Animal Welfare Professionals

I've worked in animal care for a decade now and I care mostly for cats. I've been employed at a non-profit, upscale shelter for almost a year now that has a lot of issues but I'm going to name something I believe is an easy fix but they will not allow us to fix. Im sorry if this is all over the place im trying to be as concise as possible. Upper management require that all cats be given shredded newspaper as litter,  large shreds of dry news paper, usually donated by the public, it reminds me of bedding except for the bits of plastic in it because people shred all sorts of things.   many cats will not use the litter, either opting to go outside the box or more concerningly, not go at all for days. As soon as they get real litter they will go and it's very depressing.  The ink gets everywhere and kittens will get adopted having a difficult time with litter training. They will allow us to give them litter but they need to not go to the bathroom for 3 days. Which at that point is just unhealthy. Donors have offered to provide the money for the litter, volunteers offered to buy the litter but they make it clear it's not about money, it's preference. I could understand if the concern is dust or clay, the people providing the litter could provide alternatives. They will not sit down to talk to anyone about this, the way the management is set up people are afraid to go directly to them. The main decision maker in all this talked to me once in all this, but it was literally yelling at me, which since it was in front of people i was able to file an hr complaint. The board of directors is made up of a bunch of wealthy friends of theirs and they have no opinion. Now because of me bringing up my concerns they send down people to check the litter boxes and question our decisions to give the cats real litter. It's a constant argument but not in person because as I said they will not see me in person. I went as far as meet when the hr person because all I want to do is ask why these cats can't have basic things. I got a list of reasons why they choose the shred but what it really seems to come down to is they dont want to change. Worst part is litter box issues are a huge reason for putting a lot of cats down in our shelter. I'm not sure what to do. I know they are not doing anything illegal. I included some pics. I have more, I don't know if they get across what I want to get across. 

#AccesstoCare
#Behavior,TrainingandEnrichment
#LawsandPublicPolicy

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heather rhinier
Shelter care taker
Cecil county animal services
DE
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Hi Heather, 

This is an incredibly frustrating situation that is clearly having a negative impact on the welfare and outcome of these cats. I have two takes on this. First, if it's something you or a peer is comfortable with, you might consider making this situation more public, such as contacting your local news station. If the litterbox situation is visible to visitors to the shelter, it would be easy to remain anonymous and pass off the tip-off as from a concerned citizen, if retaliatory action is a concern. Animal welfare is an emotionally charged issue, and a public backlash might be what it takes to create change. More so if this is a municipal shelter where people's tax dollars may be going. 

My other thought, if you don't want to go that route, is to come at it from a sanitation perspective. the ASV Standards of Care guidelines have sections regarding sanitation and reducing pathogen spread, and based on the photos you've shared, that's a very real concern. Spread of disease = $$$ The cost of housing and treating sick animals, as well as the behavioral issues that can result from extended confinement due to quarantine will cost an organization way more time, money, and resources. As well as negatively impacting a shelter's live release rate, which doesn't look good in the court of public opinion.  

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Kate Rachiele
Pet Program & Operations Administrator
Willow Domestic Violence Center
Rochester, NY
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Hi Heather:

I'm so sorry you have to deal with this issue! I know people generally resist change, but sometimes it feels like changing the simplest of things can cause such undue distress. 

To go a little further on Kate's idea of the health and sanitation considerations: is it possible for you to get documentation from a veterinarian that this paper litter is unsanitary, and then that can be presented to the board? I know it seems ridiculous, but sometimes "the doctor" gets a different response from people than non-veterinarians. (And please don't think that I'm saying your opinion and ideas aren't JUST as important, just thinking of other ways to try and get through to your "powers that be.") 

Best wishes to you and the cats you are helping.

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Kirsten Cianci, VMD
Palmetto Animal League
Ridgeland, SC 29936
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I am so sorry you are dealing with this. This sounds incredibly frustrating, especially if it is making it hard on staff and the cats don't even want to use the litter boxes. I am not sure if you can draft up and email to upper management to share your concerns or have someone you can speak with. We use clumping litter at our rescue because it is healthy for the cats and easier to clean and we use pellet litter with our cats at the clinic. We are non-profit so we do shout outs to donors for litter and get a lot donated. I am not sure if your place is trying to save money with what they are doing, but you can definitely get donations and grants. I hope you find a solution and thank you for all you are doing.

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Stefanie Schmidt
Animal Welfare Specialist
Hearts Alive Village
NV
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That is so frustrating and heart breaking! Thank you for advocating for the cats <3  Do you have colleagues in the shelter who are on the same page as you? Sometimes change can be made when there are many voices supporting it. 

Our shelter uses pine pellet litter primarily, with the full understanding that it's not ideal for the cats. If a cat doesn't use the litterbox for a day or so when they first come in, or if they use their bedding, we switch them to clay and recheck the next day. If we have a cat surrendered for house soiling we place them in a room with 3 litterbox options (clay open, clay covered, pine pellets open) and monitor while awaiting urinalysis. Simply having a non-scented, fine-grain, clay litter in a large, open litterbox solves our non-medical house soiling cases most of the time. 

All house soiling cats should have a thorough medical exam. Perhaps that's an angle you could use? Euthanizing cats for house soiling without determining if there is a medical condition is poor practice. If there is pushback against the cost of medical care for all the cats who are house soiling, that's when you bring up that there would be fewer cases of house soiling cats needing medical exams if the cats received a more preferred litter. 

Then have a plan in place for a proposed change. For example; All cats start with the shredded newspaper litter (starting at the point where upper management wants to be). If a cat does not urinate or defecate for 24 hours, they should be offered an alternative litter (this is for the cat's health and wellbeing). If a cat soils their bedding X number of days, they can be offered an alternative litter (this is to rule out house soiling due to litter substrate preference and can reduce the number of cats being flagged for medical exams). If a cat continues to house soil, they are flagged for a vet exam to rule in/out medical conditions. 

Have a clear outline of exactly what you would like to change; who would be involved and what resources do you need, how the change will affect the cats wellbeing (and the wellbeing of the volunteers, staff, and public who interact with the cats), and ask to test this as a pilot project for 2-3 months so you can gather data about how effective the changes are. Also include what data you would like to track; number of cats in the shelter, number of cats not using their litterbox, number of cats euthanized for house soiling, how much litter is getting used (and what types), and anything else you think is important for the decision makers to know.  Get those numbers for the last couple months so you have a baseline to compare to.  

And as Kate said in their comment; poor sanitation is a massive welfare and cost concern. Use public opinion in your favour for creating positive change in your org. 

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Alicia Naundorf
RVT
Edmonton Humane Society
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I think this is a great "compromise" option; our default is pine pellet, but if a cat doesn't use the box for 24 hours, go outside the box, or is noted to have litterbox concerns, we switch them to clay. There are some weeks where 90% of the cats have regular clay litter! You could do the same with the newspaper - try it for 1 day and if there's issue, switch them to real litter! 

Maybe the new plan paired with Kirsten's comment about getting a vet's input would work best? Pretty sure that literally any vet will vouch for the fact that it's unsafe if cats don't pee for 3 days...

Thank you for advocating for the cats in your care :) I'm sorry it's been so challenging! 

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Erin Dams
Community Relations Coordinator
Roanoke Valley SPCA
Roanoke VA
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Original Message:
Sent: 10-03-2024 09:28 AM
From: Alicia Naundorf
Subject: Ideas for how to deal with cat litter issue?

That is so frustrating and heart breaking! Thank you for advocating for the cats <3  Do you have colleagues in the shelter who are on the same page as you? Sometimes change can be made when there are many voices supporting it. 

Our shelter uses pine pellet litter primarily, with the full understanding that it's not ideal for the cats. If a cat doesn't use the litterbox for a day or so when they first come in, or if they use their bedding, we switch them to clay and recheck the next day. If we have a cat surrendered for house soiling we place them in a room with 3 litterbox options (clay open, clay covered, pine pellets open) and monitor while awaiting urinalysis. Simply having a non-scented, fine-grain, clay litter in a large, open litterbox solves our non-medical house soiling cases most of the time. 

All house soiling cats should have a thorough medical exam. Perhaps that's an angle you could use? Euthanizing cats for house soiling without determining if there is a medical condition is poor practice. If there is pushback against the cost of medical care for all the cats who are house soiling, that's when you bring up that there would be fewer cases of house soiling cats needing medical exams if the cats received a more preferred litter. 

Then have a plan in place for a proposed change. For example; All cats start with the shredded newspaper litter (starting at the point where upper management wants to be). If a cat does not urinate or defecate for 24 hours, they should be offered an alternative litter (this is for the cat's health and wellbeing). If a cat soils their bedding X number of days, they can be offered an alternative litter (this is to rule out house soiling due to litter substrate preference and can reduce the number of cats being flagged for medical exams). If a cat continues to house soil, they are flagged for a vet exam to rule in/out medical conditions. 

Have a clear outline of exactly what you would like to change; who would be involved and what resources do you need, how the change will affect the cats wellbeing (and the wellbeing of the volunteers, staff, and public who interact with the cats), and ask to test this as a pilot project for 2-3 months so you can gather data about how effective the changes are. Also include what data you would like to track; number of cats in the shelter, number of cats not using their litterbox, number of cats euthanized for house soiling, how much litter is getting used (and what types), and anything else you think is important for the decision makers to know.  Get those numbers for the last couple months so you have a baseline to compare to.  

And as Kate said in their comment; poor sanitation is a massive welfare and cost concern. Use public opinion in your favour for creating positive change in your org. 

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Alicia Naundorf
RVT
Edmonton Humane Society
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How about mixing pine pellets with regular litter, or regular litter with shredded paper (free) to conserve regular litter. Don't think pine + paper would produce effective consistency for kitty to dance around in!

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Carolyn Kostera
NA
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Original Message:
Sent: 10-03-2024 09:28 AM
From: Alicia Naundorf
Subject: Ideas for how to deal with cat litter issue?

That is so frustrating and heart breaking! Thank you for advocating for the cats <3  Do you have colleagues in the shelter who are on the same page as you? Sometimes change can be made when there are many voices supporting it. 

Our shelter uses pine pellet litter primarily, with the full understanding that it's not ideal for the cats. If a cat doesn't use the litterbox for a day or so when they first come in, or if they use their bedding, we switch them to clay and recheck the next day. If we have a cat surrendered for house soiling we place them in a room with 3 litterbox options (clay open, clay covered, pine pellets open) and monitor while awaiting urinalysis. Simply having a non-scented, fine-grain, clay litter in a large, open litterbox solves our non-medical house soiling cases most of the time. 

All house soiling cats should have a thorough medical exam. Perhaps that's an angle you could use? Euthanizing cats for house soiling without determining if there is a medical condition is poor practice. If there is pushback against the cost of medical care for all the cats who are house soiling, that's when you bring up that there would be fewer cases of house soiling cats needing medical exams if the cats received a more preferred litter. 

Then have a plan in place for a proposed change. For example; All cats start with the shredded newspaper litter (starting at the point where upper management wants to be). If a cat does not urinate or defecate for 24 hours, they should be offered an alternative litter (this is for the cat's health and wellbeing). If a cat soils their bedding X number of days, they can be offered an alternative litter (this is to rule out house soiling due to litter substrate preference and can reduce the number of cats being flagged for medical exams). If a cat continues to house soil, they are flagged for a vet exam to rule in/out medical conditions. 

Have a clear outline of exactly what you would like to change; who would be involved and what resources do you need, how the change will affect the cats wellbeing (and the wellbeing of the volunteers, staff, and public who interact with the cats), and ask to test this as a pilot project for 2-3 months so you can gather data about how effective the changes are. Also include what data you would like to track; number of cats in the shelter, number of cats not using their litterbox, number of cats euthanized for house soiling, how much litter is getting used (and what types), and anything else you think is important for the decision makers to know.  Get those numbers for the last couple months so you have a baseline to compare to.  

And as Kate said in their comment; poor sanitation is a massive welfare and cost concern. Use public opinion in your favour for creating positive change in your org. 

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Alicia Naundorf
RVT
Edmonton Humane Society
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Maybe if "someone" anonymously donated 10 bags of "pelletized bedding" which many rescues and shelters use for cat litter  (you can purchase a 40 pound bag for around $7.00 at farm supply stores-it's exactly the same thing as Feline Pine) and it had to be used up...maybe they'd change their tune. It is great for odor control and easy to clean or toss and much lighter weight then clay litter. If they won't budge, as someone else said make it go public-no excuse for it! Definitely setting the cats up for problems in a home when they pee and poop on newspaper/paper around the house.  

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Marcie Fernandez
President
Haven on Earth animal league Inc
FL
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