Saving Community Cats: Using Your Unique Skills for Rescue Success

Dixie: 00:00:02

Welcome to Animal Posse, the podcast dedicated to the

2

: 00:00:05

people and rescues making a

difference in the lives of animals.

3

: 00:00:09

Today I'm talking with Tammy Kaehler

from Love Your FeralFeline . If you ever

4

: 00:00:14

wanted to make a real difference in the

cats in your neighborhood and weren't sure

5

: 00:00:18

how to start, this episode is for you.

6

: 00:00:21

We are gonna be breaking down the

practical ways that anyone can step

7

: 00:00:24

up and help their community cats.

8

: 00:00:27

Welcome to the show Tammy.

9

: 00:00:29

I am looking forward to talking

about love your feral felines.

10

: 00:00:34

Tammy: Yes.

11

: 00:00:35

Dixie: Tell me a little

bit about yourself.

12

: 00:00:38

How did you come to get

involved in cat rescue?

13

: 00:00:41

Tammy: Yeah.

14

: 00:00:41

I came to cats late, but when I.

15

: 00:00:44

Came to cats, I went all in.

16

: 00:00:46

I grew up with a mother who was

allergic to cats and then I married

17

: 00:00:49

a man who was allergic to cats.

18

: 00:00:51

So I had no experience really.

19

: 00:00:53

But we lived in long Beach, California for

a while and we had a backyard cat and then

20

: 00:00:59

we went, decided to move to San Diego, and

we were so attached by that point to that

21

: 00:01:03

backyard cat that my husband shrugged.

22

: 00:01:06

And he said we gotta try.

23

: 00:01:08

So we.

24

: 00:01:09

Grabbed her and took her with us.

25

: 00:01:11

And lo and behold, my husband has

somehow gotten over his allergies.

26

: 00:01:15

So we had her, we lost her and we adopted

a brother and sister kittens and then

27

: 00:01:23

took in a barn cat and now we're three

cat family and he's still doing fine.

28

: 00:01:28

So that was the coming to it late.

29

: 00:01:30

I got involved, so we had brought

that , backyard, cat in, and somehow

30

: 00:01:36

I found love your feral felines

and the word feral in the title.

31

: 00:01:41

Resonated with me because

we'd taken in this feral cat,

32

: 00:01:44

they started as an organization placing

barn cats, pulling them from shelters

33

: 00:01:49

where they had really no other options

in placing them as working cats.

34

: 00:01:53

But anyway, I found them.

35

: 00:01:54

I donated some supplies and then , once

we wanted to adopt, we adopted from

36

: 00:02:01

them, our brother and sister kittens.

37

: 00:02:04

A couple months after that I was just

so in love with our new family and

38

: 00:02:09

the babies that we had, and I wanted

to help and donate and volunteer.

39

: 00:02:15

This was also in the middle of

COVID and the shutdown we all

40

: 00:02:19

had more time on our hands.

41

: 00:02:20

And so I contacted them and talked

to them about how I could volunteer.

42

: 00:02:25

Things that was five years ago

and it's spooled out in many

43

: 00:02:29

different directions since then.

44

: 00:02:31

But that's how I got into

it in the first place.

45

: 00:02:34

Dixie: You're the development coordinator.

46

: 00:02:37

What did you do prior to becoming the

development coordinator and what are

47

: 00:02:42

your duties as a development coordinator?

48

: 00:02:46

Tammy: Whatever we make

up is the short answer.

49

: 00:02:49

So I reached out and again,

this was shut down and I barely

50

: 00:02:53

knew anything about cats.

51

: 00:02:54

But where I come from and what I am,

I'm a writer and so I reached out

52

: 00:03:00

and said, Hey, I'm sitting at home.

53

: 00:03:03

There's not a lot going on in the world,

but I can write, can I help with writing?

54

: 00:03:09

For you guys.

55

: 00:03:10

And because at that point, I was still

getting used to having kittens and I

56

: 00:03:14

was not ready to think about fostering

and all of those kinds of things.

57

: 00:03:18

But I thought that probably I

could bring something that not

58

: 00:03:23

everyone could bring as far as

expertise and background and things.

59

: 00:03:27

So I started off helping,

writing, helping with writing

60

: 00:03:31

the adoptable cat bios online.

61

: 00:03:34

And that sort of expanded to

writing little bits of copy

62

: 00:03:38

here and there for a website.

63

: 00:03:40

Or the founder needed a short bio

description for herself for some activity.

64

: 00:03:47

Once things opened up, started helping

it special events, adoption weekends

65

: 00:03:51

and that sort of thing, or street fairs.

66

: 00:03:54

We'll go and have a booth, and

talk to the public , about cats and

67

: 00:03:58

cat rescue and things like that.

68

: 00:04:00

I started writing blog posts

now, and then I started helping

69

: 00:04:05

write some social media posts.

70

: 00:04:06

We have one social media guy who

basically does everything, and so I've

71

: 00:04:09

tried to pick up the slack and give

him a break of a day or two a week.

72

: 00:04:14

And then it expanded to.

73

: 00:04:16

Listen, I can write, maybe I can

help you write grant applications.

74

: 00:04:21

Not that I knew anything about

them, I figured I could learn.

75

: 00:04:24

And they weren't really doing much

with that because it was always one

76

: 00:04:30

of the two the executive director was

the one doing all of that, and she

77

: 00:04:34

was stretched in, 95 million ways.

78

: 00:04:37

And so that's where the

development coordinator came from.

79

: 00:04:40

The point of that was writing grant

applications and doing the follow up

80

: 00:04:44

and doing the reporting, all those

kinds of things that come along with it.

81

: 00:04:48

Along the way I've expanded that

a little bit into fundraising.

82

: 00:04:54

In general, I'm trying to help get us

set up with a donor management system.

83

: 00:04:59

We're behind the times.

84

: 00:05:00

We don't really have

one of those in place.

85

: 00:05:02

And.

86

: 00:05:04

Trying to think about, donor follow up

and stewardship, I guess they call it.

87

: 00:05:10

And along the way also I've done a lot

of public speaking and my background

88

: 00:05:15

as a writer and other things.

89

: 00:05:16

And I started doing some of the media work

for the organization because our founder

90

: 00:05:24

. Does not like being on camera, let's say.

91

: 00:05:26

And she freezes.

92

: 00:05:27

So she needs someone else.

93

: 00:05:29

And the executive director

isn't always available.

94

: 00:05:32

She is mostly out of state these

days, although still involved in our

95

: 00:05:36

organization, but she can't meet people.

96

: 00:05:39

So then no one really to meet

people if they need a tour of our

97

: 00:05:42

adoption center or to do podcasts.

98

: 00:05:45

Or last year, I think it

was, I was at Cat Con..

99

: 00:05:48

I did a podcast with someone

there, or little media interviews

100

: 00:05:51

or whatever it might be.

101

: 00:05:53

So I don't know, I think it helps

me to be able to try new things and

102

: 00:05:59

dabble in a bunch of different places.

103

: 00:06:00

I've also fostered, I've also done the

tiniest bit of TNR I get to know all the

104

: 00:06:06

different areas which is good 'cause then

I can talk about them for some of these.

105

: 00:06:10

Other duties.

106

: 00:06:11

But it helps keep things fresh

for me too, so it's not the

107

: 00:06:15

same thing over and over again.

108

: 00:06:17

So yeah, that was the long answer,

109

: 00:06:20

Dixie: yeah.

110

: 00:06:20

I love hearing that too because I think

when it comes to volunteering, people

111

: 00:06:26

think that you either have to go foster

clean kennels or do adoption events.

112

: 00:06:34

And so I like that you are able to get

into something and it's benefiting an

113

: 00:06:40

organization greatly by what you are doing

can we talk about something like that too?

114

: 00:06:46

What are roles in animal rescue

that people can get into that

115

: 00:06:51

might not necessarily involve

hands-on with the animals?

116

: 00:06:55

Because some people just don't

have the time to do hands-on

117

: 00:06:59

with the animals or can't.

118

: 00:07:02

Tammy: Yeah.

119

: 00:07:02

Definitely, we always

have need for fosters.

120

: 00:07:05

We always have need for people.

121

: 00:07:06

We have two, we have cats in two

facilities, our own adoption center,

122

: 00:07:10

and we have some cats at a PetSmart.

123

: 00:07:12

We always have need for people to

work shifts, and that works great for

124

: 00:07:15

some people who, can't have additional

cats at home or can't have any cats at

125

: 00:07:20

home, but wanna spend a little time,

and you do a two or three hour shift

126

: 00:07:24

once a week or once every other week.

127

: 00:07:25

And that works great for some people.

128

: 00:07:27

I live very far away.

129

: 00:07:29

I'm very I'm 45, 50 minutes away

from our adoption center, so

130

: 00:07:33

that's not practical for me and for

other people that are farther out.

131

: 00:07:38

But there's also, all

kinds of other needs.

132

: 00:07:41

We need people to transport.

133

: 00:07:44

There was a call just put out, can

someone take a kitten who needs extra

134

: 00:07:49

support from a foster in one location?

135

: 00:07:52

45 minutes away to the other location

where she can get the support tonight.

136

: 00:07:57

Or, there might be , picking up

medicine at the local clinic and

137

: 00:08:01

taking it to the adoption center

so a foster can come get it.

138

: 00:08:04

And sometimes that's, easy for

people because it might be their

139

: 00:08:08

route home anyway, and they could

contribute that kind of support.

140

: 00:08:12

So cats need to go back

and forth all the time.

141

: 00:08:15

Medicine supplies we need runs to

storage, to stock more, bring more

142

: 00:08:21

litter from the storage facility to

the adoption center that kind of thing.

143

: 00:08:26

We have people who are

good at fixing things.

144

: 00:08:30

Something the the wall hammock pulls outta

the wall and you need someone who can come

145

: 00:08:35

in and put a new wall anchor and, get that

stable again or sew up the seam on the

146

: 00:08:40

thing that tore so it can be used again.

147

: 00:08:42

And we have people that will come

in and fix the litter box cabinets

148

: 00:08:45

or whatever when they break or

mess with the lock on the door.

149

: 00:08:49

We have people that are

like me that are good at.

150

: 00:08:52

This, like special events.

151

: 00:08:53

There are a lot of people who mostly

volunteer for the adoption events

152

: 00:08:58

i'm part of the team that goes to Cat Con

and we've got a local strawberry festival

153

: 00:09:02

and a local avocado festival and those

kinds of things out in our communities.

154

: 00:09:07

We have people who work just on

the adoption committee, taking the

155

: 00:09:12

applications, doing the interviews,

and working through approval or not.

156

: 00:09:17

We have people that.

157

: 00:09:19

Do TNR.

158

: 00:09:21

We don't have an official program because

we don't have a lot of people who can

159

: 00:09:25

go out and respond to the public yet.

160

: 00:09:27

We're trying to build up that

program, but there are a couple

161

: 00:09:30

people who will go out in our.

162

: 00:09:33

Especially the community around where our

adoption center is and do a bunch of that.

163

: 00:09:39

They've developed a couple colonies and

they're continuing to care for them.

164

: 00:09:43

So we have people going out and feeding.

165

: 00:09:46

So I think we have people

with, bookkeeping background

166

: 00:09:49

whatever it might be.

167

: 00:09:50

We have a couple people who are vet

techs who volunteer and come in once a

168

: 00:09:55

week or once every couple weeks to help.

169

: 00:09:58

Give vaccines and just do brief

checkups of the cats that are in there.

170

: 00:10:02

So there's a lot of different expertise

that we can use and I think there's

171

: 00:10:07

an opportunity, I always try and tell

people if they're interested at all.

172

: 00:10:11

It doesn't have to be the typical thing

you're thinking of the fostering or the

173

: 00:10:15

working, the shift with the hands-on.

174

: 00:10:17

Think about what you are good at and might

be able to contribute and chances are.

175

: 00:10:23

The organization can use

that somehow sometime.

176

: 00:10:27

Dixie: Yeah.

177

: 00:10:27

I think that's great advice.

178

: 00:10:29

If you're interested, you wanna

help animals just to reach

179

: 00:10:31

out to an organization Yeah.

180

: 00:10:33

And say, Hey, I don't know if you can use

this, but this is what I can offer you.

181

: 00:10:38

And I think if people did that,

they would be very surprised,

182

: 00:10:41

Tammy: and the other examples

of photography, we always need

183

: 00:10:43

good pictures of the cats.

184

: 00:10:45

Graphic design, we always

need that kind of thing.

185

: 00:10:49

Anyone who's willing to organize and

house materials, I just ran this auction

186

: 00:10:53

and I have just gobs and gobs of items

that needed to be packaged and have

187

: 00:10:59

cute little names for the packages put

together and then hold onto 'em and then

188

: 00:11:03

label them and just having people help

organize and prettify little auction

189

: 00:11:08

baskets or whatever it might be like.

190

: 00:11:10

That's a skill too, that I don't

necessarily have, so there,

191

: 00:11:14

whatever it might be, it might.

192

: 00:11:16

Seem oh, but this might never be relevant.

193

: 00:11:18

Ask if you love cats and

wanna contribute somehow, ask.

194

: 00:11:24

Dixie: I know wrapping up things for

silent auctions and putting together gift

195

: 00:11:28

baskets, that's something I struggle with.

196

: 00:11:30

I'm not gonna lie.

197

: 00:11:32

Tammy: Yeah.

198

: 00:11:32

No I'm not fulfilling.

199

: 00:11:34

I've figured out how to

photograph the packages, they're

200

: 00:11:37

going to people in plain.

201

: 00:11:38

Paper bags with a label

in their name on it.

202

: 00:11:40

Like it's not fancy how they're getting

delivered, but they're getting the

203

: 00:11:44

good and that's what's important.

204

: 00:11:45

But this was an online option too.

205

: 00:11:47

This wasn't an in-person,

everything laid out on a table.

206

: 00:11:51

It's pretty, 'cause I can't do that.

207

: 00:11:52

The baskets and the

cellophane and the ribbons.

208

: 00:11:54

Now that's not me.

209

: 00:11:55

There are lots of people

can do that, not me.

210

: 00:11:57

Dixie: Yeah.

211

: 00:11:57

Yeah.

212

: 00:11:59

Same with me.

213

: 00:12:00

Now, another thing that I'd like

to talk about, if we can get into

214

: 00:12:04

this a little bit more, we'll

talk about your silent auction.

215

: 00:12:07

Sure.

216

: 00:12:07

Just like putting something

together like that.

217

: 00:12:09

But also since you did do the

adoption bios, if you have any

218

: 00:12:15

advice on what works, what doesn't

work for the adoption bios.

219

: 00:12:21

Tammy: Yeah.

220

: 00:12:22

It's hard because sometimes I

took a different approach to

221

: 00:12:26

them that we're not really doing

anymore because I'm not doing them.

222

: 00:12:30

After a couple years I ran outta steam.

223

: 00:12:33

And, but I took different

approach, a silly.

224

: 00:12:36

Fictional approach.

225

: 00:12:37

Now I'm a writer.

226

: 00:12:38

I've written some fiction, published

some novels, so I was, trying to

227

: 00:12:43

take this sort of creative approach.

228

: 00:12:44

And there was a cat that

would have a lot of.

229

: 00:12:48

A lot of swagger and this would be the

or a cat that was super talkative and

230

: 00:12:53

I would write a bio about that being

your, friendly neighborhood newscaster

231

: 00:13:00

who loved to tell you all about what was

happening in the world of the adoption

232

: 00:13:05

center and was gonna tell you about

their day and give you a commentary.

233

: 00:13:08

And I would personify or, come

up with some human kind of

234

: 00:13:12

role for the cats to try and.

235

: 00:13:15

Add something to the

description of their characters.

236

: 00:13:18

So that was one way I think.

237

: 00:13:21

It's hard to manufacture, especially

when you have a foster who

238

: 00:13:24

gives you they're very friendly.

239

: 00:13:26

They like to flop on your feet and,

rub their cheeks on your hands and

240

: 00:13:30

loves their food and want toys.

241

: 00:13:33

Like it's hard to do something with that.

242

: 00:13:35

And so that's why I tried to pull in

a character to the different cats.

243

: 00:13:39

I've actually been thinking recently

that I should try, and this may

244

: 00:13:44

be a, dirty words for some people,

but that I should try dropping some

245

: 00:13:48

of the short descriptions into AI

and see what it could generate.

246

: 00:13:54

Just to because you just need a

little fluffing around the words,

247

: 00:13:58

and some heartfelt kinds of things.

248

: 00:14:01

And so I, I don't know.

249

: 00:14:02

I feel like I'm not answering this

question very well, but it is something

250

: 00:14:05

I struggled with and that's why I

had tried to pull in some character.

251

: 00:14:09

Dixie: I think you explained it well.

252

: 00:14:11

Because Okay.

253

: 00:14:12

That's what I was asking really, because

I know like for me, when I had foster

254

: 00:14:17

cats and if I was trying to write

a bio for them, you get to a point

255

: 00:14:22

where they almost all sound the same.

256

: 00:14:24

Yes, exactly.

257

: 00:14:25

And you don't want them to all sound the

same, because when people are reading

258

: 00:14:29

the bios and if you're just trying

to get their attention with the bios,

259

: 00:14:33

some people, of course, if the cat's

reaching out the cage, they're gonna

260

: 00:14:35

gravitate towards that cat anyway.

261

: 00:14:37

But you do have people that like

to read the bios and sometimes

262

: 00:14:41

they might go to an adoption center

when all the cats are sleeping.

263

: 00:14:45

And so in cases like that, you do

wanna have a good adoption bio.

264

: 00:14:49

You wanna have something that's gonna

attract their attention and I do find that

265

: 00:14:54

, a lot of places they all sound just very

generic and the same and Yeah, I know a

266

: 00:15:01

couple of weeks ago I spoke with Christie

Keith and she was saying that, having a

267

: 00:15:05

more silly approach and humorous approach

actually reaches different people.

268

: 00:15:11

And I've noticed that too with mine

because my rescue's unwanted feline

269

: 00:15:14

organization, so our acronym is UFO.

270

: 00:15:16

So we lean towards everything spacey.

271

: 00:15:19

It works, which is great.

272

: 00:15:20

I love that.

273

: 00:15:22

And I do think it reaches people

differently from just that

274

: 00:15:26

generic bio that you always see.

275

: 00:15:30

Tammy: Yeah.

276

: 00:15:31

Yeah, I know.

277

: 00:15:32

It's making me feel like I wanna go back

and start writing these again because

278

: 00:15:36

it's so much more fun to have a hook.

279

: 00:15:39

Than just the sort of standard, yeah.

280

: 00:15:41

This is a people focus cat

or this is a cat's cat, or,

281

: 00:15:45

Dixie: yeah.

282

: 00:15:45

And

283

: 00:15:46

Tammy: it

284

: 00:15:46

Dixie: is definitely hard.

285

: 00:15:47

It really is hard.

286

: 00:15:48

I do think it definitely takes

some creativity to come up with

287

: 00:15:52

something that doesn't sound like

just the standard adoption bio.

288

: 00:15:57

Tammy: Yeah.

289

: 00:15:58

I was thinking about this

earlier today and thinking I

290

: 00:16:00

really should go back and look.

291

: 00:16:01

I got to a point where I

wasn't writing them for kittens

292

: 00:16:04

because kittens don't last long.

293

: 00:16:05

But for the adults, who take longer or

the sort of late teens that take longer

294

: 00:16:11

to get adopted, I really should go back in

and start trying to do a little more with

295

: 00:16:18

what are probably some pretty short bios.

296

: 00:16:20

So circle back to where I started.

297

: 00:16:22

Uhhuh would probably be a

good thing for me to do.

298

: 00:16:25

So there's so many things to do.

299

: 00:16:28

That's the thing I'm sure

it's the same for you.

300

: 00:16:30

There are so many things you could do.

301

: 00:16:33

You have to decide which

ones you're going to do.

302

: 00:16:36

'Cause you can't do 'em.

303

: 00:16:38

Dixie: With the work that

you do with the media, yeah.

304

: 00:16:41

Do you actually approach the media?

305

: 00:16:43

Do you put out press releases or do

you wait for the media to approach the

306

: 00:16:46

organization before you get involved?

307

: 00:16:50

Tammy: At this point, it's mostly been

waiting for the media to approach us.

308

: 00:16:56

I'm not active.

309

: 00:16:57

I'm not doing much active reaching out.

310

: 00:16:58

Our founder does some of that on occasion.

311

: 00:17:01

It's mostly that she'll reach out

to me and say, Hey, got a request

312

: 00:17:07

or sent out a pitch and they wanna

come see the adoption center.

313

: 00:17:11

Hey, there's a local mayoral

candidate who's visiting businesses

314

: 00:17:14

in the city that we're in.

315

: 00:17:16

And they'll come do a little

video if we show 'em around or

316

: 00:17:19

talking to you on a podcaster.

317

: 00:17:21

I met a podcaster a couple

podcasters at Cat Con last year.

318

: 00:17:26

And just even if they aren't in the

area,, I did an interview with someone

319

: 00:17:30

based in Los Angeles, and we're down

in San Diego and that's not really

320

: 00:17:34

overlapping communities, but I figured

the more anyone is out there and willing

321

: 00:17:40

to talk about what's going on in cat

rescue and the cat overpopulation

322

: 00:17:44

program problem, the better.

323

: 00:17:47

So I guess I do a little bit of.

324

: 00:17:50

Putting myself out there and reaching

out when I hear about things,

325

: 00:17:54

but I'm not actively pitching

with press releases and stuff.

326

: 00:17:57

I would like to, I, one of the things that

I have been stymied by is a good media

327

: 00:18:04

list because that's a thing you gotta

have, and it's hard to generate one if

328

: 00:18:09

you haven't really ever done it before.

329

: 00:18:11

It's on the list.

330

: 00:18:15

Dixie: Yeah, that's not

something I'm familiar with yet,

331

: 00:18:17

Tammy: yeah.

332

: 00:18:18

Yeah.

333

: 00:18:18

Me either.

334

: 00:18:19

I've looked around like, how

do you even reach these people?

335

: 00:18:21

And I did a little investigation

and I just don't really even know.

336

: 00:18:26

So I moved on to something I could impact.

337

: 00:18:30

Dixie: The silent auction that

you're getting together that's

338

: 00:18:33

online, is that benefiting a certain

project for your organization or

339

: 00:18:38

is it just an an overall auction?

340

: 00:18:41

Tammy: Overall auction general

funds we, , it just actually just

341

: 00:18:44

completed, I ran it for a week, went

Sunday the 12th to Sunday the 19th.

342

: 00:18:49

And we had about 110, 109 items.

343

: 00:18:53

Some of them were things like.

344

: 00:18:56

Tickets to the San Diego

Zoo or Safari Park.

345

: 00:18:59

Some of them were collection of

collections of cat lady box items,

346

: 00:19:05

t-shirts and hats and tumblers and

cookie cutters and things like that.

347

: 00:19:10

Some of them were people

offering their own expertise.

348

: 00:19:15

Someone's gonna hand crochet a beanie and

someone else is gonna give someone the

349

: 00:19:18

cowgirl experience with her horse locally.

350

: 00:19:21

And some of them were cat

goods, toys, litter boxes, wall

351

: 00:19:27

hammocks, those kinds of things.

352

: 00:19:29

So it was a big variety

of kinds of materials.

353

: 00:19:32

It was whatever we could generate.

354

: 00:19:34

And just to gather general funds pitched

it as, this is our, in honor of our 15th

355

: 00:19:42

anniversary 'cause life love your feral

felines, or LYFF turns 15 this month.

356

: 00:19:48

Before I volunteered for LYFF, I had run

a silent auction for another purpose.

357

: 00:19:56

And so I had a little bit of experience

and I'd had some success with that.

358

: 00:20:01

And so I brought that to the

table and was like, how about I

359

: 00:20:05

try an online option with stuff?

360

: 00:20:07

And we're also able to

get, things donated.

361

: 00:20:10

PetSmart will give us, toys , in

November, they'll give us some

362

: 00:20:14

of their leftover Halloween toys.

363

: 00:20:16

And San Diego Humane Society often get

donations from chewy of things that,

364

: 00:20:22

didn't sell or were returned or whatever.

365

: 00:20:24

And they'll open their warehouse

to local rescues sometimes.

366

: 00:20:28

And we can get some goods like that.

367

: 00:20:31

So I, this was actually the

fourth of these auctions that

368

: 00:20:34

I've done over the years.

369

: 00:20:35

And now it has some momentum

because people will donate random

370

: 00:20:39

things during the year and.

371

: 00:20:41

Then whoever gets that in will

hit me up and say, Hey, you want

372

: 00:20:46

to save this for the auction?

373

: 00:20:47

And we'll toss it in our storage facility

and come back to it when it's time.

374

: 00:20:51

So it's been a decent little money maker.

375

: 00:20:55

So we're, this time it

brought in nearly $6,000.

376

: 00:21:01

Wow,

377

: 00:21:01

Dixie: that's amazing.

378

: 00:21:02

That's great.

379

: 00:21:03

Tammy: Yeah.

380

: 00:21:04

Yeah.

381

: 00:21:05

Yeah I'm pretty pleased with that.

382

: 00:21:07

Dixie: Do you find it's growing every year

since you've been doing it for a while now

383

: 00:21:13

, Tammy: That's really hard to say.

384

: 00:21:16

I feel like we don't get the reach.

385

: 00:21:22

That would help us.

386

: 00:21:24

But we also, we have a lot of

physical goods, so it's also

387

: 00:21:27

hard to say that people in other

states should, bid on things.

388

: 00:21:32

So I would like more

participation from bidders.

389

: 00:21:39

Certainly the quality of items

and the variety is growing.

390

: 00:21:44

This year I got connected to.

391

: 00:21:47

A couple organizations where if you are

a registered nonprofit and qualify with

392

: 00:21:53

them, just basically proving you're a

registered nonprofit you can pay a fee.

393

: 00:21:59

It is not that much and you

can cancel it at any time.

394

: 00:22:02

Like you can pay for it

for a month and then not.

395

: 00:22:05

And then you have access to

all kinds of organizations and

396

: 00:22:09

companies that will donate to

nonprofits for fundraising things.

397

: 00:22:14

So that's how I got zoo tickets and to.

398

: 00:22:17

Two tickets for a bay cruise in San Diego.

399

: 00:22:21

And tickets to the wax museum in

Hollywood and a local fitness guru.

400

: 00:22:26

One hour session, holistic

fitness thing and a whole bunch

401

: 00:22:30

of other kinds of activities.

402

: 00:22:32

There was , an in-home wine sampling,

wine tasting party for up to 12 people.

403

: 00:22:37

So a bunch of kind of random

things, testing the waters

404

: 00:22:40

basically to see what would appeal.

405

: 00:22:42

I've also been trying to do these

at different times of the year

406

: 00:22:47

to see what produces the best.

407

: 00:22:50

Is this April too late?

408

: 00:22:53

Because people are

starting to think about.

409

: 00:22:56

Summer and planning and using their

money there, or is December good because

410

: 00:23:02

it's before Christmas and maybe they're

thinking about, buying themselves

411

: 00:23:05

or their friends Christmas person.

412

: 00:23:06

I don't know.

413

: 00:23:07

But then also you have to take

into account what's happening in

414

: 00:23:11

the economy and the world at these

different times in different years.

415

: 00:23:15

So it, it's hard.

416

: 00:23:18

I don't know.

417

: 00:23:18

There are a lot of different variables.

418

: 00:23:19

It's hard to isolate them and come

to definitive conclusions, but I feel

419

: 00:23:23

like we at least are getting better

about what kinds of items will sell

420

: 00:23:29

and are interesting and how to get

the word out, that kind of thing

421

: 00:23:34

Dixie: right now.

422

: 00:23:36

Do you do a lot of advertising on

social media for this or do you

423

: 00:23:40

host it on social media or is it

on just like your regular website?

424

: 00:23:45

Tammy: No, all over social media.

425

: 00:23:47

Lots we did a couple posts ahead

of the auction and then we had

426

: 00:23:52

four or five during the week of

the auction and we're gonna do a

427

: 00:23:56

thank you post plus I was posting.

428

: 00:23:59

Stories, and this is really

just Instagram and Facebook.

429

: 00:24:03

I was posting like six stories a day

featuring different individual items,

430

: 00:24:08

trying to drive some traffic there.

431

: 00:24:10

Yeah I, and , we sent a

newsletter to our mailing list.

432

: 00:24:14

, I feel like there's more we could

have done and probably that's where

433

: 00:24:17

I would need this in a press release.

434

: 00:24:19

So there's more we could do, I think,

but baby steps, I think we get a little

435

: 00:24:25

better each time we do one of these.

436

: 00:24:29

Dixie: Yeah.

437

: 00:24:29

It seems like you did have a a

great fundraiser that's great that

438

: 00:24:32

you were able to raise that much.

439

: 00:24:33

Yeah.

440

: 00:24:35

Tammy: Yeah.

441

: 00:24:36

One of the things we do that I will

throw out there and I wanna say, if

442

: 00:24:39

anyone out there in rescue wants to

ask any questions and about running

443

: 00:24:43

one, I'm happy to talk about it.

444

: 00:24:44

One of the things we did was put in

items in the auction for sponsor a litter

445

: 00:24:52

of kittens and sponsor an adult cat.

446

: 00:24:55

And those.

447

: 00:24:57

We're pretty popular.

448

: 00:24:59

They're a higher price point

starting, so it's not the $20 set

449

: 00:25:04

of t-shirts or something like that.

450

: 00:25:06

But a lot of people really like to

be able to sponsor a lit of kittens.

451

: 00:25:12

We telling they can name them and they'll

get frequent updates, photos and things.

452

: 00:25:17

So that's a nice thing to do.

453

: 00:25:19

Again, we're doing that work anyway.

454

: 00:25:20

It takes a little bit of extra effort to

do the updating of, send pictures and send

455

: 00:25:26

milestone information to the sponsors.

456

: 00:25:28

But it's a nice way to

bring the community in.

457

: 00:25:32

Dixie: Now when you do something like

that and you say you send them the

458

: 00:25:36

milestone updates, do you try to follow

up even after the kittens get adopted?

459

: 00:25:42

If people send you updates,

do you send them updated?

460

: 00:25:44

I guess the post-adoption updates,

461

: 00:25:48

Tammy: So we really only get

post-adoption updates once at about

462

: 00:25:52

six months if the adopters respond.

463

: 00:25:55

So we don't always necessarily get them.

464

: 00:25:57

If we re remember, we will

do that, but mostly it ends

465

: 00:26:01

with the, an adoption photo.

466

: 00:26:04

'Cause there's no guarantee that we're

gonna hear after the adoption, so it's

467

: 00:26:09

mostly while they're in care and then

an adoption photo with their new family.

468

: 00:26:15

Dixie: Yeah, and I would

love to include your contact

469

: 00:26:17

information in the show notes.

470

: 00:26:19

That way in case anybody does have any

questions, they could reach out to you.

471

: 00:26:24

Tammy: Absolutely.

472

: 00:26:25

Dixie: Absolutely.

473

: 00:26:26

Before we end the call, I would like

you to just tell us a little bit

474

: 00:26:29

more about lyff and the programs

that you offer and what y'all do.

475

: 00:26:36

Tammy: Sure.

476

: 00:26:36

Yeah.

477

: 00:26:37

So LOVE YOUR FERAL FELINES was

started in: 2011

478

: 00:26:42

She decided one year for her birthday,

she wanted to do something that

479

: 00:26:46

wasn't about her necessarily, and

she started volunteering at a local

480

: 00:26:50

shelter, and that's when she became

very upset by the lack of outlet.

481

: 00:26:57

Four feral cats that were turned in.

482

: 00:27:00

And that drove her to start

love your feral felines as a

483

: 00:27:03

barn cat placement program.

484

: 00:27:05

Couple years later,, she remained

connected to someone who had worked

485

: 00:27:09

at the shelter, who then left and

brought that person in to start

486

: 00:27:14

our foster and adoption program.

487

: 00:27:17

So those two are the

mainstays of what we do.

488

: 00:27:21

The Foster and adoption program

is really the biggest now.

489

: 00:27:24

We pull.

490

: 00:27:26

At risk felines from

shelter, euthanasia list.

491

: 00:27:30

We don't take from the public.

492

: 00:27:31

We work directly with the shelters to take

in the cats who are at risk due to age.

493

: 00:27:38

Older, young, mostly young, we're

talking neonates or unadoptable

494

: 00:27:42

because they, the too young to be

adopted, whether they're weaned or not.

495

: 00:27:46

Or, but sometimes older cats.

496

: 00:27:49

Maybe at risk because of health problems.

497

: 00:27:52

Sick, A broken leg, those an eye

infection needs an enucleation,

498

: 00:27:57

whatever or temperament.

499

: 00:27:59

Sometimes it's the spicy ones.

500

: 00:28:01

And, but we've also had.

501

: 00:28:03

Barn cats, quote unquote, come into the

program as a barn cat, and discovered

502

: 00:28:08

that really they were just shut down

and terrified in the shelter situation.

503

: 00:28:13

And so then they come into the

adoption program as socialized cats.

504

: 00:28:18

So those two are the mainstays.

505

: 00:28:20

. Over the 15 years, we've impacted more

than 10,000 lives, and that's through

506

: 00:28:25

barn cat placement, foster and adoption

through some TNR through some low cost

507

: 00:28:31

spay and neuter work that we've done.

508

: 00:28:33

We had a program we're

working to reestablish that.

509

: 00:28:36

We lost our primary partner for

that to be able to offer low cost

510

: 00:28:40

spay and neuter to the community.

511

: 00:28:42

And, but that's something that we.

512

: 00:28:44

Really want to be able to do and

wanna work back, work ourselves back

513

: 00:28:49

toward doing as we're developing new

relationships with a number of different

514

: 00:28:53

veterinary partners we also go out

and do education as much as possible,

515

: 00:28:58

whether that's, live in the community,

or we have some educational material

516

: 00:29:02

for school children on our website.

517

: 00:29:05

I think I mentioned we do some TNR also

working towards trying to bring that back.

518

: 00:29:11

We have some programs for Girl Scouts

to come get a badge and tour our

519

: 00:29:16

adoption center and learn about cats.

520

: 00:29:18

And a lot of these are volunteer

driven kinds of endeavors, right?

521

: 00:29:22

The Girl Scouts thing was

because a specific volunteer had

522

: 00:29:26

a desire to make that happen.

523

: 00:29:28

So kind of fingers in a lot of pies,

but it's all because we also see like

524

: 00:29:35

the full circle of the problem, right?

525

: 00:29:37

We can't foster our way out of

the cat overpopulation crisis,

526

: 00:29:42

and so we have to try and.

527

: 00:29:44

Do what we can to address the

root cause of that problem.

528

: 00:29:48

And that's helping people get cat spayed

and neutered and t and r and community

529

: 00:29:53

cats so they're not, creating more

bigger colonies and that kind of thing.

530

: 00:29:58

So we are all volunteer and we're

just a lot of people running around

531

: 00:30:05

doing all kinds of different things.

532

: 00:30:06

'cause we love cats and wanna

try and take care of as many.

533

: 00:30:10

It's possible.

534

: 00:30:11

And 15 years we're still doing it.

535

: 00:30:14

Dixie: Yeah.

536

: 00:30:14

We definitely need more cat

advocates in the world, I really

537

: 00:30:18

enjoyed talking to you about this.

538

: 00:30:20

It's a great job that y'all are doing.

539

: 00:30:21

Tammy: Yeah, thank you.

540

: 00:30:24

And you too, and I appreciate

you spreading the word.

541

: 00:30:27

We need more of that too.

542

: 00:30:28

Dixie: Yeah.

543

: 00:30:28

And what is your website?

544

: 00:30:31

Tammy: It is love your feral felines.com.

545

: 00:30:35

Dixie: I'm gonna put that in the show

notes and with some of your contact

546

: 00:30:38

information as well, so that way people

can reach out if they have any questions

547

: 00:30:42

. Tammy: Perfect.

548

: 00:30:43

Thank you, Dixie.

549

: 00:30:44

It was fun to talk.

550

: 00:30:45

Dixie: That's it for today's

episode of Animal Posse.

551

: 00:30:48

If you love what we're doing,

please consider becoming a member.

552

: 00:30:51

Your support directly helps us continue

highlighting the people and stories

553

: 00:30:55

that save lives across the country.

554

: 00:30:57

Just a quick reminder, the views

and opinions expressed by our

555

: 00:31:00

guests are theirs alone and are

provided for entertainment purposes.

556

: 00:31:04

They don't necessarily.

557

: 00:31:06

reflect the official position of the show,

and this information should never replace

558

: 00:31:10

the advice of your own veterinarian.

559

: 00:31:13

Thanks for listening, and

we'll see you next time.