Mythes et méthodes désuètes : Ça va faire! Mise à jour sur la gestion des chats

AM - Rethinking management of free roaming cats - Dre Kate Hurley (3 heures - anglais)

For over a century, sheltering programs have been a centerpiece of community strategies to manage free roaming cats. The goal of sheltering programs with respect to homeless cats have included: protection of feline welfare, return to owner or adoption of pet cats, protection of public health and wildlife, and mitigation of nuisances. However, extensive recent data suggests that traditional untargeted, unrestricted intake sheltering programs are not the most effective means to achieve these goals and in some cases are actually counterproductive. Increasingly, indiscriminate intake is being replaced by community cat programs (also sometimes termed Return to Field or Shelter/Neuter/Return or simply TNR). These programs involve spay/neuter/vaccination and return of most healthy free roaming cats to the location found (regardless of socialization level), reserving the shelter for cats and kittens that have no safe place to return to or are not thriving in their environment.  Originally conceived as an alternative to euthanasia for cats that would not otherwise likely be adopted, this method has emerged as having surprising benefits in realizing other sheltering goals such as reuniting cats with their families and reducing population impact on the environment, better than the traditional method of shelter intake. This workshop will cover the rationale and data behind this approach along with numerous practical examples and ample time for questions and answers.

PM - Feline Housing; research and practical implications for shelters- Dre Denae Wagner (90 minutes - anglais)

The housing environment will affect every animal, every day, throughout their stay in a shelter or clinic. Good quality housing can enhance health and well-being, reduce daily cost of care, and even affect the chances for adoption or euthanasia for shelter animals. This is particularly true for cats, a species that is exquisitely sensitive to environmental changes. In spite of its importance, housing that fails to meet the needs of cats is still in common use. This lecture will present research and practical approaches to providing housing that better meets the needs of cats at every stage of shelter care, with additional relevance for cats housed in other confined settings such as veterinary clinics and boarding facilities.

PM - Fini le charivari! Des réponses expertes à vos questions (60 minutes)

Heures de formation continue: 5,5 heures