As the city’s animal safety net fails, rescue volunteers step in — pouring their time, money, and emotional energy into a crisis they didn’t create. This episode follows caretakers and rescuers managing entire colonies on their own, waking at dawn to feed dozens of cats, spending their own money on medical care, and experiencing the burnout that comes from doing the city’s work for free.

Inside Flatbush Cats’ holding space, volunteers share both the relief of making a difference and the toll of carrying a burden this large. The episode lays bare a core truth: relying on unpaid labor isn’t a system — it’s a symptom of one that isn’t working.

Featured Voices:

List the main people (and sometimes cats!) heard in the episode:

* Sassee Walker — Colony Caretaker

* Karen Sabbie Smith — Colony Caretaker

* Wander

* Tanya Copeland — Founder, Bronx Community Cats

* Steve West — Holding Space Volunteer, Flatbush Cats

* Zoe Griffith — Holding Space Volunteer, Flatbush Cats

Learn More / Related Links:

* To learn more about Tayna Copeland’s work with Bronx Community Cats, visit bronxcommunitycats.org.

* To learn more about Flatbush Cats, visit our website: flatbushcats.org

* Full episode transcript here.

Underfoot is hosted by Will Zweigart and Virginia Marshall. Field reporting by Sarah Gabrielli, with additional reporting by Priscilla Alabi. Episodes were recorded at Good Studio in Brooklyn, and mixed and mastered by Will Whatley. Podcast art was created by Lazy Chief and the series was Executive Produced by None Other.

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