This episode is a collab with fellow podcaster, Stacy LeBaron of the Community Cats Podcast.
On CCP, Stacy follows up with Tabitha Kucera, a registered vet tech, certified cat behavior training consultant, and former guest of the show (CCP Episode 319)
Stacy and Tabitha discuss numerous cat health and behavioral issues. She provides tips on identifying whether a cat is in pain (which she created a handout for). Tabitha explains that a cat’s physical and mental health are often intertwined. She stresses the importance of minimizing anxiety and stress by employing Fear Free techniques, trap training, and cooperative care.
Stacy LeBaron has been involved in animal welfare for over 20 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. 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, Behavior, and Fundraising. At the end of 2020, she also partnered with Neighborhood Cats to hold monthly virtual trapper training and certification workshops to better introduce individuals to best practices for trapping community cats.
Previous to starting the podcast, Stacy served for 16 years as president of the Merrimack River Feline Rescue Society (MRFRS). Under her leadership, the MRFRS assisted over 105,000 cats and kittens through a variety of innovative programs. Among the MRFRS’s programs are two mobile spay/neuter clinics, known as the Catmobiles, and an adoption center in Salisbury, MA. Stacy ran the MRFRS Mentoring Program, which began in 2011 and assisted 11,000 cats through its work with 77 different animal welfare groups in 14 states.
An expert in her field, Stacy is a current member of the Shelter Medicine Committee at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University, an adviser to the Massachusetts Animal Coalition (MAC), President of the Board for PAWSitive Pantry in Vermont, Board member at the Vermont Humane Federation, Treasurer for the Merrimack River Feline Rescue Society, program leader for the Pet Food Task Force in MA, and program organizer for HubCats Chelsea. She is a past board member of MAC and the New England Federation of Humane Societies. She serves as the current administrative trustee for the LeBaron Foundation.
Stacy graduated from Vassar College. She now lives in VT with her husband and son.
About the Community Cats Podcast:
The Community Cats Podcast is the brainchild of Stacy LeBaron. Stacy has over 20 years of 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
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