Paradigm Shift in Cat Management in the Shelter & Community

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Primrose Underwood
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Medicine Program University of California, Davis

1 Paradigm Shift in Cat Management in the Shelter & Community Cynthia Karsten, DVM Koret Shelter Medicine Program University of California, Davis

2 The Five Freedoms

3 One more freedom? Five Freedoms +1

4 Which of these things is not like the others?

5 Which of these things is not like the others?

Some common assumptions on which sheltering programs are based Spay/neuter and educational efforts targeted at owners and pets will reduce shelter intake Animals admitted to

6 Some common assumptions on which sheltering programs are based Spay/neuter and educational efforts targeted at owners and pets will reduce shelter intake Animals admitted to the shelter have owners who might come looking for them Animals admitted to the shelter could be adopted if not reclaimed Extent of application to cats will vary by community

7 So

8 Pretty darn good news

9 But and it s a BIG but

10 Colorado

11 Ohio

12 California

A whole lot of cats California animal control shelters: 2000-2010: 2.

13 A whole lot of cats California animal control shelters: : 2.5 million cats euthanized 276,052 in 2010; 756 per day 2 million annually in U.S.; 5650/day Financial, human, opportunity cost?

14 Why?

15 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

Abide by relevant laws? California F and A 31105.

16 Abide by relevant laws? California F and A The board of supervisors shall provide for both of the following: (a) The taking up and impounding of all dogs which are found running at large in violation of any provision of this division. (b) The killing in some humane manner or other disposition of any dog which is impounded.

17 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

18 Resolve complaints? A 2007 national telephone survey asked: What would you do about un-owned cats in the street? 1

19 Role of a shelter?

20 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

21 Reunite cats with owners? Only ~ 2% of cats reclaimed by owners nationally 12 Cats are > 13 x more likely to return home by non-shelter than by shelter means 13 66% of lost cats found because they return home Only 7% found via call or visit to shelter.

22 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

23 Maintain health and welfare?

24 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

25 Find new homes? Less disparity with dogs than for reclaim and euthanasia Adoption numbers increasing in many communities Flatter trend Increasing intake result in increasing euthanasia in many regions despite adoption efforts

26 Not the only game in town 14 Source of cats, American Pet Products Association, 2012

27 Not the only game in town3, 25

28 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

29 Euthanize suffering or dangerous animals? < 1% of > 100,000 cats at TNR clinics euthanized for humane reasons 8 < 10 % of cats entering shelters are sick/injured 15 Median body condition score ideal 17 Annual survival of semiowned cats up to 90% (unowned ~50%) 18 o 6.8 years in managed colony

30 Euthanize suffering or dangerous animals?

31 Is humane euthanasia in shelters a reality for feral cats? 31

32 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

34 Mitigate harm associated with free-roaming animals? Risk for some diseases is higher in ferals than pets And vice versa Many conditions also carried by other species How could we protect public health if killing cats was not an option?

35 Mitigate harm associated with free-roaming animals? Studies show mixed effect of cats22,23, 24 Micro-habitat specific effect How could we protect wildlife if killing cats was not an option?

36 Reality check Most shelter intake is concern/complaint driven rather than targeted Capture, transport, holding, lethal injection and disposal is time consuming and costly Scope is insufficient to reduce overall population

The limits of our superpowers 11 by 7 miles; 2500-3000 cats 96 cats trapped,

hunters hunting day and night 5 full time teams of 2 trappers running 500

37 The limits of our superpowers 11 by 7 miles; cats 96 cats trapped, infected with panleukopenia, released by helicopter 8 full time teams of 2 hunters hunting day and night 5 full time teams of 2 trappers running 500 lethal traps Poison injected into 30,000 day-old chicks Cats eliminated after 14 years

38 Discontinuing ineffective strategies to control predators can ultimately protect prey

39 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

40 Reduce pet overpopulation? 50% permanent removal OR 75% sterilization/release required to reduce population 9,10 o o Less than 5% of outdoor cat population admitted to CA shelters annually 3 << 1% in shelters on any given day Rough estimate of 1 un-owned cat per 6 people 7 ; 1 pet cat per 4.1 people (AVMA), 40-% allowed outside

41 Wait a minute are those lines going UP?

42 Hmm

43 RT R

44 RT R

45 RT Rabies risk from cats decreased by 11% Toxoplasmosis risk unchanged

46 Rabies and toxoplasmosis risk from cats decreased by 33% R RT

47 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

Using a tool that s mismatched to the job is hurting cats,

48 The bottom line: traditional sheltering is not an effective tool to eliminate or protect community cat populations + = Using a tool that s mismatched to the job is hurting cats, shelters, and communities, and distracting us from finding real solutions

49 How about we just stop?

50 What could we do instead? Expand the options for live release Limit intake to: o Cats that can be released alive o Cats for whom death is clearly the best alternative Invest resources not spent on killing cats on programs to benefit: o Cats o Wildlife o Communities

51 Shelter based TNR, aka Feral Freedom, aka Community Cat Program aka SNR Targets healthy cats brought in to shelter by citizens Neuter/vaccinate/return to location found Direct impact on shelter population and euthanasia Shelter or partnership operated

52 Shelter Crowd Control

53 Shelter Crowd Control

54 Saving Lives Impact on Feline Live Release Rate 100 LRR (%) w/ff LRR (%) w/o LRR FF (%) w/o FF 80 Percent of Intake JUL 07 JAN 08 JUL 08 JAN 09 JUL 09 JAN 10 JUL 10

55 Additional effects?

57 What if this happened in our back yard?

58 What if this happened in our back yard?

59 What if this happened in our back yard?

60 What if TNR for every cat is not an option?

61 Just say no? May be a good choice when: The outcome if admitted will be euthanasia of that cat or another cat o Shelter capacity (including for TNR) o Cat characteristics The cat is not suffering, at immediate risk, or causing danger in the community

Closing the expressway Night drop closed April 2008 Close night drop boxes Discontinue healthy field pickups Schedule stray and owner surrendered intake Limit/decline

62 Closing the expressway Night drop closed April 2008 Close night drop boxes Discontinue healthy field pickups Schedule stray and owner surrendered intake Limit/decline intake of healthy unadoptable cats o o Develop and use intake evaluation tool Feel free to have a slow track Fee for stray and surrender especially if other options limited

63 FIRST, stop bailing. Then see if you can build a dam, divert the flow, build a boat, and/or learn to swim.

64 The Million Cat Challenge! Shelter based initiative Voluntary declaration of participation Balancing intake, C4C and outcomes Share challenges, solutions and success 5 year increase in lives saved compared to baseline

Kate Hurley, DVM Director, Koret Shelter Medicine Program UC Davis Julie Levy, DVM Director, Maddie s Shelter Medicine Program University of Florida Jon Cicirelli Director,

67 Kate Hurley, DVM Director, Koret Shelter Medicine Program UC Davis Julie Levy, DVM Director, Maddie s Shelter Medicine Program University of Florida Jon Cicirelli Director, Animal Care and Services City of San Jose Kathie Johnson Director of Animal Services Animal Humane Society Minneapolis, MN Barbara Carr Director, Erie SPCA Buffalo, NY Many Thanks

69 Any questions?

70 References 1. Morris, K.N., J.L. Wolf, and D.L. Gies, Trends in intake and outcome data for animal shelters in Colorado, 2000 to J Am Vet Med Assoc, (3): p Lord, L.K., et al., Demographic trends for animal care and control agencies in Ohio from 1996 to J Am Vet Med Assoc, (1): p Local Rabies Control Activities. [cited 2012; Available from: 4. U.S. Pet Ownership & Demographics Sourcebook. 2007, Schaumberg, IL: American Veterinary Medical Association. 5. Chu, K., W.M. Anderson, and M.Y. Rieser, Population characteristics and neuter status of cats living in households in the United States. J Am Vet Med Assoc, (8): p Lord, L.K., Attitudes toward and perceptions of free-roaming cats among individuals living in Ohio. J Am Vet Med Assoc, (8): p Levy, J.K. and P.C. Crawford, Humane strategies for controlling feral cat populations. J Am Vet Med Assoc, (9): p Wallace, J.L. and J.K. Levy, Population characteristics of feral cats admitted to seven trap-neuter-return programs in the United States. Journal of Feline Medicine & Surgery, (4): p

71 References 9. Andersen, M.C., B.J. Martin, and G.W. Roemer, Use of matrix population models to estimate the efficacy of euthanasia versus trap-neuter-return for management of freeroaming cats. J Am Vet Med Assoc, (12): p Foley, P., et al., Analysis of the impact of trap-neuter-return programs on populations of feral cats. J Am Vet Med Assoc, (11): p Horn, J., et al., Home Range, Habitat Use, and Activity Patterns of Free-Roaming Domestic Cats. Journal of Wildlife Management, Shelter Statistical Survey. National Council on Pet Population Study and Policy, Lord, L.K., et al., Search and identification methods that owners use to find a lost cat. J Am Vet Med Assoc, (2): p APPA National Pet Owners Survey. 2012, Greenwich. 15. Wenstrup, J. and A. Dowidchuk, Pet overpopulation: data and measurement issues in shelters. J appl anim welf sci, (4): p Scott, K.C., J.K. Levy, and S.P. Gorman, Body Condition of Feral Cats and the Effect of Neutering. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science, (3): p Tanaka, A., et al., Associations among weight loss, stress, and upper respiratory tract infection in shelter cats. J Am Vet Med Assoc, (5): p

72 References 18. Schmidt, P.M., R. Lopez, and B. Collier, Survival, Fecundity, and Movements of Free- Roaming Cats. Journal of Wildlife Management, (3): p Nutter, F.B., J.F. Levine, and M.K. Stoskopf, Reproductive capacity of free-roaming domestic cats and kitten survival rate. J Am Vet Med Assoc, (9): p Ramon, M.E., M.R. Slater, and M.P. Ward, Companion animal knowledge, attachment and pet cat care and their associations with household demographics for residents of a rural Texas town. Prev Vet Med, (3-4): p Chu, K. and W.M. Anderseon, U.S. Public Opinion on Humane Treatment of Stray Cats. 2007, Alley Cat Allies: Bethesda, MD. p Fan, M., Y. Kuang, and Z. Feng, Cats protecting birds revisited. Bull Math Biol, (5): p Courchamp, F., M. Langlais, and G. Sugihara, Cats protecting birds: modelling the mesopredator release effect. Journal of Animal Ecology : p Jessup, D.A., The welfare of feral cats and wildlife. J Am Vet Med Assoc, (9): p Personal communication, 2012, Barbara Carr, Director, Erie SPCA, Tonawanda, NY 26. Personal communication, 2012, Jon Cicirelli, Director, San Jose Animal Care and Services, San Jose, CA 27. Dinnage, J. D., J. M. Scarlett, et al. (2009). "Descriptive epidemiology of feline upper respiratory tract disease in an animal shelter." J Feline Med Surg.

Kate F. Hurley, DVM, MPVM Koret Shelter Medicine Program Director Center for Companion Animal Health University of California, Davis

Kate F. Hurley, DVM, MPVM Koret Shelter Medicine Program Director Center for Companion Animal Health University of California, Davis www.sheltermedicine.com www.facebook.com/sheltermedicine sheltermedicine@ucdavis.edu