This episode is sponsored-in-part by Maddie's Fund, OcuTrap, and The Community Cat Clinic.

Sandra Cagan spent decades in property management before a milestone birthday and a brief human-interest news story about a New York cat cafe sent her in a new direction. She cold-emailed her county commissioner in Lake County, Florida — "You're gonna think I'm crazy, but this is what I want to do" — and had his support within the hour. The Orlando Cat Cafe opened in September 2016 as Florida's first cat cafe, and this year marks its 10th anniversary alongside the Community Cats Podcast's own.

Sandra built it as a business first: a full-service cafe rather than packaged snacks, separate AC and filtration systems to keep the cafe and cat areas from cross-contaminating, and a "sweet spot" of about 28 cats at a time in a 1,000-square-foot play area, refreshed weekly by exclusive shelter partner SPCA Florida. All 489 adoptions facilitated last year sent 100% of the fee straight to SPCA Florida — a public-private model she credits partly to a public administration master's she earned during the pandemic. That same pandemic tested her resolve: Florida ordered the cafe closed, and she kept it shut into late July rather than reopen too soon, paying her staff the whole time. Her advice to other cat cafe owners: keep six months of reserves and treat the business like any other, rather than publicly asking for help with basics like a broken AC unit.

Ten years in, Sandra has turned that playbook into the country's first cat cafe franchise: 18 months of groundwork, a 500-plus-page operations manual, a $42,750 initial fee, and total investment of roughly $450,000–$650,000 depending on location. She and her team vet franchisees closely and personally scout a shelter partner in every new market, favoring slow, strategic growth — currently focused on the Southeast — over rapid expansion.

Press Play Now For:

• How a milestone birthday, a chance news story, and one bold email led to Florida's first cat cafe
• Why Sandra runs the cat side and the cafe side as two separate legal entities, with 100% of adoption fees going to her shelter partner
• The financial cushion and mindset that got the Orlando Cat Cafe through a months-long pandemic shutdown without laying off staff
• What it actually takes to become an Orlando Cat Cafe franchisee — from a 500-page operations manual to the investment range
• Why the cats do the matchmaking at the cafe, and how that changes the adoption experience

Resources & Links

• Orlando Cat Cafe: https://www.orlandocatcafe.com
• Orlando Cat Cafe Franchise: https://www.orlandocatcafefranchise.com
• SPCA Florida: https://www.spcaflorida.org

"People have to feel like they are making a difference, not earning a buck."

This episode is sponsored-in-part by Maddie's Fund, OcuTrap, and Neighborhood Cats' TNR Certification Workshop.

Debra Magaldi never set out to run a nonprofit. What began as feeding a neighborhood stray in her alley turned into a chance encounter with Helen Sanders herself, and after Helen's passing in 2005, a small fund to feed her jetty cats grew into CatPAWS, a Long Beach and Orange County organization now operating with an all-volunteer board, paid veterinary contractors, and a growing spay/neuter program. Sixteen years in, Debra brings her business background and MBA to a mission she says still runs on a fundamentally different fuel than any company she's worked for.

Debra and host Stacy LeBaron dig into what it actually takes to build a volunteer-run organization that lasts. Debra pushes back on the advice to "run your nonprofit like a business," arguing that while structure and strategy matter, people show up because they believe in the cause, not because of a bonus or a quota. She's candid about the cost of starting a new program: it takes far more money than founders expect, and grant and donor funding won't arrive until there's a track record to earn it. She also talks through the hard boundary-setting that comes with leadership, including learning to say no to well-meaning ideas that don't fit the organization's priorities.

On the ground, CatPAWS has scaled its spay/neuter access dramatically, moving from a mobile trailer serving only community cats in 2023 to a full surgical suite that opened in 2025 and now serves owned cats as well, with almost 700 cats served since the start of the year and typical wait times of only one to two weeks. Debra also walks through CatPAWS's approach to the question every community cat organization fields constantly: what to do when someone finds a litter of kittens. Her answer starts with checking whether mom is coming back, since kittens who stay with mom have far better survival odds, and points to the organization's "Help, I Found a Cat" guide and DIY kitten kit program as tools that keep vulnerable kittens out of shelters that aren't equipped to bottle-feed around the clock.[/one_second]

[one_second]Press Play Now For:

• How CatPAWS grew from a single alley cat colony into a 16-year-old nonprofit
• Why Debra treats volunteer time as equivalent to a financial donation
• The real difference between running a nonprofit and running a business, and where the "run it like a business" advice breaks down
• What it actually costs to launch a new program, and why grants and donors won't be there on day one
• CatPAWS's mobile trailer-to-surgical-suite spay/neuter expansion and current wait times
• What to actually do when you find a litter of kittens — and why waiting for mom matters

Resources & Links

• Helen Sanders CatPAWS
• CatPAWS Spay/Neuter Assistance
• CatPAWS Who We Are & What We Do

"It is not a lack of care or love. They love, love, love their cats. They would do anything to give their cat a longer life."

This episode is sponsored-in-part by Maddie's Fund, OcuTrap, and Feline Infectious Disease Summit 2026.

Host Stacy LeBaron talks with Gina Fortunato, Executive Director of CATalyst Council, and Kristin Wuhrman, the organization's Chair and co-founder/Chief Experience Officer of CatsOnly Veterinary Services, about a stark gap in feline care: cats now make up nearly half of U.S. household pets, yet get only a fraction of the veterinary visits dogs do. CATalyst Council, founded in 2008, exists to close that gap with data.

Gina explains how a decade-old feline usage study first exposed the problem, while years of "veterinary visits are declining" headlines actually masked cat visits quietly climbing as dog visits fell. She also flags a number that matters to TNR advocates directly: over half of cats are acquired through informal channels rather than shelters, meaning they may never enter a system connected to routine care.

Kristin breaks down the real barriers between cat parents and the vet — affordability, carrier stress, and the myth that adult cats need less care — and the data behind them: 93% of cat parents call wellness visits important, but only 51% follow through. She and Gina talk through what's actually working: reframing reminders around a longer life rather than a routine shot, flexible visit schedules, and mobile vet care reaching cats who'd otherwise go without.

The conversation closes on Kristin's own work building CatsOnly Veterinary Services, a feline-only hospital model minimizing stress from car to exam room, and a lighter note: the "crazy cat lady" stereotype no longer holds up, with cat ownership now split evenly by gender and a rising share of millennial cat dads.

Press Play Now For:

• Why cats now outnumber dogs in growth rate, yet get only a fraction of the veterinary visits
• How CATalyst Council uses data to separate the "dog visits are down" headlines from what's actually happening with cats
• The surprising stat that over half of cats are acquired through informal channels rather than shelters or breeders
• The four biggest barriers standing between cat parents and the vet — and which one might surprise you
• Why 93% of cat parents say wellness visits matter, but only 51% actually follow through
• How reframing a vet reminder around a cat's longer life can change a cat parent's behavior
• The growing role of mobile veterinary care in closing the access gap
• An inside look at CatsOnly Veterinary Services, a new feline-only hospital model built to minimize stress from car to exam room
• Why the "crazy cat lady" stereotype no longer matches the data — and the rise of the cat dad
• How the broader animal health and welfare ecosystem can better collaborate to serve every cat, from community colonies to household companions

Resources & Links

• CATalyst Council
• CatsOnly Veterinary Services
• Mission Meow