Cynthia Delany, DVM and Kate Hurley, DVMUC Davis Koret Shelter Medicine Program

Out with the Old School:Embracing the Million Cat Challenge

Cynthia Delany, DVM - My Background• Undergraduate Degree

– Business/Economics – UCLA 1993• Veterinary Degree/DVM

– UC Davis 2000• UC Davis Shelter Medicine Program

– First Shelter Medicine Program in the country – first residency in Shelter Medicine program started in 2001 with Kate Hurley, DVM as first resident.

– I began my career in shelter medicine for this program as the contract vet to Sacramento County Animal Care and Regulation – 2001 (intake 24,000 animals/yr)

– Currently - Contract vet to Yolo County Animal Services 2011 to Present (intake 4,500 animals/yr)

• California Animal Shelter Friends, Inc. 501(c)(3)– Executive Director– Founded this non-profit rescue group in 2001– Rescuing sick, injured and underage animals from

shelters (and emergency clinics).

Out with the Old School:Embracing the Million Cat Challenge

How did Yolo County Animal Services drastically improve

outcomes for cats in less than 3 years?

*Spoiler alert – we didn’t have a major increase in budget or staffing during this period.

However, now we are facing increased community expectations that have since led to a need for additional

resources to continue to pursue additional improvements.

My Shelter – Yolo County Animal Services

Open Admissions

Where did we start this journey?

• Outcomes 2011 (Fiscal Year 2010 to 2011)• Dogs:

– Adoption - 17%– Rescue/Transfer - 26%– RTO - 30%– Euthanasia - 26%– Overall Live Release for DOGS - 74%

• Outcomes 2011 (Fiscal Year 2010 to 2011)

• Cats:– Adoption - 12%– Rescue/Transfer - 18%– RTO - 3%– RTF - Return to Field - 0%– Euthanasia - 66% – Overall Live Release for CATS - 33%

Where did we start this journey?

• Outcomes 2011 (Fiscal Year 2010 to 2011)

• Cats:– Adoption - 12%– Rescue/Transfer - 18%– RTO - 3%– RTF - Return to Field - 0%– Euthanasia - 66% – Overall Live Release for CATS - 33%

Where did we start this journey?

7Out of 10

CatsEuthanized in this shelter

Just 5 years Ago

Where Did We Start?

Overall Live

Release for

CATS ONLY 33%

Adoption12%

Rescue18%

RTO3%

Eu-thana

sia66%

Cat Outcomes at YCASFiscal Year 2010-2011

Where Did We Start?• Average Daily Cat

Population: – 71 cats

• Average Length of Stay – for cats all outcomes: – 14 days

• Average Length of Stay to Adoption: – 52 days

• 7 out of 10 cats Euthanized

How Did This Feel?• Not good.• It felt horrible.• It felt sad.• It felt overwhelming• It felt discouraging.• It felt relentless.• It felt hopeless.

What is the big picture goal?

Doing the best you can with what you

have.

What are our high level goals?Providing appropriate care

and outcomes for the animals we take in:

1. Not taking in more animals than we can humanely care for.2. Not sacrificing the welfare of animals in our care (medically or

behaviorally).3. Not euthanizing animals that could/should have a positive

outcome.4. Not causing undue suffering for animals that should be

humanely euthanized due to untreatable illness or injury.5. Not sacrificing welfare of our staff, volunteers or the public.

Where Did We Start?

YCAS Initial Cat Euthanasia Risk AnalysisPerformed Late 2011 Based on Calendar Year 2010 Data

Animal Type CATOutcome Type EUTHOutcome Year 2010

Row Labels Count of Animal ID#FERAL 571TOO YOUNG 495FEARFUL 210MED COND 122TIMID 105AGED 51URI 41UNPREDICTA 36ANIM AGGR 34UNSOCIAL 33HUMANE 33AT VET 26MNTLY UNSN 17SHLTR FULL 16HEALTH DEP 9FIV 9RINGWORM 7HAS BITTEN 6PEOPLE AGG 6FELV 4POSSES AGR 1FOOD AGGR 1Grand Total 1833

Behavioral Too Young Medical Condition Aged Other0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1020

495

242

51 25

YCAS Cats Euthanized - Calendar Year 2010By Reason for Euthanasia

Reason for Euthanasia

Num

ber o

f Cat

s Eut

hani

zed

84% of euthanized cats

OVER 1,500 CATS

Euthanized for Non-Medical Reasons

Euthanasia Risk Analysis Results

FeLV+

Ringworm Chronic Dz

Bottlebabies

Ferals

Healthy Kittens

Healthy Adults

Seniors

Underage Kittens

FIV+

Looking for “Easy” Big WinsFeLV+

RingwormChronic

Dz

Ferals

Healthy Kittens

Healthy Adults

Seniors

Underage Kittens

FIV+

Bottlebabies

Our “Save Them All” Goal:• Reserve euthanasia for cats that have

serious, untreatable, illness or injury – where medical euthanasia is appropriate to prevent irremediable suffering.

• Try to find a live release option for all other cats.

• We knew we would need to take baby steps to get there due to limited staff, budget, space and limited adoption options for some cats.

Our “Save Them All” Goal:• At our public shelter to try to save them

all we have to operate cost effectively:– Minimize length of stay (how long the animal

stays in the shelter)– Minimize animal care days

• Each day of care has a $ cost in staffing, supplies and overhead to the shelter.

• Each day in the shelter has a cost to the animal in terms of stress, potential exposure to illness, possible deterioration of behavior.

– Also, each cat staying in the shelter unnecessarily is taking up a spot that could be used to help another cat who needs you (in our community or in the community next door).

Our “Save Them All” Goal:• Ultimate goals for us:

–HIGH Live Release rate/# of cats–LOW Euthanasia Rate/# of cats–LOW Average LOS (length of stay)–LOW Average Daily Animal

Population• We knew that over time we could

help more cats by doing all of this right.

What did this look like in

real life for us?

YCAS – Changes in Cat Programming

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

2010-2011

66% Cat Euthanasia

Rate

2009-2010

68% Cat Euthanasia

Rate

YCAS – Changes in Cat Programming

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

2010-2011

66% Cat Euthanasia

Rate

End of 20111. New role for new

shelter vet (including some

shelter management

duties).

2009-2010

68% Cat Euthanasia

Rate

• Improved daily population management process to see what was really going on.

• Began by talking with staff and management, asking questions, questioning assumptions.

• This was before the Million Cat Challenge was a program, but the concepts it is based on (the 5 initiatives) were being developed within the industry by progressive shelters.

Why don’t we have a kitten foster program?Kittens are more highly adoptable than any other animals.

If we can just keep them healthy and safe to 1.5 lbs we can find them homes.

Why are we using field officers to pick up healthyferal cats in the field?We’re not mandated to do it.

We’re euthanizing almost 100% of them.Almost all of them are in good condition, doing fine where they are.If we remove them more cats will just fill their spot in that location.

We have limited field staff and other issues that are a higher priorityfor public safety and animal welfare concerns.

Baby Steps – late 2011/early 2012Why are we using field officers to pick up healthy

social stray cats in the field?We’re not mandated to do it.

We’re euthanizing more than 50% of them.They’re 14x more likely to get home safely if we just leave them alone.

Why are we making it so difficult for people toadopt cats from us?

We’re euthanizing 70% of our cats and our adoption rate is only 11%.Our average length of stay to adoption is more than 50 days.

It costs us time and money to care for each cat.But, we charge too much ($115 for a cat/kitten) & make it too difficult to adopt,

even requiring proof of home ownership (for a kitten!).

Why are we taking in over the counter andeuthanizing healthy, thriving feral and fearful cats?

We’re not mandated to do this.We’re not an extermination service (we don’t help the public seek out

and euthanize other “wild” free roaming animals).They’re doing fine where they are, filling a niche, doing a job.

Baby Steps – mid 2012Why are we are we taking in convenience(non-emergency) owner surrenders when

the shelter is full due to kitten season and we’reeuthanizing healthy cats?

We’re not mandated to do it.We’re euthanizing more than 50% of them.

Baby Steps – New Programsearly to mid 2012• Removing Barriers to Adoption:

– Adoption promotions– Old fashioned (guerilla) marketing– Fee specials to fee waived adoptions– Social media marketing– Open adoptions philosophy– Off-site adoption events– Volunteers to help as adoption counselors

Baby Steps – mid 2012 (kitten season)• As adoptions began to

improve we were able to start addressing another issue.

• No shelter kitten foster program.

• The shelter had concerns:– Not enough staff to oversee – Not enough money for supplies– Adoption rate too low

• What would happen to the kittens (and adults at the shelter) when fosters came back?

– You can’t just “stash” animals in foster and call the problem solved, they have to have a final outcome.

Baby Steps – mid 2012• Kitten foster program partnership

with rescue group (Alternatives to Intake)

• Stopped field pick-up of healthy stray cats (Alternatives to Intake)

• Intermittent waiting list for non-exigent owner surrenders when shelter too full (Managed Admissions)

• Began community cats/return to field for feral cats (Return to Field)

• Completed portalizing our cats cages – no more single compartment cat housing! (Capacity for Care)

SNR – Return to Field (RTF)• Shelter Neuter Return

– Not the same as TNR• Shelter is not purposefully going out and

trapping cats.• Shelter is not encouraging the public to

bring them cats for spay/neuter.• These are cats that are already coming

into the shelter – primarily as strays.– No adoption option but healthy and not at

risk where they are. Depending on the facility this could be cats who aren’t adoptable due to:

» Behavior – Feral/fearful or aggressive» Shelter Presentation – stressed, cat

reactive» Shelter Limitations – low overall adoption

rates, shelter over-crowding, limited staffing, etc.

– Historically would have been euthanized.– This program allows for them to be

altered and returned to origin instead of being euthanized.

Also Over This Period - Housing Improvements:Transitioned To Larger Cages – Portalizing, Improved Hiding Spaces, Bedding,

Toys (environmental enrichment to keep the cats happy and healthy)

Cage Changes – Between 2011 and end of 2012

Early in all of this we went from105 cat cages

(mostly single compartment, too small, suboptimal)

to55 cat cages

When we transitioned to each cat having at least a double (if not triple) compartment cage to increase welfare and

decrease stress.

We could not have done this without causing an increase in euthanasia if we hadn’t implemented all of our new programming to decrease length of stay and begin

managing intakes.

Next Steps – early to mid 2013• Kitten foster program

through the shelter itself as “pilot” program.

• Now, as of 2015/2016 it is well entrenched, well-developed, very successful. (Removing Barriers to Adoption and Capacity for Care)

Other Consequences – Animals to Foster

Other Consequences – Animals to Foster

NOTE: We do not have 929 animals sitting in foster.We have 20-80 animals in foster at one time (80 would be at the height of kitten season).

We keep foster population as closely managed as on-site population.

We minimize LOS in foster by using kitten surgery weight of 1.5 lbs and

healthy for surgery/adoption.

Next Steps – early to mid 2013• Barn cat program for cats

that aren’t adoptable but can’t go back to origin. (Return to Field)

• Due to success with all of these programs we are now able to offer cats with mild medical or behavioral issues for adoption. (Capacity for Care) **More on this in a minute.

This is “Evil”,one of my barn cats, hanging out with my

rescued draft horse, Mystik, (a former premarin mare)

and our 2 camels.

New Programs at YCASPrimarily Implemented Between 2012 to 2014

Over this 3 year period the Million Cat Challenge was being conceptualized and launched nationwide.

MCC used shelters like Yolo as “living laboratories” to develop initiatives that even the most challenged shelter can implement.

Yolo now has programs in all 5 of the initiatives to decrease the number of cats euthanized in our shelter:

YCAS – Changes in Cat Programming

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Spring 20122. Began adoption fee reductions and

promotions.3. Began more open adoptions.

2010-2011

66% Cat Euthanasia

Rate

End of 20111. New role for new

shelter vet (including some

shelter management

duties).

Early Summer 20124. Partnered with

rescue group to start pilot Kitten Foster Program

5. Off-Site Kitten Adoptions

Late Summer 2012

6. Expanded veterinary role.7. Phased out field pickup of healthy cats.

2009-2010

68% Cat Euthanasia

Rate

Spring 20139. ASPCA Grant to start YCAS shelter kitten Foster Program.10. Barn Cat program

expanded.

11. Implemented some managed

admissions strategies.

10% Cat Euthanasia Rate

Late Summer

20128. SNR Program Started

Biggest Concerns for Our Shelter

• Trying new things.• Dealing with limited resources (time,

money, people)• “Pilot” programs helped a lot – to just try

something new, see how it goes.• Trusting the public – as adopters, as

partners in our efforts, as able to be educated.

• Understanding that the public sees us as the experts and will often accept what we tell them about our policies and procedures without argument or doubt.

What were the measurable and

palpable results of this flurry of

activity?

Where are we now?

From This:

Overall Live Release for CATS

33%

Adoption12%

Rescue18%RTO3%

Eu-thanasia

66%

Cat Outcomes at YCASFiscal Year 2010-2011

Adoption37%

Rescue33%

RTO3%

RTF 12%

Euthanasia12%

Cat Outcomes at YCASFiscal Year 2015-2016

Overall Live Release for CATS

85%

To This:

From This:

Overall Live Release for DOGS

72%Overall Live Release for DOGS

96%

To This:

Adoption17%

Rescue26%

RTO29%

Euthanasia27%

Dog Outcomes at YCASFiscal Year 2010-2011

Adoption38%

Rescue23%

RTO35%

Euthanasia4%

Dog Outcomes at YCASFiscal Year 2010-2011

The “Downside” of “Success”:

• Bottlebabies – no longer euthanized on arrival, require more care and have higher mortality rates in foster.

• More owner surrenders of sick/injured – believing we will fix the animal.

• More feral cat caregivers bringing sick/injured ferals in now that we treat.

• More “out of county” intakes due to word of our success.• More cats/kittens realized to have medical issues (previously

euthanized due to age/behavior).• Results in much more medical care needed and a higher

percentage of medical euthanasia in cases where animals aren’t treatable.– But, we are preventing suffering for these animals by assessing them,

attempting care and only euthanizing if irremediably suffering.– As a veterinarian I am okay with medically appropriate humane

euthanasia. It’s part of my oath to help all animals.

But wait...there's more:

We didn't "just" see an

improvement in final outcomes.

Other Consequences – Length of Stay

Average of LOS Column LabelsRow Labels 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016ADOPTION 52 42 25 23 15 10 10 9DIED 6 17 5 4 2 0 1 1EUTH 6 4 4 4 3 2 3 2FOSTER 8 7 8 8 3 2 2 2RESCUE 14 8 6 7 5 3 2 2RTO 4 5 4 4 3 4 5 2TRANSFER 55 20 13 7 7 7 8 7RETURN TO FIELD 7 3 4 4 2Grand Total 14 9 8 8 6 5 5 4

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

71

52

43 4138 37 35

YCAS Average Daily Cat PopulationFiscal Years 2009-2010 to 2015-2016

2009-2010 2010-2011 2011-2012 2012-2013 2013-2014 2014-2015 2015-2016

Summary of Changes - Yolo County Animal ServicesCats – Fiscal Year 2010-2011 vs Fiscal Year 2015-2016

33%

85%

157% Increas

e

742

1578

113% Increas

e

66%

12%

82% Decreas

e

1667

222

87% Decreas

e

2524

1862

26% Decreas

e

9 days

4 days

55% Decreas

e

52 cats

35 cats

33% Decreas

e

2010 to

2011

2015 to

2016

% Change

What were the Financial Aspects?

• Have not had huge increases in staff or budget.

• We’ve done things slowly on a shoestring budget until we could prove they would be successful.

• We are just now asking our jurisdictions to accept new contracts with slightly higher fees.– But, we’ve also been undercharging for some

time (while providing more services to the animals in our care and better outcomes than ever before).

• The next step for us financially is to ensure that our budget supports our current and planned lifesaving programs.

Yes, but how does it feel?2009 2016

60 CatsAverage LOS 18 Days

23 CatsAverage LOS 8.5

Days

Yes, but how does it really feel?

Adoption2 cats (10 empty cages)

Each cage = triple compartments

And.....we’re not done.• You’re never done in the shelter

industry.• There is always another, new

challenge to tackle.

Analyze Current

Outcomes

Look for “Low

Hanging Fruit”

Set Goals

Explore Perceived Barriers

Overcome

Barriers Circle of

(Shelter) Life

Further Evolution of Cats At Yolo – 2014/2015 and Beyond

• We have continued to expand our Managed Admissions policies to match healthy cat intakes with our Capacity for Care– We will always take sick, injured, orphaned– We educate the public – owners and finders of healthy

strays - about Alternatives to Intake and only take in these cats if we have the capacity for them:

• We educate about community cats (they don’t need to be snatched up from their outdoor homes and brought to our shelter).

• We give them information on other options – rescues, rehoming the animal themselves, barn home options, etc. if they aren’t comfortable leaving the cat as a free roaming cat if we aren’t able to take it at that time.

Further Evolution of Cats At Yolo – 2014/2015 and Beyond

• We educate the public that if a cat they bring us is not adoptable and is healthy it will likely be Returned to Field

• We are now able to offer some TNR clinics for the public on weekends (using grant funding and days we wouldn’t otherwise do surgeries - avoiding negatively impacting our shelter population).

• Removing Barriers to Adoption increased our Capacity for Care– Adoptions have increased so much we

have more options for more difficult adoptions:

• Fearful cats – able to work with them and offer for adoption.

• Senior cats• Cats with minor or treatable chronic illness • Cats with other medical conditions

– Always balancing “Fast” and “Slow” track populations.

• We can now focus resources on cats who really need our care and do more for them.

Further Evolution of Cats At Yolo2014/2015 and Beyond

Reaching for “New” Low Hanging Fruit

FeLV+

RingwormChronic

Dz

FeralsHealthy Kittens

Healthy Adults

Seniors

Underage Kittens

FIV+

Bottlebabies

Saving Them Better – Spectrum of Care

No care, no euthanasia even if suffering, suffering in shelter until death.

No care – euthanasia on arrival.

Minimal care during stray hold - euthanasia at end of stray hold.

Salvage care with live release.

Best possible care with live release.

Collaborative Veterinary Care• Increasingly we are seeing medical cases

that benefit from a collaborative effort.

68

• Field services picks up injured animal.

• Taken to emergency clinic for initial care.

• Returned to shelter from clinic.

• Shelter provides additional care.

• Or• Transfers to rescue for

care.

Capacity for Care – Allowing “Best” Care

Collaboration Was Key• Good emergency clinic to assess/stabilize.• Further assessment and care at shelter.• Partnering with local practice or other

resource (in our case now – the coroner’s office) to get x-rays.

• Being able to have advanced soft tissue surgery or extensive wound care at shelter or rescue.

• Being able to provide needed prolonged aftercare.

• Being able to offer for adoption after recovery.72

Yolo’s Journey - Summary

• From overall 50% Live Release (dogs and cats) to >90% in less than 3 years.

• New ways of thinking• New programs• BUT, not a lot of additional funding or staff

during this time period• Mostly a “philosophy shift” and being

willing to try new strategies that were proving to be successful for others in the industry.

CAN WE COUNT YOU IN?

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

Join Us Today!www.millioncatchallenge.org

???

Cynthia D. Delany, DVMcddelany@ucdavis.edu Do you have

any questions?

???

Cynthia D. Delany, DVMcddelany@ucdavis.edu Do you have

any questions?

UC Davis Koret Shelter Medicine Program

www.sheltermedicine.com

ASPCA Pro Website

www.aspcapro.org

Maddie’s Institute Website

www.maddiesfund.org

HSUS Website

www.humanesociety.org