Tipping Point 2013: Radically rethinking our response to cats - PDF document

Making the Case for a Paradigm Shift in Community Cat Management June 27, 2013 ___________________________________ Tipping Point 2013: Radically rethinking our response to cats ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ Dr. Kate Hurley UC Davis Koret Shelter Medicine Program www.sheltermedicine.com ___________________________________ www.facebook.com/sheltermedicine ___________________________________ ___________________________________ How did I get here? ___________________________________ ___________________________________ Uh oh… ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ Which of these things is not like the others? ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________

Making the Case for a Paradigm Shift in Community Cat Management June 27, 2013 ___________________________________ Which of these things is not like the others? ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ 4 ___________________________________ The Cat Continuum ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ 5 ___________________________________ Pet cats ___________________________________ ___________________________________ 74-86 million pet cats ___________________________________ ___________________________________ 80-85% are sterilized ___________________________________ ___________________________________

Making the Case for a Paradigm Shift in Community Cat Management June 27, 2013 ___________________________________ “Community” cats ___________________________________ ___________________________________ 30-80 million un-owned cats ___________________________________ ___________________________________ 2% are sterilized ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ Some common assumptions on which sheltering programs are based ___________________________________ ___________________________________ “Spay/neuter and “Shelter animals have educational efforts owners who might come looking for them .” targeted at owners and pets will ___________________________________ reduce shelter intake.” ___________________________________ “Shelter animals could be ___________________________________ adopted if not reclaimed .” ___________________________________ ___________________________________ How’s that ___________________________________ working for you? ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________

Making the Case for a Paradigm Shift in Community Cat Management June 27, 2013 ___________________________________ Some good news ___________________________________ 25 140 Cats & dogs killed per 1,000 humans 120 ___________________________________ 20 Millions of dogs & cats killed 100 15 ___________________________________ 80 60 10 ___________________________________ 40 5 20 ___________________________________ 0 0 1970 1985 1992 1994 1996 1998 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 ___________________________________ ___________________________________ But… ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ …and it’s a ___________________________________ BIG but… ___________________________________ ___________________________________ Ohio 1996-2004 ___________________________________ 20% ___________________________________ +11% +10% 0% ___________________________________ -19% -20% -40% ___________________________________ -40% ___________________________________ -60% Intake Euthanasia ___________________________________

Making the Case for a Paradigm Shift in Community Cat Management June 27, 2013 ___________________________________ Colorado 2000-2007 ___________________________________ 40% ___________________________________ 30% 36% 20% ___________________________________ 20% 10% 0% ___________________________________ 0% -11% -10% ___________________________________ -20% Intake Euthanasia ___________________________________ ___________________________________ California 2000-2010 ___________________________________ 40% ___________________________________ 30% +28% 20% +24% ___________________________________ 10% 0% -1% ___________________________________ -10% -32% -20% ___________________________________ -30% -40% Intake Euthanasia ___________________________________ ___________________________________ The Cat Who Loved Kittens ___________________________________ She was a stray, domestic long-haired blue cream tortoiseshell, who was brought to our shelter 29 days ago. She was a very ___________________________________ pretty cat. She loved kittens. She didn’t have any with her when she came in, but when she was allowed out of her cage for exercise, she would run up to the cages with kittens in them and try to clean them by licking them….On the days that our shelter ___________________________________ was closed, I’d let her out of the cage to stretch out on my desk and she’d try to play with my pen while I tried to do my paperwork. Two weeks ago, she became the cat who had been ___________________________________ at our shelter the longest, so I had her photographed and made her ‘Pet of the Week’ in our local newspaper. Unfortunately not one person called…No one cared that she was beautiful. No one cared that she got along with dogs and cats. No one cared that ___________________________________ she was young or that she had silky fur, or that she liked to clean kittens, or stretch out on a desk or play with a pen … ___________________________________ 15

Making the Case for a Paradigm Shift in Community Cat Management June 27, 2013 ___________________________________ “The cat who loved kittens” ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ “…Today , when other unwanted cats came through our door filling our cat room beyond capacity, I lovingly took her life .” ___________________________________ * Excerpted from GETTING TO ZERO: A ROADMAP TO ENDING ANIMAL SHELTER OVERPOPULATION IN THE UNITED STATES — PETER MARSH, http://www.shelteroverpopulation.org/ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ Graphic picture ahead ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ In California alone: ___________________________________ 2,510,741 cats in 10 years ___________________________________ 276,052 in one year ___________________________________ 756 per day What is the cost? ___________________________________ ___________________________________

Making the Case for a Paradigm Shift in Community Cat Management June 27, 2013 ___________________________________ Why? ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ What are the goals of a shelter? ___________________________________ • Abide by all relevant laws • Resolve citizen complaints and concerns ___________________________________ • Reunite lost pets with owners • Maintain health and welfare in shelter ___________________________________ • Find new homes for pets • Euthanize suffering or dangerous animals ___________________________________ • Mitigate harm associated with free-roaming animals ___________________________________ • Reduce pet over-population ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ How does admitting ___________________________________ healthy cats to shelters, in ___________________________________ excess of the number released alive, serve these ___________________________________ goals? ___________________________________ ___________________________________