Animal Welfare Professionals

Our local shelter has been getting more community cats dropped off & unfortunately they can't be returned where they were trapped. We are trying to work with the cats to see if they can be turned & eventually adopted out to homes as indoor cats. There is a socialization team but there are not enough team members to spend time with them. So, we may have to consider training more volunteers to work safely with these special cats. Do you know anyone who is experienced with un-socialized older kittens & cats (preferably in the Los Angeles area) that can come and give a talk or training session?  I know members of the socialization team can probably train newbies but I was thinking a new perspective may give the program a little jolt. :)  Many thanks in advance. 

Hi - while you search for a new socialization trainer, your team might find these resources from Maddie's Public Library fun and useful:
Fostering and Socializing Unsocial Kittens (interactive class)
Turning Your 'Surrender-ers' into Foster Homes (video)
Behavior Modification for Cats in Shelters and Foster Homes (video)
Behavior Modification for Cats in Shelters and Foster Homes (Q+A with Dr. Sara Bennett pdf) 
Feline Communication: How to Speak Cat (interactive course)
Check out Maddie's University for these and other classes for your team!

Hi Alison. This is great stuff! Thanks for sharing. 

Are you familiar with Hannah Shaw aka "the kitten lady"? I think she's based in San Diego, but travels a lot for training/education events, book signings etc. If she can't help, she will likely know who can. Very positive, well-informed, growing celebrity status so it would probably be fun and energizing for your volunteers, too. 

http://www.kittenlady.org/

Hannah actually pretty strongly advocates for TNR (or if they really can't go back because they would be unsafe... maybe a neighbor is poisoning feral cats, or someone is trapping them and dropping them off at the shelter repeatedly... then barn homes) and doesn't recommend trying to socialize cats over about 8-12 weeks of age. 

How funny. A bunch of us went to see Hannah Shaw this Saturday. She is amazing but I agree with Erin. It seems she doesn't believe you can work with kittens greater than 12 weeks of age or at least not put in the resources to do so. Most of the time we can't RTF & the shelter can't TNR because of our local laws. Thanks for the suggestion though.

Cat Town in Oakland, CA actaully focuses on and has pioneered a lot of work with "Forgotten Kittens" (the under-socialized or totally unsocialized cats ages 3-9 months old), so I highly recommend reaching out to them! Their cat cafe is 100% populated by Forgotten Kittens who have spent time being socialized and are ready to find homes. 

Their step #1 though is getting those cats in foster homes for socialization (and of course training the fosters/providing resources to start interacting with the cats). They do have a few cozy and quiet rooms onsite where they do some socialization, but ideally they send the cats to foster care. 

I attended a Maddie's Apprenticeship there a couple years ago and attached some of the training resources (plus a couple photos related to their Forgotten Kittens).

Attachment(s)

Working With Fearful Cats - Volunteer instructions - Cat ...pdf   898 KB 1 version

Forgotten Kitten Project Training Guide - Cat Town.pdf   182 KB 1 version

Thanks so much. I am well acquainted with Cat Town. :) I also did an apprenticeship there in August 2019 & have their materials. I've shared them with fellow volunteers that were interested. I was thinking that sometimes a "new" person or perspective can be helpful to get others motivated & also learn something new. That's why I was wondering if there was anyone local that could come & give a talk. We don't have a real foster program & have to work with these cats at the shelter within the space limits (their cages) and we don't have a roaming room or "cubicles" like Cat Town. Too many volunteers are not properly approaching these cats & are getting injured or bit. Thanks again. Cat Town is awesome!

I have made research work on outdoor cat shelters and write some articles for cats as well as for dog' shelters. To know more you can read this article: https://petvet.social/without-outdoor-cat-shelter-is-it-safe-to-let-your-bengal-cat-outside/ and you can find solutions for other relevant problems as well.

I would seriously consider writing to Jackson Galaxy. You could also go to his website and see what's available. https://www.jacksongalaxy.com/

Thanks for the suggestion. A bunch of us volunteers saw him present at the Best Friends conference in 2018. He's terrific. 

It's not true that you can't work with these cats over 12 weeks (maybe I am misunderstanding?)...we have taken in several ferals over the years. YES- it is a difficult process, but can be done. We have never had a feral under a year old, and all have become, happy, indoor lap cats. A few have not been able to be held and cuddled, but that's okay. We are happy that if they couldn't be TNR'd, that they still have a good, content life.

Because of ridiculous local laws our municipal animal shelter can not TNR. So for these community or feral cats (if we can't find them barn cat placements) we work with them (sometimes for months) to get them socialized as much as possible (many of them turn out to be very sweet but skittish) then adopt them to more cat experienced and/or understanding & patient homes. Otherwise, the outcome for them is not good.