Cat Lady: The Real Labor of Rescue & Documentary Filmmaking with Megan Liz Smith

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Catbaret is NYC’s cat-themed variety show featuring comedy, music, and burlesque – with in-person and virtual shows throughout the year.
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Filmmaker and journalist Megan Liz Smith joins me to talk about her short documentary Cat Lady, a moving portrait of an independent rescuer in South Florida.

We discuss the emotional and physical labor of caring for community cats, what it means to document someone’s life with dignity, and how storytelling can shine a light on often-invisible work.

Of course, we also talk about her orange soul cat Jack, fostering, prescription food struggles, and a toy your cats might go absolutely wild for.

Watch & Follow Megan

• Instagram: @meganlizsmith
• YouTube: Megan Liz Smith
• Watch Cat Lady on Megan’s YouTube channel

 Resources & Mentions

• Royal Canin SO Prescription Food – Discussed in relation to male cat urinary health
• Self-Heating Cat Beds – A cozy option for winter months
• Cat Dancer Wire Toy – A simple, affordable toy that sparks serious play
• Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) – Check your local animal services or rescue organizations for community cat programs near you
• Girls and Their Cats - Cat Lady Home Tours

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• Follow Tails and Tassels on Instagram: @tailsandtasselspod
• Follow Catbaret on Instagram: @catbaretshow

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Got a question or a story about your cat? I’d love to hear from you.
Message me on Instagram or email tailsandtasselspod@gmail.com.

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Transcript

Speaker 1 (Gemma) (00:07.288)
Hello kitty cats and welcome back to another episode of Tails and Tassels, the show where you learn about the lives of burlesque nightlife performers, their craft, their cats, and how the two worlds collide. I'm your host, Gemma Smith. By day, I work in animal welfare, and by night, I host Catbaret, New York City's cat-themed variety show.

And my goodness, we have such a good interview for you today. I'm joined by filmmaker and journalist Megan Liz Smith. And this conversation is thoughtful, funny, cat-filled, and genuinely moving. But before we dive in, quick reminder: if you love episodes like this, come join our community on Instagram at @tailsandtasselspod.

Subscribe to the podcast wherever you're listening, join our newsletter, and send this episode to a fellow cat person if it resonates. This is an independent podcast made entirely by me, so your support truly helps it grow. Thank you so much for being here.

Okay, so Megan and I connected on social media, and we realized we both live in Bushwick, Brooklyn. And I got to see her short documentary, Cat Lady, at a local film festival. And I was completely drawn in.

In this episode, we talk about her journey through documentary journalism and national news, what inspired her to tell the story of an independent rescuer in South Florida, and how she approached filming with care, dignity, and trust. We also get into feral cat routes, foster stories, prescription food struggles, and we get into her own two kitty cats at home, including her very sweet orange soul cat, Jack, and a toy recommendation your cats might go absolutely wild for. It's smart and heartfelt and very cat, so let's get into it.

Speaker 1 (Gemma) (02:22.862)
I am with Megan Liz Smith. Thank you so much for being here today. I'm excited to have you on the pod and get to know you better.

Speaker 2 (Megan)
Thank you, I'm excited to be here. I love the cat earrings.

Speaker 1 (Gemma)
I'm glad you noticed that. Yes. And we were just chatting — I was like, let's hit record because you're wearing cat ears because you came to the Catbaret.

Speaker 2 (Megan)
Yes, I loved the Catbaret. The Halloween one especially — everyone was in costume. So it was very fun.

Speaker 1 (Gemma)
Thanks so much. Okay, well, we connected — for our listeners, our kitty cats, we call them — you and I, I think, connected on TikTok and we discovered we both lived in Bushwick. And you invited me to a short film festival here in Bushwick where your film was showing, and I loved it. It's called Cat Lady. We're going to get into it.

But to give our listeners a little bit of background about you — you're a filmmaker and a journalist.

Gemma:
Can you tell me more about your start and background to where you are now?

Megan:
Yeah, diverting from cats a little bit career-wise, I went to school at the University of Missouri for documentary journalism, which is a very funny thing to major in these days — documentary filmmaking. But, you know, there's documentary in everything and it's a lot of storytelling involved.

From there, I was able to move to Minneapolis for a bit, where I was the head cinematographer at a corporate company, and then moved to local news in South Florida as senior creative producer at a news station, WPTV, which was very fun. And that was like a little foray into news, which then led me to New York.

I was working as a national news photojournalist for a few years — I think two years — with Scripps News, which was also very fun. And I got to travel a lot. Fun, but also serious — you're covering a lot of serious news, doing a lot of big stories.

And since then I've been freelancing, which has been good because I have been able to produce more films. So Cat Lady was a good example of that. That's what I've been looking to do pretty much — to focus more on being able to create my own stories while also freelancing for news organizations. I always love the news game.

Gemma:
I love that. That's a dream — being able to freelance, use your skills, and then also be able to pursue your art. And how long have you been in New York?

Megan:
I've been in New York now for, I think, three years. It might be four years. I think we're past the three-year point.

Gemma:
Okay, nice. And you mentioned you were lead creative producer for the news station in Florida. That's where the film Cat Lady takes place, right?

Megan:
Yes. That was so fun.

So just a little summary — Cat Lady is a short film about a cat lady and about women that take care of feral cats, specifically in South Florida in Delray Beach, which I loved. I lived in Delray Beach.

Gemma:
I've never been. Okay, gotta go there.

Megan:
It's fun. It's like a little city in between West Palm and Boca Raton. It's so cute though. It's very interesting because it's a lot of young people — and there's not a lot of young people in Boca Raton. I'm forgetting the one that's in between that and West Palm Beach, but it's a little hub, specifically on Atlantic — that's the main street.

There's a lot of money and a lot of wealth, but also a lot of older people and a lot of feral cats. And a lot of Haitian immigrants too that live in one small area right close to the beach.

So all that to say it's a really interesting community, specifically in South Florida because there's a huge makeup of different kinds of people.

And I lived in Delray Beach when I was working at the news station, and that was how I got introduced to the cat ladies there — which are not like anywhere else in the country in my opinion. Because the cat problem in Florida is not like anywhere else in the country. The weather is just so good and there's just so many cats. It's crazy.

I've always loved cats. I've got my little cat ears on. And when I was living in Florida, I didn't have a lot of friends at the time because it was a new city and I was working a lot. And the cats were the first thing that I noticed. I'd be driving around and I'm like, I'm from Minnesota — I did not grow up with feral cats because it's just too cold.

So I would notice the cats a lot and I got involved through the city actually. Guys, this is a tip for any listeners — if you want to get involved with feral cats and you live in a community of them, there's probably something with the city already going on.

That was how I got connected with them. They had monthly meetings with, I believe, a city commissioner, possibly someone with animal control. And there was someone specifically in City Hall at the time who was very nice and very interested in helping the cats.

And it was at that meeting I met a woman named Cindy, who was very sweet. I think Deanne was also at that meeting — I'm not really sure — but I didn’t get connected to Deanne until later on. I got connected through Cindy, who was very sweet and very nice, and we're still friends.

She would go on a cat route feeding the cats, which is similar to what my film is about. My film is about a woman that goes on a cat route every day, which is very intense.

Cindy doesn't necessarily do that. She probably spends maybe half an hour doing a route a day — or at least she was at the time.

Gemma:
And Deanne, the subject of your film — I forgot how many hours did she say she spends taking care of the cats?

Megan:
I think it's like five hours, sometimes more, sometimes less. And she works a full-time job. So it's like she's doing that after work. But that is her whole life.

This was so interesting to me because when I first met Cindy — who I would say is a bit more relaxed about it — it’s not her whole life. When I reached out and said, “I'm looking to help out. Is there anyone that really needs help?” the first person she put me in contact with was Deanne.

Gemma:
So you were connected with Deanne at first just to volunteer? You just wanted to help the cats?

Megan:
Yeah. So I went on the cat route with her. This was when I was working at WPTV doing creative services. So I was working a full-time news job, but I was also always looking for stories. That was just something in my life I wanted to do.

I went on the cat route with her and immediately — immediately — I thought, this would be a very good story. This would be a great film. Just because of her intensity.

You don't encounter that in a lot of people — just in general — about the things that they care about. When you come into nonprofit work or helping work like this, you meet those people more often. But in any industry, in any avenue, you're going to meet the people who want to give their lives for something.

And that was what I felt when I met her.

To the point where, even on the cat route that day, I remember thinking — I was in my mid-20s — I don’t know if I could commit this time. I think it was truly four hours minimum that she was doing at the time. And it felt hard to help.

But I knew I wanted to tell a story about this woman. I wanted to showcase what she's doing because it's incredible and people don’t recognize it. And it takes so much.

Gemma:
Yeah, it's really a testament to her and her life's purpose. When I was watching it, I was moved. I could see how this is her life.

So how many times did you go out with her? It sounds like the first time you met her you were like, oh my goodness, she's the right person for me to highlight in a documentary. How did the process go? How many times did you meet her before you asked her? And how did she receive that?

Megan:
It's funny because I feel like it all filtered through Cindy, the first person I met. Which is often the way these things work with documentary — it's all about connections and building relationships.

At the time, I was not living in Florida anymore when I decided I wanted to make this film. I think I had moved to New York — that was about two years after I had moved.

Anytime you're trying to make a film about a community you're not in, you want to maintain relationships within it.

So it started with me reaching out to Cindy and asking if I could film with her, because I knew her better. And she even said, I don’t think I’m the right person to follow. You need to follow someone else.

There are always different characters in the cat community — especially the people helping. I'm sure you know with your job, there are different personalities.

Gemma:
Absolutely. In animal welfare and independent rescuers, there are all different characters. It’s an interesting landscape.

Megan:
Exactly. And it’s funny — usually the people who are super chill and friendly aren’t necessarily the most interesting main characters for a story.

So this is how it happened. I contacted Cindy. Cindy reached out to Deanne. She reached out to her rescue group. Then she got me Deanne’s phone number. I texted Deanne and followed up.

I think she remembered me from that first time. We were able to rebuild that relationship. I told her, I'm sorry I couldn’t continue helping — it was too much for me at the time — but I would love to film with you.

She’s very self-aware. That was one of the first things I noticed.

I filmed with her two separate times. I'd love to go back and do a longer project, but I think this worked well as a short feature.

What’s depicted is truthfully one night in her life — but that’s every night. There’s so much that wasn’t in the film. Sacrifices she’s made. It was a lot. She sacrificed a lot.

Gemma:
Yeah, it really highlights the emotional labor and the physical labor. It’s not just the four or five hours. It’s planning, getting the food, packing her van.

And the cats that live in your home.

Megan:
Yes — and fostering. That was a big part of it. There were comments on my YouTube when I posted it saying you didn’t even mention trap-neuter-return. Or fostering all the cats at home.

And it’s like, yes — that’s the thing. It is her life. And she’s working a full-time job.

Continuing — same rules: word-for-word, spelling corrected, clean Buzzsprout formatting, labeled properly.

Gemma:
That’s hard. I cannot imagine doing both of those. I love my two cats and sometimes in the morning I’m so quickly trying to make their food and scoop the litter box before I work my full-time job. I can’t imagine this being another full-time job — like two full-time jobs.

And this film really highlights the emotional and physical labor of independent rescue. So how did you approach telling the story with honesty and also with care, knowing this is someone’s life purpose?

Megan:
That’s a good question. I wanted to be so respectful and showcase her with beauty and dignity.

I love connecting with women of all ages — that’s just the age group I like the best. And I feel like especially women as we age, we don’t get to see depictions of quiet dignity and hard workers.

I wanted to be respectful because there’s so much tied to the term “cat lady” and it can feel really kooky. But truthfully, what she is doing felt like a spiritual discipline. It was intense.

So that was what I tried to keep in mind. Even while filming, sometimes I would put the camera down when she’d start talking about certain things. I didn’t need to film everything. There were parts I didn’t film.

That’s a big part of documentary practice. Different people have different standards, but usually when you’re filming someone new, it’s important to be respectful. You don’t have to be filming all the time. You know when it’s better to just make things comfortable.

I also tried to convey trust — I will not make you look bad. You can tell me if you don’t want something filmed. We have open communication. I’m not trying to trick you. I just love cats and I’m interested in you.

There’s no other meaning here. I just want to help.

Gemma:
That’s so beautiful. I love that you gave her and people like her recognition for all the hard work they do for animals. It can be a really thankless job.

This is so not cats related, but I love reality TV. I enjoy documentaries too, but there’s such a difference. I’ve read books about producing reality TV where producers want you to feel like you trust them — but they want you to do the crazy thing.

Is it different in documentary filmmaking? Or is that just you as a documentarian?

Megan:
I think it depends on the person.

I’ve filmed a lot of people and I’ve found there are two types. There’s someone who will always be self-conscious on camera. And then there’s someone who is comfortable being themselves.

It usually comes down to that.

But me as a person — I’m very good at making people feel comfortable. That’s super important to me.

Some people are never going to be off guard when there’s a camera. And others are comfortable because they really know themselves and have a strong sense of purpose.

I felt that with Deanne. There’s something bigger going on with her. She’s going to be herself no matter what.

Gemma:
I felt that too. She’s very confident in who she is and her purpose.

And what did she think about the film when it came out? Was she touched? Was she excited?

Megan:
She was very happy with it. I was nervous, of course — anytime you show someone a film about themselves for the first time.

But she was very happy. Her siblings watched it and were happy. Other people in the community were happy. That meant a lot.

It’s interesting — making a film like this immediately connected me to so many other people with similar stories.

Deanne was so interesting to me, but there are many people like her. There’s Catman in Delray — a man doing similar work. People were telling me you have to make a film about Catman.

There’s also another community near Miami — a huge trailer community being foreclosed on, with a crazy amount of cats.

Once you dive into the cat community, there are so many threads. So many people invested.

Gemma:
One hundred percent. The more cat people I meet, the more cat people I meet.

For folks who want to watch your film — we’ll plug everything in the show notes — but they can watch it on YouTube, right?

Megan:
Yes. You can watch it on my YouTube right now at MeganLizSmith.

Go like it, go watch it, go support it. I want to do more cat-related filming and more cat-related work in 2026. Hopefully this is just the start of a few new videos.

Gemma:
Yes — and I should connect you offline to Girls and Their Cats. If you have a rescue cat, she does great cat lady home tours. It’s really fun. She has so many interesting cat people on her shows too. I think they would love your film.

I also want to get into — separately with cats — I want to start fostering again this year. I don’t know, we should talk about that. Because I’ve had my two cats for a while.

You have two, right? Okay, so tell us — you have a big orange fluffy boy?

Megan:
Oh my gosh, yes. This is Jack. He’s my cat. I got him when I was 20. He’s eight years old now.

He’s trying to bite my headphone. He’s so sweet though. He’s so docile. We took him to the vet like a week ago and the vet said, he can’t be eight years old — he must be six.

I’m 29 now. I got him when I was 20 and he was a kitten. He’s so youthful. He’s my soul cat. He will live forever.

Gemma:
He could live another 12 years.

Megan:
Yes. I want to have him until I’m 40. That’s my goal.

And we have another cat too — Opal. I got her with my partner two years ago. She’s young, feisty, athletic. Jack is very chill.

Gemma:
That’s so funny. I also have an orange boy and a black cat girl. They’re older — 12 and 13 — and opposite personalities. I wish my orange boy would let me hold him like that.

How did they get along? Did you have to separate them?

Megan:
Yes, of course. We kept them separated for about two weeks. People who don’t really have cats sometimes just let them run wild.

It took probably two weeks before we were able to bring them together.

Gemma:
That’s so good that you did that. Sometimes cats never fully get along. Mine coexist — they don’t love each other.

Megan:
They’re so funny. Jack is so special to me. When I got him he was super chill. I actually thought he was sick.

He has recurring conjunctivitis, so that might contribute. But he’s always been calm. He’s kind of the perfect cat.

He does well meeting other cats. Opal is very athletic, very extroverted. He’s gotten a little more shy as he’s gotten older.

They get along pretty well. She’s mischievous. He kind of just sits there.

Gemma:
How long have you had Opal?

Megan:
About two years.

Megan:
I actually want to tell a story about a foster cat I had in Florida.

I got a foster cat — another orange cat — who’s actually in a shot of the Cat Lady doc. His name was Benny. I loved him. He was so sweet.

We kept him separated in the bathroom for about two weeks because he had just been fixed. He was probably semi-feral.

Anytime Jack would come near the door, they would hiss and scratch at each other. Benny was so moody. He did not seem friendly at all.

Then after he healed and we finally let him out — he became the friendliest cat ever.

He lives in Rhode Island now. He was adopted.

They would groom each other in the most intense way. I had to pull them apart sometimes. It was cute, but intense.

It was such a reminder that cats really do have personalities. At first he seemed jealous and moody. Once he was welcomed, he opened up completely.

Gemma:
That’s such a good reminder to foster. Even if you don’t keep them. You made space for the rescue to take in more cats.

In animal welfare, we call it a foster fortune when you adopt your foster. But even if you don’t, it’s still wonderful.

Megan:
Yes. Everyone thought I was going to keep Benny. But I was moving to New York.

And honestly, he was very talkative. It’s cute until it’s constant.

But I still think about him. You don’t have to keep them. It’s better to keep fostering so more cats can come through.

Gemma:
And I also want to tell folks who adopt kittens — I used to manage a kitten nursery. I love kittens. They’re so cute. But you don’t really see their full personality until they’re adults.

You might not know if it’s going to be super talkative or a lap cat. Cats have such different personalities. So maybe foster first, or adopt an older cat who already is who they are.

Megan:
Yes. It’s so sweet to get an older cat too. They’re so grateful and will just sit on your lap.

Gemma:
It breaks my heart in New York when it’s cold and I see street cats running under cars for warmth. I’m so grateful for independent rescuers like Deanne. Sometimes I feel guilty that it’s not my calling.

My calling is producing shows and celebrating cats. But your film really highlights that some people are making such a difference.

Megan:
That’s such a good point. There are people who cannot go to sleep because they know something could be done to help. I am not one of those people.

But we help when we can. And we highlight the people who do.

We have a small colony of feral cats near our building — probably six. One is chatty and aggressive with the others. We built a little outdoor cat house for her on our porch.

I’m not helping all the cats. I’m helping the one I can.

Gemma:
That resonates so much. In animal welfare we call it capacity for care. We do what we can.

Tell me about the shelter you bought.

Megan:
We bought one online — about $80. It’s made for outdoor animals. We put blankets in it.

Gemma:
Send me the link — I’ll put it in the show notes.

I also have a self-heating cat bed that works really well in winter. It reflects their body heat.

Gemma:
Do you have a tip or product for creative cat parents?

Megan:
Yes. You don’t have to fill your litter box super high. You only need a base layer and scoop daily. People fill it inches thick and it’s unnecessary.

And we have a toy — just a simple wire toy with wooden bits. Our cats go crazier for that than anything else. I think it’s called Crazy Cat Dancer. It’s super cheap.

Gemma:
My cats get bored with toys, but I rotate them.

I also want to ask about cat strollers.

Megan:
I’m too anxious to try one. My cats get stressed going to the vet.

Gemma:
Lionel has had two urinary blockages caused by stress. He’s on prescription food and Prozac.

Megan:
Jack has had two UTIs. We use Royal Canin prescription food. It makes me feel better.

We went to Italy for three weeks and I was so stressed leaving them, but we had someone stay with them and it worked out.

Gemma:
The prescription food helps, even if we don’t fully understand the science.

Megan:
Yes. And I feel guilty because Jack doesn’t love it, so we mix in Instinct shredded topper.

Gemma:
We feed ours separately. It’s a system.

Megan:
Prescription food is not cheap.

Gemma:
Is there anything else you’d like listeners to know about your art?

Megan:
Follow me on Instagram and YouTube at MeganLizSmith. I’m producing often. I also produce for Inc. I have big plans for the year.

Gemma:
Follow her, everyone. Thank you so much for being here.

Megan:
Thank you. I love Catbaret. I’ll be there.

Gemma:
And that’s a wrap for this episode of Tails and Tassels.

If you have questions, comments, or just want to say meow, email tailsandtasselspod@gmail.com
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See you next time, kitty cats.