November 3, 2026
Ep 689: Breaking Down the Silos Between Vets and Cat Advocates, with Jamie Falzone, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Veterinary Medical Association and MVMA Charities
“Sometimes it just takes one clinic in one area saying, ‘I have this amazing relationship with my local community cat resource. You should all be doing this.’”
Jamie Falzone calls the Massachusetts Veterinary Medical Association (MVMA) “the voice of veterinary medicine in Massachusetts,” and in this episode she makes the case that community cat advocates should be using that voice too. Jamie first joined MVMA in 2013, returned as executive director in 2020, and has led MVMA Charities since 2016. She explains what a state VMA actually does beyond continuing education: tracking animal welfare legislation at the State House, answering calls from pet owners, and connecting veterinarians with the wider animal welfare community.
MVMA Charities runs two core programs. One equips fire stations with pet oxygen mask kits and trains first responders. The other, its signature Stray Animal Program, partners with municipal animal control officers across Massachusetts to fund urgent and emergency care for unowned animals, including community cats. Jamie talks candidly about why the charity stepped back from funding spay/neuter, how corporatization is changing what individual veterinarians can do, and why moral distress and compassion fatigue are shared by vets and cat advocates alike.
Stacy and Jamie dig into how TNR groups can build real relationships with local clinics without coming on too strong, whether population-level spay/neuter belongs in veterinary continuing education, and what to do if you’re concerned about how a practice is treating animals. Jamie’s message throughout is simple: you don’t have to do this alone, and your state VMA is there to help connect the dots.
- What a state veterinary medical association does and how advocates can work with one
- How MVMA Charities’ Stray Animal Program funds emergency care for unowned animals, including community cats
- Strategies for reaching out to local vet practices as a community cat resource
- Why spay/neuter for cats could have a bigger place in veterinary continuing education
- How to raise concerns about a veterinary practice in Massachusetts
Resources & Links
- Massachusetts Veterinary Medical Association
- MVMA on Facebook
- MVMA on Instagram
- MVMA on LinkedIn
- MVMA Charities
- MVMA Charities on Facebook
- MVMA Charities on Instagram
- MVMA Charities on LinkedIn
- Donate to MVMA Charities
- Scaredy Cat K95K
- Massachusetts Board of Registration in Veterinary Medicine
- PAWSitive Pantry
- Email Jamie: jfalzone@massvet.org
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