Vicky Halls RVN Dip Couns & Lauren Finka BSc, MSc, PhD Introducing Cat Friendly Homing: A practical resource to ensure the wellbeing of cats Vicky Halls RVN Dip Couns & Lauren Finka BSc, MSc, PhD

What is Cat Friendly Homing (CFH) about? Maximising homing of cats based on best cat and welfare knowledge, including: Selective admission ‘Best practice’ housing and handling Constant monitoring to maintain and improve welfare Careful matching to potential new owners Think of a homing centre as a conduit, not a destination – homing cats to somewhere which meets their individual needs

Limitations CFH is not intended to replace all the procedures or rules required to run a successful homing facility, for example: disease control (or any other aspect of shelter medicine) management legal considerations protocols for : pregnant females orphaned neonates large groups of cats etc...

10 Guiding Principles of CFH 1. Know your limits 2. Admit selectively 3. Find out as much as you can 4. Create an environment to maximise wellbeing and health 5. Try to ascertain how sociable the cats are with people 6. Monitor cats continuously 7. Minimise length of stay and maximise homing opportunities 8. Prevent future unwanted litters 9. Match cats with owners appropriately, provide support 10. Keep records, review what you are doing, continue to learn

Applying the guiding principles of CFH Traffic Light Assessment (TLA) Lincoln Cat Assessment Test (L-Cat) “how am I coping now?” “what are my individual needs, where should I go next?”

TLA “how am I coping now?” Assess emotional ‘wellbeing’ (whether cats are coping with confinement) Assess cats’ physical health (veterinary surgeon) Make any changes necessary to improve wellbeing and/or health Monitor cats’ health and wellbeing continuously so no cat is ever overlooked

TLA “How am I coping now?" Physical health green: Good health, no sign of infectious, non-infectious disease or trauma Physical health amber: Health requires some monitoring or non-urgent treatment Physical health Red: Health of serious concern due to suffering/welfare/contagious nature of disease etc.

TLA “How am I coping now?" Emotional wellbeing green: “doing ok” (completely at ease in the homing facility) Emotional wellbeing amber: “not doing so well” (not comfortable with confinement and needs some help) Emotional wellbeing Red: “really need your help now” (completely failing to cope and needing urgent intervention)

“what are my individual needs, where should I go next?” L-Cat “what are my individual needs, where should I go next?” Make an assessment of each cat’s temperament (specifically sociability towards humans) Identify any suitable behaviour modification/environmental interventions for specific individuals while in care Determine best future outcome (re: social needs regarding humans) Ensure that only cats that are suitable to live with humans are homed to domestic environments Match cats with suitable prospective owners asap

“what are my individual needs, where should I go next?” L-Cat “what are my individual needs, where should I go next?” Step 1. optimal management Questionnaire regarding behaviour completed by staff member (sociability towards humans, fearfulness and frustration reactivity) L-CAT – cat behaviour score: Q: Should I be homed as a pet? Human-sociability Frustration Reactivity Q: What type of home do I need? Fearfulness Q: What are my needs whilst in the homing centre?

“what are my individual needs, where should I go next?” L-Cat “what are my individual needs, where should I go next?” Step 2. optimal cat-owner matching Questionnaire regarding ideals and expectations completed by prospective owner (used in conjunction with Stage 1 questionnaire for optimal matching) L-CAT – cat behaviour score: L-CAT – owner ‘ideal’ score: Cat ‘Human-sociability Owner ‘Ideal’ Human-sociability Cat Fearfulness Owner ‘Ideal’ Fearfulness

CFH – how it works Monitor and control input, gain maximum information Assess health, allocate health TLA colour Assess emotional wellbeing, allocate wellbeing TLA colour House the cat appropriately Monitor daily and reassess TLA colour (red = daily, amber = every 2 days, green = every 4 days) Assess sociability towards humans using L-Cat (on or after day 7 ) Continue to monitor daily and assess, according to TLA colour until the cat leaves the centre

Why do we need to assess and monitor cats in this way? Cats can be very difficult to manage optimally because: The needs of each cat may differ greatly, depending on their physical health, temperament and previous experiences The effects of being confined in a rehoming centre may have a substantial impact upon the health and wellbeing of cats (both positive and negative) Ensuring each cat has an acceptable level of welfare requires an approach that helps to recognise their needs, identify when welfare is compromised and act quickly to improve wellbeing

What are the basic needs of cats? Hierarchy of Basic Needs for Cats Social and environmental stimulation E.g. With other cats in the same pen or (where well bonded) or with certain people E.g. Feeding enrichment, access to the outdoors or an enclosed ‘run’   4 A predictable and stable environment E.g. Feeding and cleaning routines and human interaction is predictable and the cat is not regularly being moved from one pen to another   3 2 Personal safety and secure access to resources E.g. the cat can withdraw from situations it finds unpleasant. The cat has safe access to all its primary resources 1 Basic physical functions E.g. Food and water provided daily, a comfortable temperature in the environment and daily elimination. Freedom from pain, injury and disease.

What are the risks of NOT meeting the cats basic needs? Immune function Risk of disease Length of stay Risk of long-term psychological/emotional damage Welfare

How can we (inadvertently) cause psychological/emotional damage? “Flooding” Occurs when the cat is exposed to a stressful or aversive stimulus from which it cannot escape, usually for prolonged periods of time until the cat becomes ‘desensitised’. How can “flooding” occur in the rehoming centre? Housing Cleaning & husbandry Noise levels Routines Handling

What are the possible consequences? “Learned helplessness” Behaviours typical to an animal that has endured repeated painful or otherwise aversive or stressful stimuli which it was unable to escape or avoid (i.e. it has been ‘flooded’) . After such experience, the animal fails to learn to escape or avoid new situations where such behavior would be effective.

What are the possible consequences? “Traumatic bonding” aka “stockholm syndrome” A form of ‘coping strategy’ used by individuals to help them to experience their captor as less frightening, threatening or aversive The individual is also likely to be in state of “learned helplessness”

What might “learned helplessness” look like in cats? Tolerance towards human interactions/contact (the cat may even seem to become ‘friendlier’?!) Aggressive behaviour towards humans, other cats etc. Vocalisation and destructive behaviour Quiet, less reactive or responsive (the cat my appear to rest or sleep more) Welfare

Summary: Cat Friendly Homing 7 step process to: Assess and monitor the health and wellbeing of cats and determine suitability for rehoming, using a practical and easy to follow framework Provide rehoming centres with information to support optimal housing and husbandry, stress reduction, behavioural assessments Ensure no cat is over looked or gets ‘stuck’ in the system Ensure all cats are managed in a way that aims to meet their individual needs and improve welfare, based on resources available

Thank you all for listening! We are available in the break to take your questions...