Presented at the American Pets Alive No-Kill Conference 2014.

1. Rescuing Cats
From the
Euthanasia List – A
How To Guide
Dr Frances Flower
22 Feb 2014
frances.flower@austinpetsalive.org

2. APA! Cat
Rescue:
Then & Now
• Where we started
• Current state of play
• Cat stats

3.  Two evaluators covering 7
days a week
 ~20-30 cats/kittens each
night on the list
 Limited ability to work on
cats on the list (only a
small number)
 To rely entirely on foster
group ~20
In late 2008 we had…

4.  No-kill shelter
 5 evaluators
 5-20 cats/kittens on the list (still given deadlines)
 Ability to work on every cat on the list
 Large foster base (~145) and cattery space at
multiple locations
 Additional programs for special cats (FeLv Ward,
Ringworm Ward, feral enclosure)
….in 2014 we have:

5. 0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
# cats saved
YEAR
2008 20132012201120102009
40
1948
2848
13991528
779

6. APA! Cat
Rescue:
Getting Started
• Organization
• Liaising with shelter
• Internal
communication

7. Current APA! Organization
Shelter Rescue
Foster
Bottle
Baby
Barn
Placement
Cattery
FeLV+
Ward
Ringworm
Ward

8. New Organization
Shelter Rescue
Foster
Bottle
Baby
Barn
Placement
Cattery
FeLV+
Ward
Ringworm
Ward

9. Set up Communication
with Shelter
 Establish access to the shelter’s euthanasia list
 Understand how that list works
 Develop your program’s process
 Set up liaison person
 Provide shelter with up to 3 approved people to
confirm on cats

10. Set Up Your Program
Communication
 Determine a Rescue Lead and who they
will liaise with
 Create email rescue alias
 Emergency phone list
 Develop format for reporting evaluations
 Google calendar for rescue
 Set ground rules for rescue

11. APA! Cat
Rescue:
Working the List
• Typical cats on list
• Evaluating cats
• Useful tools
• Reporting
• Choosing cats for
your program

12. Types of cats on the list: behaviour
 Litter-box issues
 Aggression
 Rough players
 Quick to arouse
 Hard to handle
 Terrified cats
 Withdrawn cats
 Protective nursing
mums
 Unsocialised
kittens

13. Types of cats on the list: medical
 Injuries
 Chronic medical
issue
 Ringworm
 Felv+
 FIV+
 URI

14. Other Factors that Influence
the List
 Kitten season
 Hoarding cases
 Disease outbreak
 Holidays
 Natural disaster

15. Evaluating cats - OUTLINE
 Collect euthanasia list from shelter
 Determine order of evaluations
 Review notes by
shelter/owner/previous evaluations
 Observe cat in kennel before
opening
 Assess behaviour & personality
 Assess cat condition
 Submit cat ‘holds’ to shelter

16. Evaluating cats - BEHAVIOUR
bold / confident / withdrawn / shy / scared / aggressive /
relaxed / affectionate / indifferent
On
approach
does he..
Get up to
greet?
Stay in
place?
Tries to
escape or
hide?
Adjust body
position?
Response to
Touch
Lets you
touch?
Touch head
only?
Touch all
over?
Any sensitive
areas?
Vocalise Chatty? Growling? Yowling? Crying?
Handling Can you
pick up
easily?
Struggling
on pick up?
Not
comfortable
picking up?
Signs of
stress/threat
Lip licking? Hissing? Swatting? Lunging? Attempt to
bite?
Positive
behaviours
Purring? Elevator
butt?
Making
biscuits?
Slow
blinking?
Cheek/chin
rubbing?

17. Evaluating cats - MEDICAL
Ears, eyes,
nose
Any
discharge?
Sneezing? Itchy ears? Hot
ears?
Dry nose?
Body
condition
Emaciated? Skinny? Normal? Heavy
set?
Obese?
Coat Dull and dry
or flaky?
Any hairloss? Glossy? Matted?
Appetite Eating food? Food
preference?
Social eater?
Litterbox
use
Using
litterbox?
BM’s normal? Diarrhoea?
Drinking Excessive
drinking?
Pain
behaviour?
Coat fluffed
up?
Reluctant to
move?
Tail tucked,
shoulders
hunched and all
four feet tucked
under?
Lying
prostate?
Unresponsive?

18. Evaluator’s Toolkit
 Notebook
 Camera (no flash)
 Smartphone
 Straw toys
 Feliway
 Woolen gloves
 Wet food

19. Remember while you are there….
 Chance to help potential
adopters see cats at the
shelter
 Opportunity to start
socialising kittens

20. Evaluating cats – WRAP UP
 Make notes on your observations
 Take photos
 Report any concerns to staff
 Return to staff desk and put a ‘hold’
on the cats you can help
 Name ‘no name’ cats if allowed
 Ask for a kennel count if possible
From home, write report and
submit to your rescue alias

21. Reporting Evaluations
• Assess suitability for your program

22. Reporting Evaluations
• Call out impt info

23. Reporting Evaluations
• Use photos for initial marketing
• Use evals/abbreviated version for pleaing to foster

24. Choosing Cats for Your Program
Questions to ask yourself:
 What space do I have available?
 Is my current cat population varied enough? Do
I have a good mix of age, colour, coat length,
breed or am I heavy loaded with a particular
group of cats?
 How many adoptions will we have this week?
This month?
 Are we expecting a large influx of cats at the
shelter in the next month?

25. Choosing Cats for Your Program
Break down the list
 Determine which cats you think could bring into your
program
 Of those cats, number them in terms of order of saving.
You are looking for FAST adoptions. Consider your priorities
as:
 Kittens over adults
 Litters or pairs over individuals (= more lives saved)
 Highly desirable features/traits (Siamese, Persian, Maine
Coon, declawed, polydactyl, manx, three-legged, one-
eyed)
 Healthy over sick
 Of the cats you decide not to bring into your program:
 plea for adopters on CL

26. Working Example
VIOLET, 1yr & 6 nursing kittens
WALTER & WILLY, 5yr, shy KENZIE, 5yr, Siamese, vomiting
ANTHONY, 4yr, FIV+

27. Working Example
VIOLET, 1yr & 6 nursing kittens
WALTER & WILLY, 5yr, shy KENZIE, 5yr, Siamese, vomiting
ANTHONY, 4yr, FIV+
1
23
4

28. Never an easy job but you want
to make smart choices:
- know your program ‘cat
inventory’
- know your limiting
resources
- pick cats for FAST
adoptions
- FAST adoptions = more
lives saved!!

29. APA! Cat
Rescue:
Other Ways Out
• Lost cats
• Original owners
• Other rescue partners
• Requesting re-
evaluation
• Craigslist

30. Think outside the box….
Stray cats
- Is there signs of having a collar?
- Is their coat in good condition?
- Are they declawed?
- Check on craigslist lost &found
- Check to see which area they were found at
and post a CL with that neighborhood in subject
line
- If you are part of that neighborhood, send an
email to the listserv/neighborhood watch group

31. Think outside the box….
Owner surrendered cats
- Contact owner (by phone) and tell them the cat
is at risk.
- Sometimes owners cannot afford treatment or
are having financial difficulties – any assistance
programs?
- If owner is not willing to reclaim, see if you can
gain more insight how that cat was in the home.

32. Post on Craigslist for Potential
Adopters
• Needs to grab attention
• Make sure cat has a NAME!
• List key, unique features
• e.g. DECLAW, MANX, SNOWWHITE,
SIAMESE
• Give important information – the cat’s ID,
any deadline and where the cat is
• If this is a cat that your Program may bring in,
posting on CL is also a good place to recruit
a new foster. List that option in the CL.

34. Other Tips
• If a cat has improved over time at the
shelter, ask for a re-evaluation by their team
• See if another rescue partner might be
interested in helping a particular cat e.g.
Siamese Rescue
• Good photos are really helpful for attracting
potential adopters and for foster pleas
• Youtube clips are even better! You can often
use them for marketing the cat later too!

35. APA! Cat
Rescue:
Keeping Recruits
• Who to recruit
• What wasn’t
successful
• What works well
• Training strategy

36. Who to Recruit
 Cat experience preferred
 Detail orientated
 Able to think outside the
box
 Responsive to email
 Looking for 3 hour
commitment one day a
week

37. How to Recruit
E.g. volunteer recruitment slide
If you’re good at details and observations, love cats and can
commitment to 3 hours - one day a week please consider joining
our team and be the voice for the cats!
We offer in-depth training for anyone interested in joining our
small team
Why join us?
 You like a challenge
 You want to have a direct impact on lives saved
 You want to meet all kinds of cats
This is a very wonderful and rewarding experience. Please
consider joining our team.

38. What didn’t work!
Problems we ran into:
 Overwhelmed
 Panicked by deadlines
 Emotionally stressed
Jumping in and helping do the list immediately –
the learn-as-you-go approach
- Offer to foster every
cat
- Frantic phone
calls/emails
- Hostility/anger
- Breakdown
- Walking away
HIGH VOLUNTEER TURNOVER

39. What didn’t work!
Remember – this can be a
stressful and lonely volunteer
position.
Evaluators get connected
with cats they are assessing.
They may feel like no-one else
understands and that they are
the cats only chance to
survive.
Jumping in and helping do the list immediately –
the learn-as-you-go approach
HIGH VOLUNTEER TURNOVER

40. What works!
 Step-by-step training is worth the
investment
 Info presented in small pieces
 Time to digest process
 Less pressure
 Multiple opportunities to reinforce
protocols
the step-by-step approach
LOW VOLUNTEER TURNOVER

41. APA!’s Training Strategy
the step-by-step approach
 Intro and tour of shelter
 How to do evaluations
 How to understand the reports
 Shadowing
 Leading Quarterly
team
meetings
LOW VOLUNTEER TURNOVER

42. Questions?
frances.flower@austinpetsalive.org