cats and capacity for care
TRANSCRIPT
Cats, care, and capacity: how much is
enough?
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
2002
2002
My local, open-intake public
shelter, 2014
Maybe it’s not as hard as I thought Scheduled intake
and/or alternatives to intake for cats that exceed capacity for
care and live release
Remove barriers to adoption and
sterilize/return healthy free-roaming
cats that exceed adoption capacity
6
Just maybe not all at
once…
Reality check
What can our superpowers control?
• Whether there are free roaming cats in the world?
– On any given day?
– In general?
• Whether people are allowed to have or care for cats?
– From a shelter?
– In general?
8
The limits of our superpowers
• 11 by 7 miles; 2500-3000 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
Climate is not a constraining factor
“there is no apparent relationship between estimates of feral cats and latitude or January temperature in southern Canada (Table 2), and feral cat numbers may be significant in parts of Alaska”
Blancher, P. (2013). "Estimated Number of Birds Killed by House Cats (Felis catus) in Canada." Avian Conservation and Ecology 8(2).
Cats!!!
11
The limits of our superpowers
The limits of our superpowers
The limits of our superpowers
The limits of our superpowers
15 HSUS Pets for Life Report 2014
The limits of our superpowers
What can we control?
• Which cats come through our 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
17
Easier said than done
In all seriousness
• Take time to acknowledge and mourn the ways in which things aren’t the way we wish they were
• Energize yourself with the knowledge that working within our limits maximizes our effectiveness
• Start by setting the bar for capacity for care within the shelter
Where will you set your bar?
The Five Freedoms
How are you doing?
Freedom from hunger and thirst
• Consistent, high quality food – Adequate variety – Properly stored
• Cage setup that prevents spilling or contamination – At least 3 feet (90 cm) of
separation between food and litter
• Calm, quiet feeding time • Adequate monitoring daily and
long term • Freedom from chronic stress
or illness
37/58 cats lost average 6% body weight in first 7 days
Problem?
Solutions… TLC takes a little time
Problems
Partial fixes
Real solution
Freedom from discomfort
• 3 inch (8 cm) soft surface
• Cool hard surface • Sufficient room to
stretch out – 15” by 36” clear space
• Comfortable ambient temperature (60-80 F)
• Dry, clean cage most of the time
Problem
Solution
Freedom from fear and distress
• No dog sight or sound for confined cats
• Hiding place/visual protection
• Limited noise in general
• Protection from hostile interactions
• Limited environmental change
• Stable caretakers
Problem
Solution
Portals: not just for cats any more
Much better
Problem
Next 26 hours
Solution
Quick partial fixes for small cages
http://www.sheltermedicine.com/cage_covers
http://www.sheltermedicine.com/shelter-health-portal/information-sheets/building-an-elevated-bed-for-use-in-shelter-cat-housing
Another solution?
Sufficient space in group housing
• At least 18.3 square feet (1.7 square meters) floor space for group housed – Vertical space doesn’t
count • But it’s good!
– Outdoor space can count in clement weather
• Small enough groups for some stability/ complete turnover
• Single housing option for non-cat-social cats
How many cats?
http://www.sheltermedicine.com/documents/handy-dandy-group-housing-calculator-for-cats
Hmm, this looks to be about 8’ by
9.5’
Freedom from pain, injury and
disease
• Vaccination on intake starting at 4-6 weeks, and every 2 weeks to 20 weeks
• Treatment for external and internal parasites
• Intake screening and daily health monitoring
• Effective, safe cleaning and disinfection
• Reasonable protection from disease exposure
• Isolation and effective treatment for sick animals
• Freedom from stress sufficient to maintain health
Problem?
Animal ID Age Intake date
Date of:
FVRCP #1
Clinical
Signs (Y/N)
Parvo test
date
Parvo test +
(y/N)
A030632 1 yr 9/2/2010 9/10/2010 Yes N/A
A030633 4 wks 9/2/2010 9/9/2010 Yes N/A
A030728 2 yrs 9/16/2010 9/19/2010 Yes 9/24/2010 Pos
A030377 4 wks 07/22/10 08/01/10 Yes N/A
A030375 4 wks 07/22/10 08/01/10 Yes N/A
A030681 3 mo 09/11/10 09/12/10 Yes N/A
A030682 3 mo 09/11/10 09/12/10 Yes N/A
A030772 8 wks 09/21/10 09/22/10 No N/A
A030774 8 wks 09/21/10 09/22/10 No N/A
A030730 4 mo 09/16/10 09/19/10 Yes 9/24/2010 Pos
A030731 4 mo 09/16/10 09/19/10 Yes 9/24/2010 Pos
A030587 4 wks 08/26/10 09/10/10 Yes N/A
A030588 4 wks 08/26/10 09/10/10 Yes N/A
A030589 4 wks 08/26/10 09/10/10 Yes N/A
Problem
Animal ID Age Intake date
Date of:
FVRCP #1
Clinical
Signs (Y/N)
Parvo test
date
Parvo test +
(y/N)
A030632 1 yr 9/2/2010 9/10/2010 Yes N/A
A030633 4 wks 9/2/2010 9/9/2010 Yes N/A
A030728 2 yrs 9/16/2010 9/19/2010 Yes 9/24/2010 Pos
A030377 4 wks 07/22/10 08/01/10 Yes N/A
A030375 4 wks 07/22/10 08/01/10 Yes N/A
A030681 3 mo 09/11/10 09/12/10 Yes N/A
A030682 3 mo 09/11/10 09/12/10 Yes N/A
A030772 8 wks 09/21/10 09/22/10 No N/A
A030774 8 wks 09/21/10 09/22/10 No N/A
A030730 4 mo 09/16/10 09/19/10 Yes 9/24/2010 Pos
A030731 4 mo 09/16/10 09/19/10 Yes 9/24/2010 Pos
A030587 4 wks 08/26/10 09/10/10 Yes N/A
A030588 4 wks 08/26/10 09/10/10 Yes N/A
A030589 4 wks 08/26/10 09/10/10 Yes N/A
Solutions?
The real problem
Solution
Problem
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.
661/2203 (30%)
Solution?
9 shelters, one year, 49 factors,
25,000 cases of URI…
9 shelters, one year, 49 factors,
25,000 cases of URI…
Drum roll please…
Cage size > 9 square feet Limited movement in first week of care
Solution I am starting to sense a theme…
Full body rub
Relax in a cool spot
Snooze in a warm spot
Get up high
Get down low
Stand tall
Play
Chin rub
Get real long
Look out the window
Snuggle with people
Walk!
Run
Jump
Pounce
Hang out with other cats Drink fresh water
Hang out with dogs Scratch
Graze
Spend time outside
Spend time alone
Groom
Get real small
Plot world domination
Freedom to express normal behavior
How are you doing?
Partial solutions
At lease 5’ from cage fronts Assigned carriers or beds
Best solution of all
Keep cats in shelter confinement only for necessary time to
rehome: < 2 weeks on average for healthy, weaned cats
Neuter and return or provide alternatives to intake for healthy
cats that can’t be rehomed
One more freedom?
How much is enough?
What kind of capacity do you
need?
Holding capacity: how many animals you can care for at once
Flow capacity: how many animals you can care for over time
Algebra :-0!
• Capacity = Intake x LOS
1. Increase physical and/or staff capacity
2. Decrease intake
3. Decrease LOS
LOS effect on LOS
• LOS is single greatest risk factor for disease
• LOS increases risk for chronic stress
• Every day of LOS takes times and costs at least a little
• Decreasing LOS reduces disease risk, lowers stress for animals and staff and reduces cost
• Less disease, less stress and more money can be used to further decrease LOS
Housing, health and LOS
• Adequately sized, double compartment housing for newly admitted cats reduces risk of URI
• Reducing URI reduces LOS
Housing, stress and LOS
• Adequately sized, double compartment housing reduces stress and encourages friendly, active behavior
• Adopters respond to friendly, active behavior
• Reduced stress and friendly, active behavior reduces LOS
Housing, staff time and LOS
• Adequately sized, double compartment housing takes less time to clean and helps reduce disease spread
• Staff that spend less time cleaning and more time interacting with adopters can help reduce LOS
Number of animals housed and
LOS
• For a given rate of outcomes, length of time awaiting outcome is determined by the number of individuals awaiting that outcome
• Self sustaining at any level • Fewer, better quality housing units means fewer individuals in line
Decreasing the # in line at any one time is the most
powerful way to decrease the length of time in the line
Whoaaa…
Start here
9
And here
C4C at the BC SPCA
• Calculated C4C target (“Adoption Driven Capacity”)
• Put healthy strays straight into adoption
• Eased response to sneezing cats – No more “one sneeze” rule
• Waiting list for owner surrenders and strays – Not without exception
• Portalized or opened portals, dropped group room population to recommended levels
http://cfhs.ca/athome/cat_overpopulation_crisis/ page 47
Before
Taking the plunge
74
http://www.spca.bc.ca/branches/vancouver/news/news-cat-portals.html#.UyeAZ8tOXIU
After
Capacity for care is now in implementation
across the province, with strong results
already from most shelters across the
province
• “I know our shelters and most of the staff well. Within seconds of walking in and without asking questions or looking at animals I can tell if they’re practicing C4C simply by reading the staff and reflecting back to what they were like prior to C4C. I can actually feel the reduction in their stress. It’s due to them having the time to properly provide for the animals. “
“Very rare for us now to have URI” “Cats are more
relaxed and healthy…staff is less stressed”
“An overwhelming
success: adoption rate is way
up…cats are happier and more
adoptable”
“The best thing I have seen happen
for cats in the shelter…adoptions up 22%...less stress
for animals and staff”
“Almost doubled our adoption
rate…much larger number are finding
homes faster”
“I love this program…adoptions up 13%...the cats are so happy they don’t say long…length of
stay is down by over 50%”
“Euthanasia down by 15%...length of stay decreased by an amazing 63%”
“Adoptions are up, sickness is down, staff have more
time.”
“Everyone is less stressed…euthanasia is down 40%...we can
now take in more surrenders and strays”
Wow!!!
The math behind the magic
Can you do it?
• Without fooling around with numbers at all:
• If current length of stay in the shelter from intake to adoption is ~15-20 days or more, you can almost certainly double space per cat and drop population – Decreased LOS will be self
sustaining
• If current LOS < 15 days, then let’s get out the calculators
Calculating your overall C4C
• How many cats will come in each day?
• How long will each cat stay?
• Intake x LOS = recommended capacity
Overall recommended daily capacity for non-project cats is:
Daily average intake x 14 or less
Counting cats
• Intake, outcomes and adoptions by month
• Last year and 2 years ago to get average
• By cat versus kitten if you have it
– Err on the side of categorizing cats as adults if you’re not sure
• Think about trends
Intake Adults Kittens
2 years ago 40 25
Last year 31 18
Average 36 22
Expected 35 20
Daily average by month
• Monthly daily average (MDA)
• Intake or adoptions per month, divided by days in the month
• Dividing every month by 30.5 is close enough
• Just look at average, peak and trough to start with
Get cats on the right path
• Start at intake
• Match with housing
• Adoption, transfer, foster, return to field, euthanasia when appropriate
• Don’t load the train with more than can get off at the next stop – Schedule intake by
pathway
– Provide alternatives in the meantime
We are horrified by Dr. Hurley’s
shameless mixing of metaphors on
this slide!
It was not our fault.
Example
Every Monday 100 cats in the shelter
Over the course of the week 75 cats are adopted
Need thoughtful process for other 25
TNR/SNR
Transfer
Admit 25 fewer this week
Euthanasia
OR…cats will continue to stack up…25+25+25…
This won’t end
well…
This won’t end
well…
Ideal LOS pre-adoption/other
outcome • Legal hold
– Short as possible to live outcome for unidentified cats
• Time for evaluation – Don’t wait for friendly and
healthy to get friendlier and healthier
• Needed services – Are you sure? – Max vaccine wait 3 days
• Time for transfer/transport
IDEAL PRE-ADOPTION LOS USUALLY < 7 days
Ideal LOS to adoption
• Usually < 7-10 days
• Long end if not visible during pre-adoption hold or for very small shelters
• Cats that move faster make time and space for cats that move slower
This is not a time limit!!!!
Flow and prevalence
Even if “slow track” cats are only a minority of the population moving through, they will tend to be the majority of the cats in the shelter
Adoption LOS fast
track/slow track (adults)
Fast/slow track Percent
Average
LOS
Weighted
average
Fast track 75% 3 2
Slow track 25% 20 5
Overall 7
Fast track Slow track
31% 69%
Daily population
predictor based on fast
track/slow track LOS
Let’s try it!
Let’s try it!
• E.g. 60 cats admitted on average in June
• MDA intake = ?
• MDA intake = 60/30 = 2
• Pre-adoption LOS: 7-10
• Pre-adoption C4C = ?
• Pre-adoption C4C = MDA intake * LOS
• Pre-adoption C4C = 2 * 7 = 14, 2*10 = 20
• Pre-adoption C4C = 14-20
Let’s try it!
• E.g. 45 cats adopted on average in June
• MDA = ?
• MDA = 45/30 = 1.5
• Adoption LOS: 7-10
• Adoption C4C = ?
• Adoption C4C = MDA adoptions * LOS
• Adoption C4C = 1.5 * 7 = 10.5, 1.5 * 10 = 15
Pre-adoption/hold Adults Kittens Total cats Adult housing Kitten housing Total housing
On-site adoption track holding 3 5 8 3 2 5
Other outcome holding 5 -2 3 5 -1 4
Total pre-adoption holding C4C 8 3 11 8 1 9
Actual pre-adoption inventory 10 15 25 10 5 15
Over or under? 2 12 14 2 4 6
Adoption on site C4C 5 5 10 5 2 7
Actual on site adoption inventory 20 30 50 20 15 35
Over or under? 15 25 40 15 13 28
Total moving towards outcome C4C 13 8 21 13 3 16
Total moving towards outcome inventory 30 45 75 30 20 50
Over or under? 17 37 54 17 17 34
The Capacity 4 Care Pathway
Calculator
http://www.sheltermedicine.com/documents/capacity-for-care-pathway-calculator or type “capacity” into search box
Special project cats and kittens
• Cats purposely not actively moving towards adoption
• Treatment in addition to in-house illness e.g. ringworm program
• Neonatal nursery
• Hoarding cases
• C4C makes room for these
Getting on track
• Define your goal and track progress
• Wait for slow season
• One big push – Or a few smaller pushes
• Fast track/open selection
• Schedule intake/wait list – Serve more over time!
• Reconfigure housing to support C4C as space opens up
Engage the community: explain
what and why
http://catadoptionteam.org/news-events/stories/cat-adoption-team-reduces-adoption-fees-to-empty-the-shelter-for-constructi/435/
Fast track/slow track to reduce
population
What if?
Customer # in line Average minutes to serve
1 2
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Time in line 40
The UC Davis KSMP Muffin Versus Coffee Calculator
What if?
Customer # in line Average minutes to serve Customer type Minutes to serve
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Time in line 40 40
The UC Davis KSMP Muffin Versus Coffee Calculator
What if?
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Time in line 40 40
The UC Davis KSMP Muffin Versus Coffee Calculator
What if?
Customer # in line Average minutes to serve Customer type Minutes to serve
2 2 Coffee 3
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Time in line 40 30
The UC Davis KSMP Muffin Versus Coffee Calculator
What if?
Customer # in line Average minutes to serve Customer type Minutes to serve
2 2 Muffin 1
3 2 Coffee 3
6 2 Coffee 3
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Time in line 40 39
The UC Davis KSMP Muffin Versus Coffee Calculator
Fast track/slow track
• Prioritize movement of “highly adoptable” – E.g. juveniles, super
friendly, special look (or use scoring system)
– “Skip to the head of the line” to move up to adoption and/or…
– Keep fast trackers in view during stray hold
• Prioritize promotion and enrichment for slow trackers
102
Cat care day total in 2009: 43,004 Cat care day total in 2010: 32,459
Admitted 179 more cats, adopted 182 more
http://home.arlboston.org/
Win, win, win, win!
• It is working so well I am completely blown away. The response from the public with regard to the lack of crowding has been very positive, and our volunteer retention for cat volunteers has improved with the improved housing conditions for the cats. It is a win win win win program I wish we would have started years ago!
103
ASPCA PRO: Fast Tracking to Save Lives http://www.aspcapro.org/node/78849
Warning: Adoption promotion
still needed • Promote adoption early,
often and by a variety of means
– Do not wait for crowding!
• Population special efforts
– Historic patterns
– Special occasions
• Individual special efforts
– Characteristics/slow track score rather than time
Adoption Promotions A new, proactive approach to the monthly cat promotions will target cats with low FT scores needing the most promotional support. …to help get them adopted BEFORE they become long term cats.
Turning up the outflow
• Landlord checks?
• References?
• Long applications?
• Proof of vet care?
• All family members/other pets to meet?
Remember me
Turning up the outflow
• Landlord checks?
• References?
• Long applications?
• Proof of vet care?
• All family members/other pets to meet?
Turning up the outflow
• When we started to concentrate on the sense of urgency and how to get them into homes now -- and not hang onto them because we want, not need, but want to do just one more thing; it is amazing how many things are eliminated because they were never really necessary in the 1st place...
Turning up the outflow
• Conversation with adopters to match them with the right pet – It’s ok if it doesn’t work out
– They learned something
– You learned something about the pet
– The pet got a little furlough
• It’s ok to trust your instincts but remember the risks of being too careful too
Turning up the outflow
• So with our 'we can hold 200 cats mindset' -- for the last 3 months, our cat count has been in the 40s and 50s. We are not euthanizing; we are adopting.
Managed admission: controlling
the front end • Short term to get to C4C
or ongoing • Allows thoughtful
balancing act – Needs of cats in the shelter – Needs of cats outside the
shelter
• Allows opportunity for alternatives to be found – By the shelter – By the community
members
• ≠ limited intake
Scheduling just makes sense
• Implementing a managed admission process, in conjunction with calculating our capacity for care to determine the number of appointments, has been incredibly powerful and truly changed how we care for animals and serve the community. Our length of stay has dropped dramatically, the health of the animals has greatly improved and our staff/volunteers are so much happier and truly feel we are doing the best we can for every animal.
Adoption rate went from 54 to 76%!
Length of stay went from 31 to 11
days! Cats euthanized for
URI went from 1279 to 52!
WOW!!!
www.yourspca.org
Not just for owner surrenders
Fast track/slow track scheduling
• Prioritize kittens and highly adoptable young adults
• Set aside designated high quality space for at least a few slow track and super slow track cats
• If possible offer sterilization in the meantime
This is Lou, he is 12 and diabetic. Because we manage our intake he is safe at OHS waiting for a hero to walk in the door. We can only do that because we only accept animals when we have the capacity to care for them. Lou says thanks for advocating for managed intake!
Engage public and staff
118 Cats in Canada report: http://cfhs.ca/athome/cat_overpopulation_crisis/ (page 47)
Take Credit!
Communicate to staff & stakeholders
Still helping animals, just in a different way
Still using resources
Do NOT want the budget cut
Wait for the right time to make C4C
transition
• “We are always low on cats this time of year and do not have kittens on site. So, for us, we did not really have to do much to reduce population except limit intake and move cats to other locations. I only stopped intake on two days to make this happen (12 cats total).”
Matching housing with C4C
• Fine housing but too many cats: – Drop the number of cats in
each group room – Open existing portals – Repurpose extra for special
needs animals
• Plenty of too-small housing: – Portalize side-to-side in
holding areas, up-and-down ideal in adoption
– Closable doors for maximum flexibility/no risk
www.tinyurl.com/portalproject
Matching housing with C4C
• Still not enough housing?
– Condos/cages with 30” compartments with up/down, side/side portals for maximum flexibility
• Kittens per 30” compartment at peak
• Cat per double or quadruple at trough
Matching housing with C4C
• Not enough slow track housing?
• Break large group rooms into smaller groups – 3-5 cats ideal – Periodically adopt down to
zero
• Create some large single units, e.g. repurposed dog runs
• Use a good disinfectant and feel free to use coated wire, wood, other cost effective, lightweight material
Remember C4C tends to increase
C4C
skip
C4C increases C4C
“I am a dedicated advocate for C4C. I have noted a significant increase in LRR (last year 86%) and we have not seen URI at the shelter for a couple of years. With the reduced LOS, less illness and reduced euthanasia cost we are now able to help cats we previously would not of had the budget for. A couple of weeks ago we were able to have a large benign tumour removed from a 16 year old cat who is now available for adoption. “
Putting it all together
• Staying within C4C
• Less illness and more, quicker adoptions
• Shorter length of stay, reduced costs
• More resources to build community capacity
• Fewer animals needing shelter in the first place
Repeat as necessary
Repeat as necessary
The 5 million lives campaign
• “Prevent incidents of harm” compared to pre-campaign baseline
• Identified 6 key initiatives and provided specific resources for implementation
• Voluntary declaration of participation by > 4,000 hospitals
Page 1 of 14
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"The names of the patients whose lives we save can never be known. Our contribution will be what did not happen to them. And, though they are unknown, we will know that mothers and fathers are at graduations and weddings they would have missed, and that grandchildren will know grandparents they might never have known, and holidays will be taken, and work completed, and books read, and symphonies heard, and gardens tended that, without our work, would never have been.“ http://www.ihi.org/Engage/Initiatives/Completed/5MillionLivesCampaign/Pages/default.aspx
The Million Cat Challenge
• UC Davis and University of Florida shelter medicine programs
• 5 initiatives to balance intake, capacity and outcomes
• Voluntary participation by North American shelters
• Baseline 2012, decrease euthanasia/increase live release 2014 – 2019
www.millioncatchallenge.org
Alternatives to intake
Managed admission
Capacity for Care
Neuter and Return for
Community Cats
Remove barriers to adoption
Coming to a world wide web near you in
November 2014!!!
Return to field mini-overview
Feral cats are being captured, neutered or spayed, microchipped then released back to the streets under a new program called Feral Freedom, adopted by the City of San Jose.
Return to field aka SNR
• Un-owned feral or fearful cats presented to the shelter
• Good body condition
• Sterilize, vaccinate, ear tip
• Return near location found
• No feeder required
http://www.bestfriends.org/uploadedFiles/Content/Resources/Resources_for_Rescuers%281%29/Community_Cats/FeralFreedomGuide.pdf
Sharing the good news?
During the first several months of the program, animal control officers and intake desk staff told people dropping off nuisance cats that the cats would be sterilized and returned. This resulted in many heated discussions and complaints from citizens. So, JACPS decided to take cats in and gather the needed information without getting into the specifics about what would happen next. This policy has resulted in far fewer complaints and less stress for the staff involved.
Results
More results
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DOA pickups
down 17%
Why???
140
R
RT
141
R
RT
142
RT
Rabies risk from cats decreased by 11% Toxoplasmosis risk unchanged
143
What about sterilization without eradication?
144
R
RT
145
R
RT
Rabies and toxoplasmosis risk from cats decreased by 33%
The end?
Or just the beginning?
[email protected] for questions, portals, to enroll in the million cat challenge, to tell us how it’s going, etc. etc. etc.