million cat challenge best friends 2016 part 1 of 2

Out with the old school:EMBRACING THE MILLION CAT

CHALLENGE ♥

What does winning mean?

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What does winning mean?

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How does belief influence possibility?

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What do you believe?

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Is there really tension betweenthese two goals? Must we choosebetween wellness and life? Must weabandon hope of compassionate care in order to minimize euthanasia? If we provide every cat in a shelter with a space big enough to stretch all the way out, does that mean more cats will have to die?

“My” local shelter ♥

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Working hard, but not going so well

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Not going so well for welfare either

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Health consequences of poor welfare

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More consequences

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This is a letter alerting and warning Woodland cat owners to a danger

in our county…Several weeks ago, I realized one of my cats had not

come in for several days…I decided to go to the Yolo County Animal Shelter to see if I could find her.

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When I paid the $75 and took her to the car she was coughing and

sneezing. I took her to the Woodland Veterinary Hospital

and…was told it was a very highly contagious respiratory disease. Within a few days, her siblings

were also very sick.

More consequences

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Two days later, the male died…both females are now on the mend, but I

am emotionally, physically and monetarily drained…and all

because an animal control officer by scooping up Aurora subjected

my pets to such pain and suffering.

More consequences

ARGGGGGHHHH!!!!!!!!!!

Intervention

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Results

♥!!!

But still…

A few more changes…

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A whole different picture

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!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What does winning take?

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Confession

The problem

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74-86 million pet cats 30-80 million community cats

What can our superpowers control?

• Whether people have or care for cats?• Whether there

are free roaming cats in the world?

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The limits of our superpowers

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The limits of our $uperpowers

The limits of our superpowers

The bottom line

What can we really control?• Which cats come

through our shelters’ 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

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If it’s not helping, we can stop

We can stop this too

THE CHALLENGE:

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SAVE ONE MILLION MORE CAT LIVES IN NORTH

AMERICAN SHELTERS BY DECEMBER 31ST, 2018

THE COMMITMENT:

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PROVIDE HUMANE HOUSING TO EVERY

SINGLE CAT, EVERY DAY IN OUR CARE

THE TOOLS:

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THE GOAL:

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Have our cake and eat it too!

• Joining is fun and easy: – Shelters with physical facility open for adoptions– Live cat intake, euthanasia, live release # – At enrollment:

• 2012 and most recent calendar year• Goals for current year – every cat counts!

– Updated just once a year– No individual shelter data made public

• If you’re not a shelter, join as a supporter

Let us count you in

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http://www.millioncatchallenge.org

It will take all of us to save them all

Or come see us at booth 526!

#ThanksToMaddie

The Million Cat Challenge is made possible by an educational grant from Maddie’s Fund ♥

US!