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Please note: These recordings are shared for personal viewing only. Please don’t download or redistribute them, so we can continue to offer honest, community-centered conversations like these.
About the Summit:
The Cat & Advocate Wellbeing Summit was a free, virtual gathering for cat and animal wellbeing/welfare advocates, animal care and veterinary professionals, staff, volunteers, and caregivers to explore the future of feline wellbeing. Through authentic, panel-led conversations, we’ll explore the deeper systems, stories, and cultural shifts that shape how we care for cats, for each other, and for the communities we serve. No lectures — just honest, community-rooted dialogue.
About the Recordings:
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​These recordings include the full panel conversations from the 2026 Cat & Advocate Wellbeing Summit. Each session features candid, thoughtful dialogue among advocates, behavior professionals, and caregivers exploring the systems, stories, and cultural norms shaping cat welfare today. You’re welcome to watch at your own pace and return to sessions as needed.
This summit was volunteer-led. If you’d like to support future community offerings, you’re welcome to contribute via Buy Me a Coffee!
Summit Goals:
Thoughtful conversation about how cat wellbeing can be supported more proactively
A deeper understanding of the systems that shape how people care for cats
Insight into how messaging impacts empathy, trust, and belonging in cat welfare
Honest discussion about burnout, distress, and sustainability in advocacy spaces
The Panel Discussions:
Proactive Cat Wellbeing & Behavior Care
This panel explores why cat behavior and emotional wellbeing should be part of the foundation of animal welfare — not an afterthought once problems arise. We’ll talk about the frustrations of seeing behavior support excluded from core services, and how animal welfare systems can better integrate this care from the start. Together, we’ll explore how centering wellbeing early helps adopters feel more prepared, keeps more cats in homes, and strengthens the human-animal bond. Panelists: Brittain Bright, Lauren Harbart, Dr. Lynn Bahr, Tori Schlosser, & Vanessa McKnight
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Barriers to Care, Not to Love
This panel unpacks the bigger picture — how systemic challenges like housing insecurity, financial hardship, immigration status, and lack of access to veterinary care shape who can care for cats, and how. We’ll explore how cat advocacy intersects with social justice and why naming these barriers is essential to building more inclusive, compassionate support. Panelists: Dr. Christina V. Tran, Daria Tavana, Kia P., Molly Kelsey, & Shani Campbell
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Shame Doesn't Save Cats
How we talk about cat care shapes whether people feel they can turn to us for support or whether they feel alienated and judged. Messaging that shames or oversimplifies care can create fear, guilt, and silence. This panel explores how public messaging impacts dignity, trust, and access — and how reframing narratives can reduce shame and help more people feel supported. Panelists: Dr. Christina V. Tran, Hayley Williams, Jona Harris, Lauren Harbart, & Mary Stevens
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The Culture is the Crisis
This panel centers the people behind the work — and why so many are exhausted, overwhelmed, or quietly stepping away. We’ll talk about where things are breaking: unrealistic expectations, toxic team dynamics, lack of safety, and the pressure to care without support. Together, we’ll explore why caring for cats must include building systems where advocates feel safe, valued, and able to stay. Panelists: Daniel "DQ" Quagliozzi, Edith L., & Nikki McLeod
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**Content Note: This conversation is especially candid and emotionally honest, and includes strong language.
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Your Host:
Stephanie Merlin CFTBS, FFCP
Orlando, FL
Feline behavior specialist, educator, and founder of The Fulfilled Feline, Stephanie is passionate about bridging the gap between cat behavior, caregiver support, and systemic change in animal welfare. Through education and advocacy, she centers empathy, equity, and emotional sustainability to support both cats and the humans who care for them.
Your Panelists:
Brittain Bright
London, UK
Brittain is a lifelong cat lover and trainee cat behaviourist who works with Protected Paws, a rescue in London. She shares her home with six cats, many with special needs, and is committed to compassionate, welfare-centered feline care.
Panel: Proactive Wellbeing & Behavior Care
Dr. Christina V. Tran
Phoenix, AZ
Dr. Christina V. Tran is a veterinarian with over 25 years of experience in small animal practice, shelter medicine, telemedicine, and academia. She currently serves as Executive Associate Dean for the proposed DVM program at Roseman University of Health Sciences in Nevada.
Panels: Barriers to Care + Shame Doesn't Save Cats
Daniel "DQ" Quagliozzi
San Francisco, CA
Daniel Quagliozzi is a certified cat behavior consultant and founder of Go Cat Go. He supports guardians using science-based methods and intuitive insight, specializing in aggression, anxiety, and multi-cat dynamics to foster calmer homes and stronger human–cat relationships.
Panel: The Culture is the Crisis
Daria Tavana
Philadelphia, PA & New York, NY
Daria Tavana is a philanthropic specialist at PETA, where she focuses on donor partnership and systemic change to protect animals. Her work supports solutions that reduce barriers to veterinary care and help keep cats safe, healthy, and with the people who care for them.
Panel: Barriers to Care
Edith L. (she/her)
Garden Grove, CA
Edith is a veterinary technician at a feline-only clinic and an active community cat advocate. She supports TNR, medical evaluations, and colony care through nonprofit and independent rescue work. She also shares her home with eight cats of her own.
Panel: The Culture is the Crisis
Hayley Williams (she/her)
Frisco, TX
Hayley Williams is the founder of Cat Therapy and specializes in cat-friendly home design. She shares practical, compassionate guidance on creating spaces that support feline wellbeing while honoring real life, accessibility, and neurodivergent needs.
Panel: Shame Doesn't Save Cats
Jona Harris (she/her)
Cody, WY
Jona is the founder of The Cat’s Mark Cat Café and a former shelter CEO. Raised near Yellowstone’s east gate, her work with kittens and community cats led her to study feline behavior and advocate for cat-centered, community-based welfare approaches.
Panel: Shame Doesn't Save Cats
Kia P.
Atlanta, GA
Kia is a cat caregiver and community advocate whose passion for feline wellbeing began with her own cat. She now supports neighborhood feral cats through TNVR and education, driven by a commitment to improving access to care and quality of life for cats.
Panel: Barriers to Care
Lauren Harbart (she/her)
Detroit, MI
Lauren began working in animal welfare in 2018 at a local shelter, supporting behavioral cats and fostering bottle-baby kittens. She now runs her own company, Petology Training, focused on education and practical support to help keep cats and dogs in their homes.
Panels: Proactive Wellbeing & Behavior Care + Shame Doesn't Save Cats
Dr. Lynn Bahr
Atlanta, GA
Dr. Lynn Bahr is a veterinarian, feline welfare advocate, and CEO of Dezi & Roo, an award-winning feline enrichment company. She is co-author of Indoor Cat: How to Enrich Their Lives and Expand Their World and focuses on feline wellbeing and the human–animal bond.
Panels: Proactive Wellbeing & Behavior Care
Mary Stevens
Baltimore, MD
Mary Stevens is a cat behavior consultant with nearly two decades of experience as a veterinary technician. She works with Laura Cassiday of Pawsitive Vibes Cat Behavior and Training and is a Certified Cat Friendly and Elite Fear Free Professional specializing in compassionate, welfare-focused care.
Panels: Shame Doesn't Save Cats
Molly Kelsey (she/her)
New Zealand
Molly is a certified feline behaviour consultant with a veterinary nursing background and Fear-Free Veterinary Professional certification. Through The Cat Counsellor, she supports guardians with anxiety, enrichment, cooperative care, and confidence-building, while also working on behaviour cases and training with SPCA Auckland.
Panels: Barriers to Care
Nikki McLeod
Fife, Scotland, UK
Nikki is a Scottish Registered Veterinary Nurse and Associate Clinical Animal Behaviourist. A dedicated advocate for feline emotional health, she focuses on education, evidence-based practice, and supporting cats and their caregivers with compassion.
Panels: The Culture is the Crisis
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Shani Campbell
Arizona
Shani is a Certified Feline Training and Behavior Specialist and founder of Wild at Heart Cats. Her work centers on understanding cats through science, compassion, and consent, supporting guardians, shelters, rescues, and community cats.
Panels: Barriers to Care
Tori Schlosser
Regina, SK, Canada
Tori Schlosser is a Certified Cat Trainer and Fear Free Certified Professional and the owner of Purrsuasion. She helps guardians understand, nurture, and respect their cats through compassionate training and education.
Panels: Proactive Wellbeing & Behavior Care
Vanessa McKnight
Orlando, FL
Vanessa is a pet care professional, pet sitter, and animal advocate with years of experience in feline and companion animal wellbeing. Through education and hands-on care, she prioritizes safety, trust, and comfort while supporting responsible, relationship-centered caregiving.
Panels: Proactive Wellbeing & Behavior Care
