Cat Behavior Archives - The Community Cats Podcast

July 9, 2016

Interview! Rachel Geller, Vice President, Ellen M. Gifford Shelter for Homeless Cats, Brighton MA

“If we can keep a cat that has a solvable, fixable behavior problem in its home, it’s better for the cat and for the owner.” Volunteering at the Gifford Shelter, and helping socialize fearful, shy and semi-feral cats launched Rachel into her role today as a certified cat behaviorist. She describes […]

September 10, 2016

Interview! Kelley Bollen, Owner and Director of Animal Alliances Consulting Firm

“Feeding animals in bowls is a wasted opportunity to enrich their brains.” Kelley earned a Master’s in Animal Behavior, has taught at Cornell Veterinary School, and now consults with both pet owners and shelters to improve life and outcomes for companion animals. She and Stacy talk all things behavior, and […]

September 2, 2018

Non-Surgical Sterilization – How Will It Work for Community Cats?

In early July, I had the opportunity to attend the Alliance for Contraception in Cats and Dogs (ACC&D)’s 6th International Symposium on Non-Surgical Contraceptive Methods of Pet Population Control, held this year in Boston, MA. Below are a few of my takeaways from the two days of presentations. If you […]

December 9, 2018

Seasonal Sanity in a Feline-Filled Household

This week’s guest post comes to us from Liz Pease, former Executive Director of the Merrimack River Feline Rescue Society, who was featured on Episode #51 of the podcast. It’s hard to believe it’s December again, but here we are! With the holiday season come Christmas trees, Hanukkah & Kwanzaa candles, […]

December 16, 2018

Climate Change and Community Cats

Many of your know that I drive back and forth from Vermont to Massachusetts every week in order to visit my mother. So I get to spend a lot of time in the car listening to podcasts of all kinds. During my drive last week, I heard several references to […]

May 26, 2019

‘Tis the Season…for Catios!

This week’s guest post comes to us from Liz Pease, former Executive Director of the Merrimack River Feline Rescue Society, who was featured on CCP Episode #51. You’ve probably heard about catios (or “cat patios”). Maybe your cats are even lucky enough to have a one! If not, it might […]

July 15, 2019

July 15, 2019

Guest Post: Saving the Aggressive Cats

Today’s post comes from guest blogger Allison Hunter-Frederick, a pet blogger, cat consultant, and cat trainer. Allison is also mom to three rescue cats. This post originally appeared on Allison’s blog site, Lincoln Pet Culture. We thought it was so great that we reached out to Allison to ask if we […]

August 15, 2019

CCP Drops in on Kitten Lady Hannah Shaw’s Book Tour

This week’s guest post comes to us from Liz Pease, former Executive Director of the Merrimack River Feline Rescue Society, who was featured on CCP Episode #51. This past week, fellow CCP staff member Kristen and I (Liz Pease) were lucky enough to see Hannah Shaw (better known as Kitten Lady) on […]

September 5, 2019

It’s National Preparedness Month—Is Your Pet Emergency Kit Ready?

This week’s guest post comes to us from Liz Pease, former Executive Director of the Merrimack River Feline Rescue Society, who was featured on CCP Episode #51. Every year, as soon as Labor Day passes, I know it’s about that time again: time to update my household emergency kits—including the […]

September 12, 2019

Disaster Preparedness Resources, Tips, & Tricks for Shelters

This week’s guest post comes to us from Liz Pease, former Executive Director of the Merrimack River Feline Rescue Society, who was featured on CCP Episode #51. As you know from last week’s post, September is National Preparedness Month here in the U.S. Last week, we talked about setting up […]

September 19, 2019

My Visit to Treehouse Humane Society

At the end of August, I had the privilege of driving my daughter Rachel and her cat Maggie out to Chicago, where Rachel is starting graduate school this month. It was two days of nerve-racking driving, but Maggie was actually an awesome traveler, so the anticipation ended up being worse […]

January 2, 2020

Community Cats Podcast Goals for 2020

Many of you know that goal-setting is one of my favorite things to do. I usually start to think about goals in the fall, but unfortunately this year I just haven’t had a chance to sit down and really focus on our goals here at CCP until now. I can’t […]

April 9, 2020

Twenty-ish More Virtual Training Ideas

It seems like folks enjoyed my listing of resources last week, so I am going to continue to share more resources for you to enjoy and share with others. Since in-person conference season is pretty much wiped out, one good way to share virtual education is to have a group of people […]

August 6, 2020

You Found a Stray Kitten in Your Yard. Now What?

Today’s guest post comes to us from Krista Beucler, Marketing & Communications Intern at Community Cats Podcast. The warmer weather ushers in kitten season, which can last a long time and put a lot of stress on your local shelters and rescues. Now you’ve found a stray kitten in your […]

December 10, 2020

DIY Cat Toys

The holidays are coming up and your cat is no doubt wondering what you’ll be getting her. Whether your cat has been naughty or nice, we know you’ll want to spoil her anyway. And we have good news for you: There are plenty of easy, low-commitment, DIY cat toys that […]

December 31, 2020

Home 4 the Holidays Adoption Campaign

Today’s guest post comes to us from Krista Beucler, Marketing & Communications Intern at Community Cats Podcast. Home 4 the Holidays is a campaign put on by the Helen Woodward Animal Center, along with their partner Blue Buffalo Pet Food. The campaign is a three-month adopt-a-thon that connects adopters looking […]

January 7, 2021

Socially Conscious Sheltering

Today’s guest post comes to us from Krista Beucler, Marketing & Communications Intern at Community Cats Podcast. I recently saw a presentation about socially conscious sheltering and socially conscious animal communities by Marissa Martino, Colorado Humane Society Community Liason at Dumb Friends League. I think the model presented by Marissa […]

January 14, 2021

The Scoop on Pet Food Expiration Dates

Today’s guest post comes to us from Krista Beucler, Marketing & Communications Intern at Community Cats Podcast. You’ve found some pet food in your pantry that’s past its “best by” date. You don’t want to waste it, but you also don’t want to make your pet sick. What should you […]

February 12, 2021

Bird TV: A New Hobby for Your Cat (and You!)

Let’s face it: It’s been a long nine-plus months of social distancing and staying inside way more than we might normally have. In some ways, we’re learning what it’s like to be indoor cats—especially one who used to spend time outdoors. One great way to keep your cats—and yourself—entertained is […]

March 10, 2022

Litter Box Locations for Apartments and Small Spaces

By Rachel Geller, Ed.D. Certified Cat Behavior and Retention Specialist Like what you’re reading? Hear her speak! Join us for Dr. Geller’s session during Online Behavior Day on April 9. Learn more and register here. If you live in an apartment, small home, or other shared space, you already know […]

March 24, 2022

Four Ways to Set Your Cat Up for Litter Box Success

By: Tabitha Kucera RVT, CCBC, KPA-CTP, Owner of Chirrups & Chatter Like what you’re reading? Hear her speak! Join us for Tabitha’s session during Online Behavior Day on April 9. Learn more and register here. Cats going to the bathroom outside of their litter boxes is a common complaint among […]

April 7, 2022

Why does my friendly cat suddenly attack?!

By Allison Hunter-Frederick, Cat Behavior Consultant, Trainer, & Educator at Allison Helps Cats Like what you’re reading? Catch Allison’s interview with Stacy on Episode #427 of the podcast here. Survey responses are needed! If you’ve ever experienced non-recognition aggression as discussed in this blog post, Allison would like to […]

April 21, 2022

Ideas for Celebrating Earth Day with your Cat

By Rachel Geller, Ed.D. Certified Cat Behavior & Retention Specialist Earth Day is April 22, so let’s look at ways we can celebrate by going green with your cat! First of all, recycle everything that you can. If you feed your cat canned food, buy the biggest cans. It’s more […]

May 5, 2022

CCP Goes to HSUS Animal Care Expo

Last month, Community Cats Podcast’s own Technical Tabby, Kristen, packed up her car and made her way from Massachusetts to Florida, bound for the 2022 HSUS Animal Care Expo. Here’s what she had to say about her experience: After two years of virtual gatherings, it was refreshing to see the […]

May 19, 2022

Feline Sterilization at 5 Months Accepted as New Normal

Written by Philip A. Bushby, DVM, MS, DACVS | Previously published on March 3, 2022, by DVM360.com Foreword & Afterword by Esther Mechler, President, and Founder of Marian’s Dream and United Spay Alliance Foreword For decades, shelters were overrun by enormous numbers of unplanned, unwanted litters of kittens. The phenomenon even […]

June 2, 2022

You’ve Come a Long Way, Kitten!

Contributed by: The National Kitten Coalition Get your kitten-fix during the Online Kitten Conference, June 10-12! Proudly presented in partnership with The National Kitten Coalition. Learn more and register here. For all of you in animal welfare, especially those caring for kittens, THANK YOU! Despite the seemingly never-ending line of […]

June 30, 2022

Cats and Fireworks

Contributed by Rachel Geller, Ed.D. Certified Cat Behavior and Retention Specialist Cats find fireworks, with their loud noises and bright lights, stressful. Fireworks loudly go off at irregular intervals, and your cat has no way of knowing when the next loud bang will happen or how long the noise will […]

July 14, 2022

A Shift in Sheltering? FeLV Vaccines and Adoption

Contributed by Devon Smith, Executive Director, League for Animal Welfare, and panelist for Real World FeLV Success during Online Feline Leukemia Day, this Saturday, July 16, 2022 Want more FeLV content? Register for Online Feline Leukemia Day on July 16. You’ll hear from Devon and so many others who are […]

July 28, 2022

What To Do If You Find Kittens

Contributed by Cristin Bates Have you ever come across stray kittens outside and wondered what you should do? You might be surprised to learn that leaving them where they are is oftentimes the most helpful thing you can do. From birth to eight weeks, mother cats provide their kittens with […]

August 11, 2022

How to Make Your Cat a Better Traveling Companion

Contributed by Aaron Smith When people travel often and want a pet to keep them company, they usually turn to a canine companion. But dogs need a lot of attention and can’t be left alone for long periods. Cats, on the other hand, can be quite independent when they are […]

August 25, 2022

Mass Trapping Success: Here’s What You Need to Know

Contributed by Dawn Benefiel, Executive Director of Indy Neighborhood Cats When a colony exceeds 20 cats, setting up your project can be a challenge. We know that in order to make a dent in a large unaltered colony, we need over 90% of the cats to be spayed/neutered, vaccinated, ear […]

September 8, 2022

Six Tips on How to Prevent Your Cat From Getting Pregnant!

This is a blog post that I honestly thought I would never write, but here we are. We are living through an unprecedented period where I am frequently hearing statements like: In terms of access to affordable spay/neuter resources in a timely manner, we are set back 20 years! Families […]

November 3, 2022

Keeping a Cat Safe and Warm Inside

Contributed by Dr. Rachel Geller, Certified Cat Behavior & Retention Specialist As summer turns to fall and then winter, we humans can throw on a sweater or a blanket to stay warm. We may wear layers to save money if we have drafty windows or we don’t want to put […]

July 27, 2023

A Feline Forward Business Model: The Community Cat Clinic in Woodstock, GA

Story submitted by Kristen Petrie, Tech Tabby, The Community Cats Podcast. When it comes to caring for our feline friends, the Community Cat Clinic in Woodstock, GA, stands out as a beacon of hope and compassion. This unique veterinary clinic has begun to make waves in the community for its […]

August 31, 2023

Unveiling the Flatbush Veterinary Clinic: Tackling Cat Overpopulation in Brooklyn, New York

Story submitted by Kristen Petrie, Tech Tabby, The Community Cats Podcast. I was delighted to visit the bustling heart of the Flatbush neighborhood in Brooklyn, NY, to check out the exciting development of the Flatbush Veterinary Clinic. The brainchild of the Flatbush Cats organization, this new vet clinic will surely […]

July 9, 2016