Hip to Be Snipped!
Join Isabel and Deborah Cribbs for a lively chat about testicles - yes, you read that well - and Scooter The Neutered Cat. Deborah is the Director of the Joanie Bernard Foundation and Founder of Give Them Ten, a movement to promote spaying and neutering cats. She shares the organization's history and inspiration behind the movement's awesome branding, including a video about the history of cat lovers and those that don't quite get the appeal.
During the show, we get to know Scooter, the face of feline spay and neuter. Isabel asks how Scooter feels about his slogan "Hip Spectacles, No Testicles" and whether or not he's a fan of wearing sunglasses. They also discuss the importance of controlling pet populations and how pet lovers can get involved.
Tune in to this fun yet informative episode and share it with fellow cat lovers to spread the word about Give Them Ten and their invaluable efforts to give cats ten lives through spay and neuter.
Listen to Episode #122 Now:
Scooter the Neutered Cat
BIO:
Scooter the Neutered Cat™ took Greater Cincinnati and the nation by storm in 2013 with an edgy, irreverent and hilarious campaign that encouraged spay/neuter and feline education with the goal of creating a more cat-caring community. Nearly nine years later, Scooter the Neutered Cat’s™ initiatives have been an unequivocal success. The shelter live-release rate (percentage of cats that enter shelters and are released/adopted) was merely 37% for cats in Cincinnati when Scooter™ debuted. Today, that rate is more than 95%.
These tremendous results are thanks to several factors, people and organizations, including the leadership of Deborah Cribbs, a director of the Joanie Bernard Foundation and founder and leader of the Give Them Ten™ Movement — the parent organizations of Scooter the Neutered Cat™. Today, Cribbs considers herself “Scooter’s™ mother” and has committed herself to improving the (nine) lives of cats.
Transcript:
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Announcer: This is Pet Life Radio.
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Announcer: Let's talk pets.
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Isabel Alvarez Arata: Welcome to Covered in Pet Hair, a boozy show for pet lovers on Pet Life Radio.
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Isabel Alvarez Arata: I'm your host, Isabel Alvarez Arata and today I have the pleasure of having a drink and a chat with a cat lover that is trying to make pets' nine lives the best they can possibly be and give them ten.
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Isabel Alvarez Arata: I will tell you all about her and introduce you as soon as we come back from these messages from our sponsors.
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Isabel Alvarez Arata: Hi, I'm Isabel Alvarez Arata, the host of Covered In Pet Hair.
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Isabel Alvarez Arata: You know the expression, cats have nine lives?
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Isabel Alvarez Arata: Well, what if you could give them one more?
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Isabel Alvarez Arata: The Give Them Ten movement is on a mission to help give cats an extra life.
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Isabel Alvarez Arata: How?
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Isabel Alvarez Arata: With spay and neuter.
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Isabel Alvarez Arata: Spaying and neutering your cat helps them live a longer, healthier life.
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Isabel Alvarez Arata: And it helps control re-roaming cat populations too.
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Isabel Alvarez Arata: Learn more about the benefits of spay and neuter and meet Scooter, the neutered cat, at givethemten.org.
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Announcer: Let's talk pets on petliferadio.com.
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Isabel Alvarez Arata: Welcome back to Covered In Pet Hair.
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Isabel Alvarez Arata: I'm your host, Isabel Alvarez Arata, and today I have the pleasure of having a drink and a chat with a pet parent, a rescue advocate.
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Isabel Alvarez Arata: She's a banker and a fiduciary.
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Isabel Alvarez Arata: She's wife to Alex, cat mom to Yasmita and Grigio.
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Isabel Alvarez Arata: She's originally from Houston, Texas, and was raised and now lives in the Cincinnati area.
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Isabel Alvarez Arata: She is the director of the Joanie Bernard Foundation and the founder of Give Them Ten, a movement to promote spay and neuter in cats.
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Isabel Alvarez Arata: She is Deborah Cribbs.
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Isabel Alvarez Arata: Welcome.
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Isabel Alvarez Arata: It's so good to have you on the show, Deborah.
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Deborah Cribbs: Thank you.
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Deborah Cribbs: I'm so happy to be here and to have a drink and a chat.
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Isabel Alvarez Arata: Yes, absolutely.
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Isabel Alvarez Arata: I love having a drink and a chat with a fellow cat lover who loves a pond about cats.
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Isabel Alvarez Arata: And we're going to have a lot of punny chats about cats today.
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Isabel Alvarez Arata: But first I want to introduce my drinking game for the day.
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Isabel Alvarez Arata: And for those tuning in either on video or on Pet Life Radio, anytime you hear this word, the secret word is spectacles.
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Isabel Alvarez Arata: Take a drink of whatever you're enjoying, but please be over 21 in the US to partake in an alcoholic beverage.
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Isabel Alvarez Arata: Never drink and drive and always drink responsibly.
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Isabel Alvarez Arata: So there's a video that Give Them Ten has out.
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Isabel Alvarez Arata: And if you guys haven't seen it, you have to look it up.
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Isabel Alvarez Arata: It goes through like historic times about how some people love cats and how people just don't like cats.
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Isabel Alvarez Arata: And at one point in like 1972, in this chronological history of cat loving people, there's two guys arguing about whether or not you can have cats in the bar.
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Isabel Alvarez Arata: Cats in the bar not allowed.
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Isabel Alvarez Arata: Cats in the bar always allowed.
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Isabel Alvarez Arata: In my bar, they're always allowed.
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Isabel Alvarez Arata: I have a cat named Van Gogh who always gets to have a little bit of something cat friendly while I'm making anything in the bar, at the bar, at the kitchen, anything.
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Isabel Alvarez Arata: So what are you joining us with today and is it cat friendly?
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Deborah Cribbs: Well, I have tea with lemon today and Grigio is nearby right down there and he does not care for tea with lemon.
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Deborah Cribbs: He thinks he does, but then as soon as he gets close to it, no, he doesn't.
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Isabel Alvarez Arata: No, exactly.
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Isabel Alvarez Arata: So I just purchased a tea for cats that is like basically like a catnip infusion where you're supposed to brew it and just kind of let it cool and then just leave it out for your cat to lap up.
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Isabel Alvarez Arata: And I haven't made it yet because, you know, life's busy to be making cat tea, tea for cats, but I'm gonna get there.
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Isabel Alvarez Arata: I feel like one day I'm gonna get to the point where I feel like I'm relaxing enough that me and my cat can both have a cup of tea together.
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Isabel Alvarez Arata: But in the meantime, I'm having coffee, a strong, sweet coffee topped with whipped cream, which again, he can share the whipped cream, but just not the coffee.
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Isabel Alvarez Arata: So cheers.
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Isabel Alvarez Arata: Thank you so much for being my guest.
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Isabel Alvarez Arata: Here's to you.
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Isabel Alvarez Arata: Well, I want to get into Give Them 10.
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Isabel Alvarez Arata: I'm wearing the Give Them 10 t-shirt.
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Isabel Alvarez Arata: Gonna show.
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Isabel Alvarez Arata: It's hip to be snipped.
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Isabel Alvarez Arata: So the t-shirt says it's hip to be snipped for those that are listening.
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Isabel Alvarez Arata: I am wearing it.
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Isabel Alvarez Arata: It's awesome.
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Isabel Alvarez Arata: I love the colors.
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Isabel Alvarez Arata: It's black t-shirt with bright orange writing, the photo or the, I guess, sketch of a cat wearing sunglasses who's supposed to be Scooter, the neutered cat.
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Isabel Alvarez Arata: And we're going to dig into Scooter and get to know Scooter.
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Isabel Alvarez Arata: But first, because we're talking about spay and neuter, I want to bust some myths with a game that I've called Myth Snipping, of course, because we're talking about spay and neuter.
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Isabel Alvarez Arata: So let's snip some myths.
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Isabel Alvarez Arata: Are you ready to play?
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Deborah Cribbs: Yes, ma'am.
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Isabel Alvarez Arata: Okay.
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Isabel Alvarez Arata: So when people are asked if they're going to spay or neuter, often their response is, I want to, but it's expensive.
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Isabel Alvarez Arata: Oh, gosh.
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Deborah Cribbs: That's the most common response.
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Deborah Cribbs: And my answer to that is to bust that myth.
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Deborah Cribbs: Most areas of the United States have high-volume, low-cost spay and neuter centers nearby.
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Deborah Cribbs: Look them up online and I'm sure you can access them.
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Deborah Cribbs: As a matter of fact, in the Cincinnati area, if you take a cat in a trap to one of our shelters that participates, you might even get the spay and neuter free.
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Deborah Cribbs: But no, that is a myth.
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Deborah Cribbs: If you look around, you can find a good place.
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Isabel Alvarez Arata: Absolutely, completely agree.
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Isabel Alvarez Arata: Next myth, my indoor cat doesn't need to be snipped.
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Deborah Cribbs: Oh my goodness, I'm gonna bust that one.
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Deborah Cribbs: First of all, your indoor cat, male or female, probably has, they're not fixed, probably has some habits that are not your favorite thing.
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Deborah Cribbs: Females go in heat, they make lots of noise.
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Deborah Cribbs: When they're in heat, wanting to get out and do the thing that nature does tell them to do.
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Deborah Cribbs: Boy cats, spray.
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Deborah Cribbs: These are not good household behaviors.
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Deborah Cribbs: If they, if they neuters, chances are they won't do that behavior.
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Deborah Cribbs: So, right, I'll just stop right there.
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Deborah Cribbs: That's enough to say, yes, your cat does need to be fixed.
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Deborah Cribbs: And by the way, that female will do everything she can to get out.
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Deborah Cribbs: And if she gets out, she's gonna get pregnant.
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Deborah Cribbs: She does need to be fixed, she'll be happy.
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Deborah Cribbs: You, the human, will be happier.
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Isabel Alvarez Arata: Yes, it's behavioral, it's safety.
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Isabel Alvarez Arata: These escape artists get really, really, really risk-taking.
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Isabel Alvarez Arata: You know, they start taking a lot of risk to get out of a house when they are, you know, feeling randy.
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Deborah Cribbs: Especially for the female, way better for her health.
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Deborah Cribbs: There's a lot of data that says the cancer she will not get if she's fixed.
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Isabel Alvarez Arata: Yes, absolutely.
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Isabel Alvarez Arata: The next one is kind of funny to me, but I did take this off of the Give Them Ten website.
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Isabel Alvarez Arata: My cat's gonna get fat if I snip him or her.
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Isabel Alvarez Arata: I mean, that's not how you said it on your website.
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Isabel Alvarez Arata: That's how I interpreted it.
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Isabel Alvarez Arata: But I laughed out loud.
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Deborah Cribbs: That is kind of funny.
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Deborah Cribbs: OK, I'm gonna say it's a pet.
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Deborah Cribbs: I'm gonna be honest.
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Deborah Cribbs: I'm a lover of cats.
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Deborah Cribbs: I'm a cat household person from the beginning of time.
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Deborah Cribbs: But if a cat is neutered and not given an opportunity to have some kind of activity, really any, let's take a step back, an indoor cat has an opportunity to get fat.
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Deborah Cribbs: We all know this.
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Deborah Cribbs: Let's know it.
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Deborah Cribbs: We know it.
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Deborah Cribbs: We really shouldn't let our cats get fat because then they could have diabetes.
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Isabel Alvarez Arata: It's not good for them.
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Deborah Cribbs: It's not good for humans.
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Deborah Cribbs: It's not good for pets.
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Deborah Cribbs: If you get them fit, it is true, a male cat's not gonna have as much wanderlust.
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Deborah Cribbs: Very true.
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Deborah Cribbs: They stay closer to home.
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Deborah Cribbs: Little less exercise quite naturally there.
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Deborah Cribbs: So I'm gonna say as a human, you might have to either watch their eating if you're controlling it inside or try to help them exercise a little bit.
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Deborah Cribbs: But I still say the pros way, way, way outweigh any tiny little cats.
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Isabel Alvarez Arata: Agreed.
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Isabel Alvarez Arata: I mean, we were all indoor cats during the pandemic and some people ran marathons and some people gained weight.
00:08:34.928 --> 00:08:42.728
Isabel Alvarez Arata: So it really depends on the activity, the food consumption, the calorie consumption and just overall health.
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Isabel Alvarez Arata: And I always say that our cats and dogs are not opening the fridge and helping themselves to things.
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Isabel Alvarez Arata: Like we control the amount of food and how often they get it.
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Isabel Alvarez Arata: So we need to use that power to keep them healthy.
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Isabel Alvarez Arata: Next one.
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Isabel Alvarez Arata: My kitten is too young to make kittens.
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Deborah Cribbs: Oh my goodness gracious.
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Deborah Cribbs: That's very on their guidance.
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Deborah Cribbs: And in my experience, the high-volume, low-cost spay-neuter centers are a little bit more aggressive in their time.
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Deborah Cribbs: But I'm going to say just as a general average, I'd love to hear what you say.
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Deborah Cribbs: They can actually get pregnant between six and eight months.
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Deborah Cribbs: So no, they need to be spayed when they're fit in the shelter system.
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Deborah Cribbs: The standard has been for a long time, they will spay-neuter at two pounds and actually even hearing a little bit less than that lately from some shelters, so very small, very small.
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Isabel Alvarez Arata: And you know what, so long as they've gotten all the checkups that they need, the vet will determine whether or not.
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Isabel Alvarez Arata: So take your pet to the vet, take your kitten to the vet from a healthy young age and then plan with your vet.
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Isabel Alvarez Arata: So maybe your vet is a little more conservative, but kittens getting spayed and neutered is very common, very normal and very healthy for them because like you said, it can prevent certain forms of cancer down the line.
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Isabel Alvarez Arata: My cat won't be the same if I spay or neuter him or her.
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Deborah Cribbs: That's not fair, that's a very common myth and I'm going to bust that and say, man I certainly had a lot of experience, I'm sure you have.
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Deborah Cribbs: Aside from what we just said, which okay, the boy kitties might become a little bit lazier, although I would say, again my experience, a little bit more close to the house if they are community cats.
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Deborah Cribbs: They're even a little bit more loving, I think, but they do not lose their personality.
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Deborah Cribbs: The myth really is often around the boy kitties.
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Deborah Cribbs: They lose their macho-ness.
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Deborah Cribbs: Not true.
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Isabel Alvarez Arata: Yes, the macho thing is so silly to me.
00:10:44.748 --> 00:10:47.208
Isabel Alvarez Arata: It's like this isn't you we're sniffing.
00:10:47.208 --> 00:10:48.928
Isabel Alvarez Arata: This is your cat we're sniffing.
00:10:48.928 --> 00:10:52.888
Isabel Alvarez Arata: If the cat is an extension of your manhood, we've got a problem.
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Isabel Alvarez Arata: Okay, but that's a conversation for another time.
00:10:55.628 --> 00:11:00.508
Isabel Alvarez Arata: What about my cat should have the opportunity to be a mama or papa cat?
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Deborah Cribbs: I think there are lots of fun things your cat could do, but that's just not an experience that she needs or he needs to have.
00:11:07.688 --> 00:11:11.068
Deborah Cribbs: I mean, let's be honest, the boy kitties don't have anything to do with it.
00:11:11.068 --> 00:11:13.608
Deborah Cribbs: They're sort of hit and run kind of thing.
00:11:13.608 --> 00:11:15.048
Deborah Cribbs: And the girl kitties, really?
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Deborah Cribbs: You want to saddle them with all that responsibility?
00:11:18.568 --> 00:11:21.568
Deborah Cribbs: All that anguish, pain, the anguish?
00:11:21.568 --> 00:11:23.608
Deborah Cribbs: No, they don't need that responsibility.
00:11:23.608 --> 00:11:26.648
Deborah Cribbs: That is what we call anthropomorphizing.
00:11:26.648 --> 00:11:32.788
Deborah Cribbs: You are taking your human values, and putting them on your companion animal, unnecessarily, fussed.
00:11:32.788 --> 00:11:35.868
Isabel Alvarez Arata: 100%, I love the way you answered that.
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Isabel Alvarez Arata: Anybody who has seen a mama cat with like six kittens biting her at all her nipples, and her having to stimulate them to go potty, and having to keep them warm, and never getting enough food to feel full and satiated for however long it takes, six to eight weeks until they wean.
00:11:54.028 --> 00:11:55.588
Isabel Alvarez Arata: OMG, it's so much work.
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Isabel Alvarez Arata: No cat needs that.
00:11:56.728 --> 00:11:58.808
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Like they don't see it the way we do.
00:11:58.808 --> 00:12:02.328
Isabel Alvarez Arata: This is not a legacy they're trying to leave for the world.
00:12:02.328 --> 00:12:07.908
Isabel Alvarez Arata: This is just them being healthier and happier overall, once they don't have to be mamas.
00:12:07.908 --> 00:12:09.068
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Agreed, 100%.
00:12:09.628 --> 00:12:10.708
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Last one.
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Isabel Alvarez Arata: My cat was expensive.
00:12:12.608 --> 00:12:14.008
Isabel Alvarez Arata: It's a purebred.
00:12:14.008 --> 00:12:18.948
Isabel Alvarez Arata: And I want to have kittens so that I can get my money back on my investment.
00:12:18.948 --> 00:12:32.308
Deborah Cribbs: Okay, on this one, on my opinion, I set aside the whole phenomenon of showcats, of course, and believe it to be a place where cats are very well cared for.
00:12:32.308 --> 00:12:37.428
Deborah Cribbs: I might even believe that they like what you're doing, but I believe that they're very well cared for.
00:12:37.428 --> 00:12:41.788
Deborah Cribbs: I don't think cats are the place that we make investments.
00:12:41.788 --> 00:12:43.828
Deborah Cribbs: Remember what my job is?
00:12:43.828 --> 00:12:44.668
Isabel Alvarez Arata: I'm a banker.
00:12:44.668 --> 00:12:46.668
Deborah Cribbs: That's not an investment.
00:12:46.668 --> 00:12:50.908
Deborah Cribbs: So I would suggest do the world of favor and rescue a cat.
00:12:51.088 --> 00:12:52.728
Deborah Cribbs: Get a color that you like.
00:12:52.728 --> 00:12:53.468
Deborah Cribbs: Fine.
00:12:53.468 --> 00:12:54.508
Deborah Cribbs: But rescue a cat.
00:12:54.508 --> 00:12:56.168
Deborah Cribbs: Stop buying cats.
00:12:56.168 --> 00:13:01.888
Deborah Cribbs: I wish that didn't exist, but again, I'm going to set that aside if they're really show cats.
00:13:01.888 --> 00:13:04.948
Deborah Cribbs: Buying a designer cat, I'm sorry.
00:13:04.948 --> 00:13:06.248
Deborah Cribbs: No from me.
00:13:06.248 --> 00:13:08.688
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Because you're not helping the world.
00:13:08.688 --> 00:13:12.988
Deborah Cribbs: And it would really help the world if you would go rescue a cat.
00:13:12.988 --> 00:13:15.528
Deborah Cribbs: So I do have a little judgment on that one.
00:13:15.548 --> 00:13:16.568
Isabel Alvarez Arata: It's okay to judge.
00:13:16.568 --> 00:13:21.308
Isabel Alvarez Arata: I think that purebred or pedigree breeding has its place like you.
00:13:21.308 --> 00:13:28.628
Isabel Alvarez Arata: CFA opened my eyes to so many things that these breeders are doing to ensure a wonderful lineage.
00:13:28.628 --> 00:13:42.228
Isabel Alvarez Arata: They are not selling their cats until they are spayed or neutered, yes, because they don't want you making money off of the investment and destroying the line that they've worked so hard to maintain, right, and to create.
00:13:42.228 --> 00:13:47.648
Isabel Alvarez Arata: So outside of that very specific niche area, I completely agree with you.
00:13:47.968 --> 00:13:51.148
Isabel Alvarez Arata: First of all, don't invest in a cat, get a cat from the shelter.
00:13:51.148 --> 00:13:52.828
Isabel Alvarez Arata: There are so many beautiful cats.
00:13:52.828 --> 00:14:02.268
Isabel Alvarez Arata: I have a Russian blue mix that I actually call a Las Cruces blue because I just I picked him up up the street in Las Cruces, and he is absolutely beautiful, absolutely amazing.
00:14:02.268 --> 00:14:09.348
Isabel Alvarez Arata: I could not think of a more gorgeous cat, and he just was like a hundred dollar donation, and he is has brought so much joy.
00:14:09.348 --> 00:14:11.428
Isabel Alvarez Arata: So yes, stop breeding cats.
00:14:11.428 --> 00:14:12.668
Isabel Alvarez Arata: You are not a breeder.
00:14:12.668 --> 00:14:16.668
Isabel Alvarez Arata: If you got it from a breeder, they're a breeder, and if they know what they're doing, stop it.
00:14:17.088 --> 00:14:24.888
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Stop, stop, stop, and always if you are going to buy from a breeder, buy from a breeder that's reputable who will probably not let you breed your purchase.
00:14:24.888 --> 00:14:28.448
Isabel Alvarez Arata: So now I want to get to know you because you did say you're a banker.
00:14:28.448 --> 00:14:33.688
Isabel Alvarez Arata: So you're a banker and you ended up as the founder of GiveThem10, but you're also a cat lover.
00:14:33.688 --> 00:14:39.388
Isabel Alvarez Arata: So there has to be something there where you were selected for this position.
00:14:39.688 --> 00:14:40.668
Deborah Cribbs: It just happened.
00:14:40.728 --> 00:14:42.408
Deborah Cribbs: It was life-happening.
00:14:42.408 --> 00:14:46.148
Deborah Cribbs: I managed money for rich people by day for a bank.
00:14:46.248 --> 00:14:55.288
Deborah Cribbs: One of my clients who had an awful lot of money in the family, died young and left a pregnant foundation in my care and the care of my bank.
00:14:55.288 --> 00:15:02.968
Deborah Cribbs: This foundation had a set mission which I had something to do with, that was to benefit cats in the Cincinnati area.
00:15:02.968 --> 00:15:04.368
Deborah Cribbs: That was the mission.
00:15:04.368 --> 00:15:08.668
Deborah Cribbs: It's a really, really narrow mission and it's a huge pot of money.
00:15:09.108 --> 00:15:10.668
Deborah Cribbs: And so it was interesting.
00:15:10.668 --> 00:15:16.848
Deborah Cribbs: It was an interesting journey to take a bunch of business people and say, make sense out of this business people.
00:15:16.848 --> 00:15:25.728
Deborah Cribbs: So really, I think that to me, the interesting part of this story is that for many years in the United States, there have been shelter systems.
00:15:25.728 --> 00:15:29.728
Deborah Cribbs: And for many years, cats have been killed in shelters for space.
00:15:29.728 --> 00:15:39.648
Deborah Cribbs: When we had this big pile of money and we were charged with helping cats in Cincinnati, we decided we don't want to just give every cat a bed and a phone.
00:15:39.648 --> 00:15:40.988
Deborah Cribbs: That's not going to solve a problem.
00:15:40.988 --> 00:15:41.908
Deborah Cribbs: So what's the problem?
00:15:41.908 --> 00:15:45.128
Deborah Cribbs: Well, the problem is cats are being killed in shelters.
00:15:45.128 --> 00:15:47.488
Deborah Cribbs: Why are cats being killed in shelters?
00:15:47.488 --> 00:15:49.528
Deborah Cribbs: Turns out, there are too many cats.
00:15:49.528 --> 00:15:51.388
Deborah Cribbs: Why are there too many cats?
00:15:51.388 --> 00:15:56.128
Deborah Cribbs: That's when we landed on, okay, there are two things we can concentrate on here.
00:15:56.188 --> 00:15:58.148
Deborah Cribbs: Adoption or spay neuter.
00:15:58.148 --> 00:16:04.088
Deborah Cribbs: And spay neuter honestly had a lot more fun in terms of language, low-hanging fruit, get it?
00:16:04.088 --> 00:16:07.288
Deborah Cribbs: We had a lot more fun with the concept of sniffing.
00:16:07.288 --> 00:16:09.028
Deborah Cribbs: It's hip to be sniffed, right?
00:16:09.028 --> 00:16:19.988
Deborah Cribbs: So we decided to concentrate on spay neuter and part of our money goes to talking to the public about it because we also realized as business people, there's a problem here.
00:16:19.988 --> 00:16:22.148
Deborah Cribbs: The problem needs to be solved.
00:16:22.148 --> 00:16:26.228
Deborah Cribbs: If you don't engage the public, who are the people that caused the problem?
00:16:26.228 --> 00:16:28.248
Deborah Cribbs: Because we created companion animals.
00:16:28.248 --> 00:16:32.468
Deborah Cribbs: We made these cats dependent on us on some level.
00:16:32.468 --> 00:16:35.428
Deborah Cribbs: We took their territory out in the wild.
00:16:35.428 --> 00:16:39.748
Deborah Cribbs: We moved them from their normal area into our cities.
00:16:39.748 --> 00:16:41.628
Deborah Cribbs: We have to take care of that.
00:16:41.628 --> 00:16:51.868
Deborah Cribbs: But if we don't talk to the public about it and ask for their help and demand their help, well, we're just going to keep chasing our tail, spinning our wheels and we're never going to solve the problem.
00:16:52.508 --> 00:17:03.568
Deborah Cribbs: So part of our money goes, as we call it, into the air, into an advertising campaign, which is where we met Scooter the neutered cat as our spokes cat.
00:17:03.568 --> 00:17:08.028
Deborah Cribbs: So we talk to the public in a funny, edgy, really cool way.
00:17:08.028 --> 00:17:08.868
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Yeah, absolutely.
00:17:08.868 --> 00:17:10.968
Isabel Alvarez Arata: I love Scooter the neutered cat.
00:17:10.968 --> 00:17:15.388
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Tell me about the evolution of Scooter the neutered cat.
00:17:15.388 --> 00:17:27.068
Deborah Cribbs: Well, you know, Scooter was born in about 2014 and he came to Cincinnati to help us with this problem and speak to the public on the airwaves.
00:17:27.068 --> 00:17:33.548
Deborah Cribbs: We started a campaign and he was invented in the mind of a very creative soul.
00:17:33.548 --> 00:17:34.868
Deborah Cribbs: I'll say that.
00:17:34.868 --> 00:17:42.248
Deborah Cribbs: And we got him to wear hip spectacles and he was neutered, so no testicles.
00:17:42.248 --> 00:17:50.128
Deborah Cribbs: And we put a sweater on him and frankly spent a lot of money and put our first TV app with Scooter the neutered cat.
00:17:50.128 --> 00:17:57.388
Deborah Cribbs: So the evolution was that we really are trying to solve a problem and we've largely solved it in our area.
00:17:57.388 --> 00:18:00.828
Deborah Cribbs: So we really are trying to move outside of Cincinnati now.
00:18:00.828 --> 00:18:09.988
Deborah Cribbs: Our only aim is to help cats and to help ensure that they are not killed in shelter systems everywhere.
00:18:10.028 --> 00:18:13.348
Deborah Cribbs: And they still are to the tune of millions.
00:18:13.348 --> 00:18:17.148
Deborah Cribbs: Things were going pretty pretty well right up to the pandemic.
00:18:17.328 --> 00:18:21.208
Deborah Cribbs: We have lost ground since the pandemic, sadly for a number of reasons.
00:18:21.208 --> 00:18:26.348
Deborah Cribbs: But our only aim and Scooter's only goal is to help cats.
00:18:26.348 --> 00:18:26.928
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Amazing.
00:18:26.928 --> 00:18:28.568
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Well, I want to take a break right here.
00:18:28.568 --> 00:18:37.828
Isabel Alvarez Arata: And when we come back, we're going to talk about some stats and some impressive improvements that we've seen in Cincinnati thanks to all of your campaigns.
00:18:38.228 --> 00:18:40.188
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Don't go anywhere, we will be right back.
00:18:40.188 --> 00:18:42.068
Isabel Alvarez Arata: With Give Them 10.
00:18:44.228 --> 00:18:46.708
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00:19:28.528 --> 00:19:30.408
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00:19:30.468 --> 00:19:33.928
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00:19:33.928 --> 00:19:45.351
Announcer: Welcome back to Covered In Pet Hair.
00:19:45.351 --> 00:19:58.931
Isabel Alvarez Arata: I'm your host, Isabel Alvarez Arata, and today I'm having a conversation with Deborah Cribbs of Give Them Ten, a movement to spay and neuter cats that started in the Cincinnati area and is making some waves.
00:19:58.931 --> 00:20:02.431
Isabel Alvarez Arata: I am so happy to speak with you because I'm so passionate about spay and neuter.
00:20:02.431 --> 00:20:18.251
Isabel Alvarez Arata: I do come from the Latin culture where there's a lot of myth and machismo surrounding spay and neuter and breeding and a lot of, I hate to say the word ignorance, but a lot of ignorance about what the repercussions are of not doing any of these things.
00:20:18.251 --> 00:20:28.231
Isabel Alvarez Arata: So I want to play a game that keeps us up here and then we're going to talk about the stats and the things that you guys can literally take to the bank about how well your campaign is working.
00:20:28.231 --> 00:20:38.071
Isabel Alvarez Arata: So I want to play a game called Hips Spectacles No Testicles, taking from, of course, the slogan that you all created for Scooter the neutered cat.
00:20:38.071 --> 00:20:45.011
Isabel Alvarez Arata: I just want to get to know him a little bit about who he is, his persona, what he does when he's not working, et cetera, et cetera.
00:20:45.011 --> 00:20:46.231
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Are you ready to play?
00:20:46.231 --> 00:20:47.271
Deborah Cribbs: Sure.
00:20:47.271 --> 00:20:49.671
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Let's do this!
00:20:49.671 --> 00:20:54.231
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Did Scooter learn easily to wear sunglasses?
00:20:54.231 --> 00:20:59.251
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Was that something that took time for him to accept, or is he just a fashionista?
00:20:59.251 --> 00:21:06.371
Deborah Cribbs: You know, it's not a natural thing for a cat to want to put on spectacles.
00:21:06.471 --> 00:21:08.011
Deborah Cribbs: This is true.
00:21:08.011 --> 00:21:14.911
Deborah Cribbs: I mean, taking a step back, having Scooter neutering himself, getting neutered, he made that decision.
00:21:14.911 --> 00:21:16.311
Isabel Alvarez Arata: He was all in.
00:21:16.311 --> 00:21:20.011
Deborah Cribbs: He understood that everything in his life would be better.
00:21:20.011 --> 00:21:27.231
Deborah Cribbs: He would be outside, inside, happy, maybe a tiny bit fat, all good.
00:21:27.231 --> 00:21:30.391
Deborah Cribbs: So the hips, spectacles, that was more of a barrier.
00:21:30.391 --> 00:21:31.371
Deborah Cribbs: He didn't like them.
00:21:31.371 --> 00:21:34.471
Deborah Cribbs: They didn't feel natural on his face.
00:21:34.951 --> 00:21:43.611
Deborah Cribbs: But once he saw himself in them, I have to admit, it got much easier to ask them to please put them on.
00:21:43.611 --> 00:21:46.031
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Okay, so a fashionista was born, I feel like.
00:21:46.031 --> 00:21:48.311
Isabel Alvarez Arata: That's really good to know.
00:21:48.311 --> 00:21:50.691
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Does he like being the face of spay and neuter?
00:21:50.691 --> 00:21:54.851
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Because obviously he took that decision himself, but it is putting out his medical history.
00:21:54.851 --> 00:21:56.291
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Does he feel comfortable with that?
00:21:56.291 --> 00:22:00.851
Deborah Cribbs: He does because his goal is to serve the catasphere.
00:22:00.851 --> 00:22:02.011
Deborah Cribbs: That's all he wants to do.
00:22:02.751 --> 00:22:12.471
Deborah Cribbs: He very much believes that spay and neuter is the way to help the shelter system in the United States and to help cats and their people.
00:22:12.471 --> 00:22:16.291
Deborah Cribbs: So he is happy to be transparent with his audience.
00:22:16.291 --> 00:22:17.971
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Yes, I love that.
00:22:17.971 --> 00:22:26.631
Isabel Alvarez Arata: That is so important when people share their people, cats, dogs, share their stories to help people understand from a different point of view.
00:22:26.631 --> 00:22:30.391
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Does he like the slogan, spectacles, no testicles?
00:22:30.451 --> 00:22:33.731
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Did you get his buy-in on that before you started running with it?
00:22:33.731 --> 00:22:37.231
Deborah Cribbs: You know, we ran with that and he kind of caught up.
00:22:37.231 --> 00:22:38.871
Announcer: He likes it.
00:22:38.871 --> 00:22:40.151
Isabel Alvarez Arata: I think it's fantastic.
00:22:40.151 --> 00:22:42.271
Deborah Cribbs: And starting with the glasses.
00:22:42.271 --> 00:22:43.511
Announcer: Yeah.
00:22:43.511 --> 00:22:46.971
Deborah Cribbs: And then he kind of caught on to the language, but he's good with it all now.
00:22:46.971 --> 00:22:47.831
Deborah Cribbs: Yeah, it all works.
00:22:47.851 --> 00:22:48.951
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Amazing.
00:22:48.951 --> 00:22:49.511
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Amazing.
00:22:49.511 --> 00:22:53.751
Isabel Alvarez Arata: And when he's not promoting spay and neuter, what does he do on his downtime?
00:22:53.751 --> 00:22:55.111
Deborah Cribbs: He sleeps.
00:22:55.111 --> 00:22:57.171
Isabel Alvarez Arata: That's pretty typical of a cat.
00:22:57.171 --> 00:22:58.651
Isabel Alvarez Arata: So yeah, he's a cat.
00:22:58.971 --> 00:22:59.591
Isabel Alvarez Arata: He's a cat.
00:22:59.591 --> 00:23:00.731
Isabel Alvarez Arata: It's confirmed.
00:23:00.731 --> 00:23:03.611
Isabel Alvarez Arata: So thank you so much for giving me some background on Scooter.
00:23:03.611 --> 00:23:06.371
Isabel Alvarez Arata: I feel like I know him personally already.
00:23:06.371 --> 00:23:12.151
Isabel Alvarez Arata: But when you guys started your work in 2013, the live release rate in Cincinnati was 37%.
00:23:13.031 --> 00:23:15.071
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Now it's more than 96%.
00:23:16.051 --> 00:23:25.191
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Can you tell us about that cat culture shift that you referred to and like how that even happened, how you made these amazing changes?
00:23:25.191 --> 00:23:25.911
Deborah Cribbs: Sure.
00:23:25.911 --> 00:23:30.571
Deborah Cribbs: I mean, I'll say that partly what we did is talk to the public.
00:23:30.571 --> 00:23:33.351
Deborah Cribbs: And we talked to the public about community cats.
00:23:33.351 --> 00:23:36.531
Deborah Cribbs: And community cats are those cats that you see outside.
00:23:36.531 --> 00:23:43.231
Deborah Cribbs: And what we say is, if you're feeding a cat outside, great, please make sure that cat is spay neutered.
00:23:43.231 --> 00:23:46.971
Deborah Cribbs: Because otherwise, one way or another, there could be kittens from that cat.
00:23:46.971 --> 00:23:57.131
Deborah Cribbs: If you notice the cat who hangs out in your neighborhood, and you're not feeding the cat, but you keep noticing the cat, take the responsibility.
00:23:57.131 --> 00:24:02.411
Deborah Cribbs: Look and see if they have an ear tip, a tiny little slice of their ear sliced off.
00:24:02.411 --> 00:24:04.911
Deborah Cribbs: That's a sign that they've been spay neutered, so that's good.
00:24:04.911 --> 00:24:07.471
Deborah Cribbs: Let that cat go, let that cat thrive.
00:24:07.471 --> 00:24:08.511
Deborah Cribbs: Right here she is.
00:24:08.511 --> 00:24:11.271
Deborah Cribbs: If there's no ear tip, take that responsibility.
00:24:11.271 --> 00:24:13.491
Deborah Cribbs: Do that for the world.
00:24:13.491 --> 00:24:14.871
Deborah Cribbs: Do it for yourself.
00:24:14.871 --> 00:24:20.791
Deborah Cribbs: You don't want unneutered boy cats in your neighborhood spraying your houses.
00:24:20.791 --> 00:24:24.651
Deborah Cribbs: We've already talked about, do it for your cats inside, but do it for your cats outside.
00:24:25.071 --> 00:24:31.511
Deborah Cribbs: So we started talking to the public, but mostly we fund, we're a funding organization.
00:24:31.511 --> 00:24:35.731
Deborah Cribbs: So we funded, we found great shelter partners that were already working.
00:24:35.731 --> 00:24:44.771
Deborah Cribbs: Maybe we helped make them better, but we worked with them and on the ground, these shelters started community cat programs in all the areas where we fund.
00:24:44.771 --> 00:24:55.691
Deborah Cribbs: There are community cat programs, and you can go from a terrible live release rate where literally only 30% of the cats in the Cincinnati shelters were coming out alive.
00:24:55.691 --> 00:25:00.231
Deborah Cribbs: That's terrible, and it's happening still all over the United States.
00:25:00.231 --> 00:25:05.671
Deborah Cribbs: But in our area, no cat is killed for space anymore, absolutely.
00:25:05.671 --> 00:25:08.671
Deborah Cribbs: And that's because the local shelters bought in.
00:25:08.671 --> 00:25:10.871
Deborah Cribbs: They're like, you're right, how can we do that?
00:25:10.871 --> 00:25:20.131
Deborah Cribbs: So we have consultants, we've got experts, we get them to create a coalition, they band together, they help each other, they communicate daily sometimes.
00:25:20.611 --> 00:25:22.751
Deborah Cribbs: So a lot has gone into it.
00:25:22.751 --> 00:25:31.431
Deborah Cribbs: The short answer is we're engaging the public and we're working on the ground with the local shelter systems and creating community cat programs.
00:25:31.431 --> 00:25:41.931
Isabel Alvarez Arata: That's amazing because truly the shelters and rescues are so taxed and so overwhelmed, especially after the pandemic that, I mean, they don't just need funds.
00:25:41.931 --> 00:25:49.711
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Sometimes they need the business people and the advertising people to like really help them because a love of cats is sadly not enough, right?
00:25:49.791 --> 00:25:51.431
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Like it's just not enough sometimes.
00:25:51.431 --> 00:25:54.831
Isabel Alvarez Arata: A huge campaign like this is so helpful.
00:25:54.831 --> 00:26:00.651
Isabel Alvarez Arata: So tell us about other campaigns and other issues that you've all tackled in your area.
00:26:00.651 --> 00:26:09.631
Deborah Cribbs: Well, we've during the pandemic, we did some local filming because, you know, you had to figure out how to do something very, very close to home, right?
00:26:09.631 --> 00:26:13.831
Deborah Cribbs: And we did a campaign called The Mild Kingdom.
00:26:13.831 --> 00:26:20.151
Deborah Cribbs: And that was where we really talked to the public just about local cats that they might see.
00:26:20.151 --> 00:26:24.151
Deborah Cribbs: We do a lot of digital work, and we talk a lot about fostering.
00:26:24.151 --> 00:26:27.831
Deborah Cribbs: Like you said, in the shelter, okay, sure, you can give them money.
00:26:27.831 --> 00:26:28.811
Deborah Cribbs: That's great.
00:26:28.811 --> 00:26:31.251
Deborah Cribbs: You might want to donate your time.
00:26:31.251 --> 00:26:43.331
Deborah Cribbs: A volunteer help clean out litter boxes, help pet cats so that they are used to humans, help take care of kittens and feed them, all kinds of things that you can do.
00:26:43.331 --> 00:26:45.311
Deborah Cribbs: But we talk a lot about fostering.
00:26:45.311 --> 00:26:47.891
Deborah Cribbs: The best thing for a cat is not to enter a shelter.
00:26:48.191 --> 00:27:01.071
Deborah Cribbs: So if you have fosters that can take in, say, a litter of kittens until they're big enough to get them fixed and then put them into the shelter system to be adopted, and kittens are pretty easy to adopt out, that's really helpful.
00:27:01.071 --> 00:27:04.631
Deborah Cribbs: Fosters are heroes in shelters.
00:27:04.631 --> 00:27:07.031
Deborah Cribbs: So we have lots of different campaigns.
00:27:07.031 --> 00:27:09.111
Deborah Cribbs: We've got really great advertising.
00:27:09.111 --> 00:27:10.271
Deborah Cribbs: They're so fun.
00:27:10.271 --> 00:27:12.871
Deborah Cribbs: I mean, they're really, really funny ads.
00:27:12.871 --> 00:27:25.291
Deborah Cribbs: And what we're doing right now, we've been going around and including this great podcast right here and saying, we've spent a lot of money over the last decade creating some very professional ad campaigns.
00:27:25.291 --> 00:27:29.391
Deborah Cribbs: And we're willing to license those campaigns for almost nothing.
00:27:29.511 --> 00:27:32.291
Deborah Cribbs: And help a little bit with the marketing too.
00:27:32.291 --> 00:27:42.451
Deborah Cribbs: If any shelter systems want to come to us to do that, check out our website, givethemten.org, because we're really willing to let you use all of our stuff to help spread the mass of it.
00:27:42.551 --> 00:27:46.911
Deborah Cribbs: And we want Scooter to live in different towns and cities around the country.
00:27:46.911 --> 00:27:48.791
Deborah Cribbs: He's already in a bunch of different places.
00:27:48.791 --> 00:27:51.751
Deborah Cribbs: He's in Iowa, he's in Georgia, he's in Hawaii.
00:27:51.751 --> 00:27:55.271
Deborah Cribbs: We want Scooter to live anywhere he wants to be.
00:27:55.271 --> 00:28:05.631
Deborah Cribbs: So check out our ad campaigns, if anybody out there listening as part of a shelter system, or tell somebody who is, because it's a pretty darn good deal.
00:28:05.631 --> 00:28:06.611
Isabel Alvarez Arata: That's amazing.
00:28:06.611 --> 00:28:09.771
Isabel Alvarez Arata: I was just going to ask you, what's next for GiveThemTen?
00:28:09.771 --> 00:28:13.891
Isabel Alvarez Arata: But I feel like you just told us, you are open to anywhere in the US.?
00:28:13.891 --> 00:28:18.271
Deborah Cribbs: We are willing to look at any shelter that asks us to.
00:28:18.271 --> 00:28:23.671
Deborah Cribbs: We will look at who they are, what they do, and see if it's a fit to start using our campaigns.
00:28:23.671 --> 00:28:37.351
Deborah Cribbs: We have digital campaigns, we have poster board, billboard campaigns, we have TV ad campaigns, we've got radio, and we are willing to license that for almost nothing, just so the message gets out.
00:28:37.351 --> 00:28:38.771
Isabel Alvarez Arata: That is amazing.
00:28:38.771 --> 00:28:45.471
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Even state-funded shelters and such, like you work together with all that bureaucracy that I'm sure comes with it.
00:28:45.471 --> 00:28:47.171
Deborah Cribbs: Absolutely.
00:28:47.171 --> 00:28:48.231
Isabel Alvarez Arata: That is so cool.
00:28:48.231 --> 00:28:48.711
Deborah Cribbs: Take a look.
00:28:48.731 --> 00:28:49.891
Deborah Cribbs: See if you're interested.
00:28:49.891 --> 00:28:52.251
Deborah Cribbs: Ask us and we'll start talking to you.
00:28:52.251 --> 00:28:53.251
Isabel Alvarez Arata: That is so cool.
00:28:53.251 --> 00:28:57.951
Isabel Alvarez Arata: I want to propose a toast to you and your team for doing such amazing work.
00:28:57.951 --> 00:29:05.471
Isabel Alvarez Arata: To all the shelters you work with, the partners, the people of Cincinnati who obviously embrace the culture change in terms of spay and neuter.
00:29:05.471 --> 00:29:06.171
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Here's to you.
00:29:06.171 --> 00:29:07.771
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Thank you for all you do.
00:29:07.771 --> 00:29:08.331
Deborah Cribbs: Thank you.
00:29:08.331 --> 00:29:09.911
Deborah Cribbs: Thanks for letting me talk about it.
00:29:10.031 --> 00:29:12.511
Deborah Cribbs: We are passionate about cats here.
00:29:12.511 --> 00:29:23.511
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Yes, I can tell and I think what you're doing is so important and I love that there's a business and strategic planning behind it because you know that that's always going to make it go even further.
00:29:23.511 --> 00:29:25.491
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Love is unfortunately not enough.
00:29:25.491 --> 00:29:28.371
Isabel Alvarez Arata: I also want to propose a toast to my executive producer, Mark Winter.
00:29:28.371 --> 00:29:36.051
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Thank you, Mark, for always allowing me to do these awesome interviews and to our audience for joining us for these awesome conversations.
00:29:36.051 --> 00:29:40.031
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Here's to a life covered in pet hair because there's no better way to lose.
00:29:40.031 --> 00:29:40.851
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Cheers!
00:29:40.851 --> 00:29:46.891
Isabel Alvarez Arata: To learn more about Covered In Pet Hair, please visit coveredinpethair.com or petliferadio.com.
00:29:46.891 --> 00:29:50.951
Isabel Alvarez Arata: And don't forget to spay or neuter, please, please, please.
00:29:50.951 --> 00:29:57.051
Isabel Alvarez Arata: On behalf of me and Deborah and Scooter the neutered cat, we beg you, please spay and neuter.
00:29:57.051 --> 00:29:58.651
Isabel Alvarez Arata: And I'll see you next time.
00:29:58.651 --> 00:29:59.771
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Thanks for watching.
00:29:59.771 --> 00:30:01.271
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Bye!
00:30:01.331 --> 00:30:04.631
Announcer: Let's Talk Pets, every week on demand.
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