Out with the old school! Can we provide excellent care and still save them all? Can we save more without working harder? Are we unknowingly holding on to outdated sheltering practices that are simply not backed by science? Take this Million Cat Challenge journey and find out how you can do more than you thought possible while still recognizing the limits to your superpowers.

1. Out with the old school:
EMBRACING THE MILLION CAT
CHALLENGE ♥

2. What does winning mean?
2

3. What does winning mean?
3

4. How does belief influence
possibility?
4

5. What do you believe?
5
Is there really tension between
these two goals? Must we choose
between wellness and life? Must we
abandon hope of compassionate care
in order to minimize euthanasia? If we
provide every cat in a shelter with a
space big enough to stretch all the way
out, does that mean more cats will
have to die?

6. “My” local shelter ♥
6

7. Working hard, but not going so
well
7

8. Not going so well for welfare
either
8

9. Health consequences of poor
welfare
9

10. More consequences
10
This is a letter alerting and warning
Woodland cat owners to a danger
in our county…Several weeks ago, I
realized one of my cats had not
come in for several days…I decided
to go to the Yolo County Animal
Shelter to see if I could find her.

11. 11
When I paid the $75 and took her
to the car she was coughing and
sneezing. I took her to the
Woodland Veterinary Hospital
and…was told it was a very highly
contagious respiratory disease.
Within a few days, her siblings
were also very sick.
More consequences

12. 12
Two days later, the male died…both
females are now on the mend, but I
am emotionally, physically and
monetarily drained…and all
because an animal control officer
by scooping up Aurora subjected
my pets to such pain and suffering.
More consequences

13. ARGGGGGHHHH!
!!!!!!!!!

14. Intervention
14

15. Results

16. ♥!!!

17. But still…

18. A few more changes…
18

19. A whole different picture
19
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

20. What does winning take?
20

21. Confession

22. The problem
22
74-86 million pet cats
30-80 million community cats

23. What can our superpowers
control?
• Whether people
have or care for
cats?
• Whether there
are free roaming
cats in the
world?
23

24. The limits of our superpowers
24

25. The limits of our $uperpowers

26. The limits of our superpowers

27. The bottom line

28. What can we really control?
• Which cats come
through our shelters’
doors, and the
outcomes for these cats
• The conditions in our
shelters
• The messages that we
share with the public
• Where we focus our
limited resources
28

29. If it’s not helping, we can stop

30. We can stop this too

31. THE CHALLENGE:
31
SAVE ONE MILLION MORE
CAT LIVES IN NORTH
AMERICAN SHELTERS BY
DECEMBER 31ST, 2018

32. THE COMMITMENT:
32
PROVIDE HUMANE
HOUSING TO EVERY
SINGLE CAT, EVERY DAY
IN OUR CARE

33. THE TOOLS:
33

34. THE GOAL:
34
Have our cake and eat it too!

35. • Joining is fun and easy:
– Shelters with physical facility open for adoptions
– Live cat intake, euthanasia, live release #
– At enrollment:
• 2012 and most recent calendar year
• Goals for current year – every cat counts!
– Updated just once a year
– No individual shelter data made public
• If you’re not a shelter, join as a supporter

36. Let us count you in
36
http://www.millioncatchallenge.org
It will take all of us to
save them all
Or come see us at booth 526!

37. #ThanksToMaddie
The Million Cat Challenge is made possible by an
educational grant from Maddie’s Fund ♥
US!