Language That Harms Cats

Dr. Julie Levy is the Fran Marino Professor of Shelter Medicine Education at the University of Florida, where she focuses on the health and welfare of animals in shelters, feline infectious diseases, and humane alternatives for cat population control. She founded Operation Catnip, a nonprofit university-based community cat trap-neuter-return program that has spayed, neutered, and vaccinated more than 65,000 cats in Gainesville since 1998. In 2008, she joined Dr. Cynda Crawford to found Maddie’s Shelter Medicine Program at the College of Veterinary Medicine, an educational and discovery initiative with a global impact on the care of homeless animals. In 2014, she joined Dr. Kate Hurley to launch the Million Cat Challenge, a shelter-based campaign to save millions of cats in shelters across North America.

Monica Frenden-Tarant is the Director of Feline Lifesaving at American Pets Alive!, an instructor for the American Pets Alive!'s Maddie’s® Lifesaving Academy, and a City of Austin Animal Advisory Commissioner. Before teaching the Austin No Kill Model to students, she founded a trap-neuter-return organization in rural Illinois and pioneered one of the nation's first, and largest, working cat programs. In 2012, she joined Austin Pets Alive! where she served as the Cat Program Manager, led her team to an 88 percent growth in cat adoptions, and helped Austin achieve a citywide 98 percent live release rate for cats. Monica is a frequent speaker and advisor on innovative ways to save every cat, including cats with feline leukemia, community cats, and shelter cats in need of medical care.

Danielle Jo Bays is the senior analyst for cat protection and policy at the Humane Society of the United States, with more than 20 years of experience advocating for various animals. Danielle began her journey to professional cat lady by conducting trap-neuter-return in her own backyard. Now she works with animal shelters, cat advocates, policymakers, and other stakeholders to broaden support for and increase the impact of community cat programs nationwide. She is a co-author of The Return-to-Field Handbook, which recently won a Muse Medallion from the Cat Writers Association. Just prior to joining the HSUS in 2015, she spent 5 years building a pro-active community cat program in Washington DC and has TNRd more cats than she can count. Danielle holds a B.S. in Animal Science from Cornell University and a M.S. in Animals and Public Policy from Tufts University. She lives with five cats and a catio in Washington, DC.