Animal Welfare Professionals

We call our challenging kitties "Spicy"

Thanks for bringing up this topic! It's helpful to align on how terms across the industry, and to share/learn about which terms resonate with adopters, clients, and staff. We recently had a panel Q&A with shared resources on this topic: ASPCA Shelter Behavior Roundtable: Changing How We Talk About Behavior Dogs and Cats. This talk included representatives from administration, marketing, and behavior. 

I'm excited to see what others share here on how they describe various feline behaviors. 

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Renee Dunaway
Dir. Learning Design & Development
ASPCA
NC
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Thanks for bringing up this topic! It's helpful to align on how terms across the industry, and to share/learn about which terms resonate with adopters, clients, and staff. We recently had a panel Q&A with shared resources on this topic: ASPCA Shelter Behavior Roundtable: Changing How We Talk About Behavior Dogs and Cats. This talk included representatives from administration, marketing, and behavior. 

I'm excited to see what others share here on how they describe various feline behaviors. 

------------------------------
Renee Dunaway
Dir. Learning Design & Development
ASPCA
NC
------------------------------

Thank you again for sharing! I listened to the webinar and have some take-aways.  Talking about "cattitude" and the cat being 'prone to aggressive/defensive behaviours or touch sensitivity', focuses on labeling the cat with negative terms. I really like the idea of calling them a Fearless Feline and pairing it with actions people can take to support them. I think I came up with the start of a proposal for the Fearless Feline Program:

The Fearless Feline program aims to shift the focus away from the cat's attitude and instead provide solutions to improve their welfare by highlighting what they need for success. The goal is to foster understanding, compassion, and curiosity about the emotional state of the cat. 

I also wrote up a template that could be added to the cat's bio: 

I'm a Fearless Feline! 

I am learning to be brave and feel safe with people.

Please support me by: 

Not making direct eye contact. 

Speak quietly and move slowly around me. 

Listen to my body language and respect my personal space. 

Keep petting to a minimum until I get to know you better. 

And I think I'll need another writeup for cats who are easily frustrated  and need help building impulse control. 

Thanks for bringing up this topic! It's helpful to align on how terms across the industry, and to share/learn about which terms resonate with adopters, clients, and staff. We recently had a panel Q&A with shared resources on this topic: ASPCA Shelter Behavior Roundtable: Changing How We Talk About Behavior Dogs and Cats. This talk included representatives from administration, marketing, and behavior. 

I'm excited to see what others share here on how they describe various feline behaviors. 

------------------------------
Renee Dunaway
Dir. Learning Design & Development
ASPCA
NC

Alicia - That's excellent that you're focusing on solutions and what the humans need to know to set everyone up for success! I love how you phrased it: "Foster understanding, compassion, and curiosity about the emotional state of the cat."  These instructions are accessibly written. Thank you for sharing them so others can benefit!

In case it's helpful for your adopters or volunteers, we recently created a short video on asking a cat for petting consent. 

Thank you again for sharing! I listened to the webinar and have some take-aways.  Talking about "cattitude" and the cat being 'prone to aggressive/defensive behaviours or touch sensitivity', focuses on labeling the cat with negative terms. I really like the idea of calling them a Fearless Feline and pairing it with actions people can take to support them. I think I came up with the start of a proposal for the Fearless Feline Program:

The Fearless Feline program aims to shift the focus away from the cat's attitude and instead provide solutions to improve their welfare by highlighting what they need for success. The goal is to foster understanding, compassion, and curiosity about the emotional state of the cat. 

I also wrote up a template that could be added to the cat's bio: 

I'm a Fearless Feline! 

I am learning to be brave and feel safe with people.

Please support me by: 

Not making direct eye contact. 

Speak quietly and move slowly around me. 

Listen to my body language and respect my personal space. 

Keep petting to a minimum until I get to know you better. 

And I think I'll need another writeup for cats who are easily frustrated  and need help building impulse control. 

Thanks for bringing up this topic! It's helpful to align on how terms across the industry, and to share/learn about which terms resonate with adopters, clients, and staff. We recently had a panel Q&A with shared resources on this topic: ASPCA Shelter Behavior Roundtable: Changing How We Talk About Behavior Dogs and Cats. This talk included representatives from administration, marketing, and behavior. 

I'm excited to see what others share here on how they describe various feline behaviors. 

------------------------------
Renee Dunaway
Dir. Learning Design & Development
ASPCA
NC

Alicia - That's excellent that you're focusing on solutions and what the humans need to know to set everyone up for success! I love how you phrased it: "Foster understanding, compassion, and curiosity about the emotional state of the cat."  These instructions are accessibly written. Thank you for sharing them so others can benefit!

In case it's helpful for your adopters or volunteers, we recently created a short video on asking a cat for petting consent. 

Thank you again for sharing! I listened to the webinar and have some take-aways.  Talking about "cattitude" and the cat being 'prone to aggressive/defensive behaviours or touch sensitivity', focuses on labeling the cat with negative terms. I really like the idea of calling them a Fearless Feline and pairing it with actions people can take to support them. I think I came up with the start of a proposal for the Fearless Feline Program:

The Fearless Feline program aims to shift the focus away from the cat's attitude and instead provide solutions to improve their welfare by highlighting what they need for success. The goal is to foster understanding, compassion, and curiosity about the emotional state of the cat. 

I also wrote up a template that could be added to the cat's bio: 

I'm a Fearless Feline! 

I am learning to be brave and feel safe with people.

Please support me by: 

Not making direct eye contact. 

Speak quietly and move slowly around me. 

Listen to my body language and respect my personal space. 

Keep petting to a minimum until I get to know you better. 

And I think I'll need another writeup for cats who are easily frustrated  and need help building impulse control. 

Thanks for bringing up this topic! It's helpful to align on how terms across the industry, and to share/learn about which terms resonate with adopters, clients, and staff. We recently had a panel Q&A with shared resources on this topic: ASPCA Shelter Behavior Roundtable: Changing How We Talk About Behavior Dogs and Cats. This talk included representatives from administration, marketing, and behavior. 

I'm excited to see what others share here on how they describe various feline behaviors. 

------------------------------
Renee Dunaway
Dir. Learning Design & Development
ASPCA
NC

Thank you again for sharing! I listened to the webinar and have some take-aways.  Talking about "cattitude" and the cat being 'prone to aggressive/defensive behaviours or touch sensitivity', focuses on labeling the cat with negative terms. I really like the idea of calling them a Fearless Feline and pairing it with actions people can take to support them. I think I came up with the start of a proposal for the Fearless Feline Program:

The Fearless Feline program aims to shift the focus away from the cat's attitude and instead provide solutions to improve their welfare by highlighting what they need for success. The goal is to foster understanding, compassion, and curiosity about the emotional state of the cat. 

I also wrote up a template that could be added to the cat's bio: 

I'm a Fearless Feline! 

I am learning to be brave and feel safe with people.

Please support me by: 

Not making direct eye contact. 

Speak quietly and move slowly around me. 

Listen to my body language and respect my personal space. 

Keep petting to a minimum until I get to know you better. 

And I think I'll need another writeup for cats who are easily frustrated  and need help building impulse control. 

Thanks for bringing up this topic! It's helpful to align on how terms across the industry, and to share/learn about which terms resonate with adopters, clients, and staff. We recently had a panel Q&A with shared resources on this topic: ASPCA Shelter Behavior Roundtable: Changing How We Talk About Behavior Dogs and Cats. This talk included representatives from administration, marketing, and behavior. 

I'm excited to see what others share here on how they describe various feline behaviors. 

------------------------------
Renee Dunaway
Dir. Learning Design & Development
ASPCA
NC

Thank you again for sharing! I listened to the webinar and have some take-aways.  Talking about "cattitude" and the cat being 'prone to aggressive/defensive behaviours or touch sensitivity', focuses on labeling the cat with negative terms. I really like the idea of calling them a Fearless Feline and pairing it with actions people can take to support them. I think I came up with the start of a proposal for the Fearless Feline Program:

The Fearless Feline program aims to shift the focus away from the cat's attitude and instead provide solutions to improve their welfare by highlighting what they need for success. The goal is to foster understanding, compassion, and curiosity about the emotional state of the cat. 

I also wrote up a template that could be added to the cat's bio: 

I'm a Fearless Feline! 

I am learning to be brave and feel safe with people.

Please support me by: 

Not making direct eye contact. 

Speak quietly and move slowly around me. 

Listen to my body language and respect my personal space. 

Keep petting to a minimum until I get to know you better. 

And I think I'll need another writeup for cats who are easily frustrated  and need help building impulse control. 

Thanks for bringing up this topic! It's helpful to align on how terms across the industry, and to share/learn about which terms resonate with adopters, clients, and staff. We recently had a panel Q&A with shared resources on this topic: ASPCA Shelter Behavior Roundtable: Changing How We Talk About Behavior Dogs and Cats. This talk included representatives from administration, marketing, and behavior. 

I'm excited to see what others share here on how they describe various feline behaviors. 

------------------------------
Renee Dunaway
Dir. Learning Design & Development
ASPCA
NC