had asked to be an ambassador for your podcast during the summer. I got the materials after some tabling events had passed but now I've had an opportunity to do two in a row Global Cat Day and a subsequent adoption-outreach event. We're even having a follow up event this Saturday.
    Roberto
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  • Thank you and Hannah so much for an excellent and informative podcast! I really learned a lot from it and feel much more confident and able to rescue and foster. I look forward to your next one. Thank you again!
    Kim
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