1. Practical Applications for placing Difficult to Place Cats

3.  Incorporated in 2006 with a purpose to advocate for local animal welfare organizations, animal shelters, rescue groups and animal care and control agencies  Best Practices Leadership: – Euthanasia – Transport – Length of Stay – Adoption Forum III  Final Stages of Merger with SAWA

4. Adoption Forums I and II  Adoption Forum I – American Humane Association; 1999 – Client-centered or “open” adoptions emerged  Adoption Forum II – PetSmart Charities; 2003 – Revisiting adoption criteria:  What is a successful adoption?  Best measure of adoption program outcomes?

5. Nationwide Participation

6. Adoption Forum III  Framing DTP  DTP: Continuum  Lenses: – The Community/Adopter – The Animal – The Shelter  Risk Cycle  Community DTP Assessment

7. “Who” does “difficult to place” mean to you?

8. Difficult to Place:

9. Lens: The Animal  Doesn’t want to be in a home  Low Affinity – doesn’t want to be near humans  “Unhealthy” or even “Treatable” – medical and/or behavioral issues  Long Length of Stay

10. Lens: The Shelter  Animals who require high levels of resources to keep or place  Animals in areas with less potential adopter traffic – e.g. “Hidden Gems”  Animals who aren’t desired by traditional potential adopters  “No Kids,” No Other Animals,” or Animals who only a trainer can adopt  Animals the shelter has in high quantity  Long length-of-stay animals  Animals whose “hero” will be hard to find

11. Lens: The Community/Adopter  Don’t want to or can’t invest too much $$ in their new pet  Can’t manage a “project” pet well  Will change adopter’s lifestyle too much  Not the kind of animal adopters want

12. DTP Continuum 1 234 Not easily or quickly placed my community or shelter Not easily or quickly placed in most communities or shelters Has issues that make us uneasy about placing Should not be placed in home

13. DTP Continuum 1 Not easily or quickly placed my community/shelter  Senior Animals  Injured/sick animals  Adult Cats  Cats, if there are too many cats  Cats who are reactive to the presence of other cats  Shy cats  Cats with explainable house soiling issues  Feisty/bitey cats

14. DTP Continuum 2 Not easily or quickly placed in most communities or shelters  Major medical issues such as thyroid or diabetes  Fearful/unsocial animals  cats with prolonged or unresolved medical issues  House-soiling cats

15. DTP Continuum 3 Has issues that make us uneasy about placing  Aggression toward people  Possibly feral cats  Severe house soiling issues  Severe medical issues that may not satisfy the “five freedoms” most of the time Note: Animals in this category likely need to move to “4” and not be considered for adoption or be provided with the resources necessary to move them to “1” or “2”.

16. DTP Continuum 4 Should not be placed in home  Due to the animal’s condition, adoption outcome would not satisfy the five freedoms most of the time.  An aggressive animal that poses a safety risk to humans that can’t be reasonably managed. Note: We recognize that for every statement we can imagine circumstance that would be an exception.

17. So now that you’ve defined your DTP cats, how do you place them?

18. Starting with the basics  Get GREAT info on intake  Decrease stress on intake  Return to owner – Sometimes the best homes are the ones they are from

19. Starting with the basics  Have an adoption strategy – fast track “easier” cats – “fee-waived” or low fee adoption events  Know your strengths/weaknesses  Partner with shelters/rescues that can do what you can’t do easily  Transfers should work both ways: shelters – rescues and rescues to shelters

20. Medical problems  Write clear medical records for adopters  Set clear post adoption plans  Remove cost barriers – Resolve/identify medical issues prior to adoption, when possible – Waive fees – Fundraise on cage or social media  Use foster care for animals that need more close monitoring (i.e. diabetic cats)  Strategy for WUOs

21. Biting/scratching  Choose cages/spaces in shelter that prevent injury  Pair up with other feisty cats  Embrace their “catitude” when you market them  Capture their best attributes for marketing  May be better as “working cats”  Adopters need to “get them” and be willing to put in the work

22. Shy/fearful cats  Often do not do well in traditional cages  Need quiet spaces, like offices to thrive  Can be considered for foster, but may require adopters visiting them in foster for adoption to succeed  Give them hidey spaces when in cages, but ones where people can still see them

23. Shy/fearful continued  For “foody” cats, use their food as a way to create a bond/draw them out  Often benefit from having their previous owners visit to acclimate them to their environment  Use cardboard cut outs in empty cages to help advertise them in the space where people are looking for cats

24. Cardboard cutouts  Great for when you have empty cages  People look for cats where the cats are, not where they’re not  Best done with poster sized printer  Fun for staff to watch people’s reactions when they realize they’re not real

25. Owner visitation of scared cat in shelter before, during and after

26. Litterbox issues - why  Medical issues  Other animals – Fighting/litterbox guarding – Outdoor cats approaching home – Not enough boxes house  Preferences for litter type, litterbox style or location  Changes to the home – New baby – Remodeling/construction/move – New pets  Cats are weird

27. Litterbox issues – placing these “little pissahs”  Important to get a great history to identify the factor(s) leading to the issue  Rule out medical issues as your first step  Litterbox use in the shelter, especially in a cage, is NOT a determining factor for future behavior

28. Litterbox issues - adoption matchmaking  If there is a clear cause of stress causing the issue in the previous home, eliminate that in the adoptive home. Many times this is not very clear  If there is no clear reason, remove all common stress factors from the home – no other pets or young kids

29. Litterbox issues – the adopter  Adopters should be: – Patient and tolerant of the behavior – Fully understand the issue – Allow for slow intro to the home – Be good litterbox “stewards” – Be willing to try different techniques to solve the issue – Be willing to seek help from a behaviorist

30. Barn cat adoptions/working cat adoptions  Good candidates: – Overaroused or overactive cats that bite/scratch – Cats with persistent litterbox issues that cannot be resolved by rehoming – Cats who prefer to be outside

31. Barn cat adoptions/working cat adoptions  Poor candidates: – Very fearful cats – Cats with no previous outdoor experience – Old cats/cats with health issues – Cats that need regular grooming

32. Barn cats continued  Good barn adopters: – Willing to provide routine medical care – Have a safely located barn – Willing to allow for slow introduction – Have secure access to shelter

33. Adoption Pending/Foster to adopt  Pendings: – Often adopters need time to consider finances, impact on lifestyle, etc – We should support “good consumers” that take careful consideration before adopting  Foster to adopt: – Often a great tool for adopters to be sure an animal fits into their lifestyle before making a full commitment – Takes “the pressure off” for good adopters that are on the fence and need a little nudge – Staff/volunteers do this all the time – so why not the public?

34. Return to field  Consideration for stray cats that are brought in by good Samaritans but do not meet qualifications for adoption  Best to establish on intake if finder would be supportive of RTF and willing to provide care for the cat outside  May not be allowed in every state

35. DTP Continuum 4 Should not be placed in home  Due to the animal’s condition, adoption outcome would not satisfy the five freedoms most of the time.  An aggressive animal that poses a safety risk to humans that can’t be reasonably managed. Note: We recognize that for every statement we can imagine circumstance that would be an exception.

36. What cats should we not be placing? Who should we not be sheltering?