Fixing Cats, Feeding Communities: How One Woman Sparked a Movement, Featuring Wednesday Hugus, Founder of Wednesday’s Community Cats and Kittens

“If you can’t fix ’em, don’t feed ’em. You may think you’re being kind, but make sure you do the responsible thing and spay and neuter.” This episode is sponsored-in-part by Maddie’s Fund. What started as a COVID-era effort to help feed pets in need has transformed into a full-fledged nonprofit tackling the staggering population of community cats in Orlando, Florida. In this powerful conversation, Wednesday Hugus shares how her organization evolved from a pet food pantry into a multifaceted rescue operation focused on TNR (Trap-Neuter-Return), medical advocacy, and grassroots community support. Wednesday, founder of Wednesday’s Community Cats and Kittens, pulls back the curtain on what it takes to coordinate a network of trappers, feeders, and fosters — all while navigating limited resources, volunteer burnout, and systemic challenges. With a sharp eye for strategy and deep compassion, she’s proving that a small-but-mighty group can make a real dent in a county with an estimated 90,000 community cats. From leveraging Nextdoor for real-time outreach to raising over $375,000 for medical cases, Wednesday shows what’s possible when you combine hustle, heart, and hyper-local focus. This episode is an inspiring blueprint for turning personal passion into community-wide impact. Press Play Now For: How Wednesday built a nonprofit from her garage — no website required! The power of using Nextdoor for local cat rescue and real-time response Wednesday’s take on what Orlando gets right (and wrong) about TNR The critical importance of spaying and neutering—including owned cats How to prevent burnout in volunteer-heavy operations Why feeding cats must go hand-in-hand with fixing cats Navigating limited veterinary access and thinking creatively about care Resources & Links: Wednesday’s Community Cats and Kittens on Nextdoor (https://tinyurl.com/38ajp4un), Facebook(https://www.facebook.com/WednesdaysCommunityCats), and Instagram(https://www.instagram.com/wednesdayscommunitycats/) Pet Alliance of Greater Orlando (https://petallianceorlando.org/) Franklin’s Friends (https://franklinsfriends.info/) Community Cats Podcast's Community Cat Pyramid (https://www.communitycatspodcast.com/cat-pyramid-2/) and Cat Calculator (https://www.communitycatspodcast.com/community-cat-calculator/) Pawsitive Pantry Pet food bank in VT & MA (https://pawsitivepantry.org/) Sponsor Links: Maddie's Fund (https://www.communitycatspodcast.com/maddies609) Follow & Review We’d love for you to follow us if you haven’t yet. Click that purple '+' in the top right corner of your Apple Podcasts app. We’d love it even more if you could drop a review or 5-star rating over on Apple Podcasts(https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-community-cats-podcast/id1125752101?mt=2). Select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” then share a quick line with your favorite part of the episode. It only takes a second and it helps spread the word about the podcast.