Animal Welfare Professionals

We recently had an adopter return a cat because she claimed not to have known that the cat needed daily meds.  We are usually good about sharing this information, but recently we have been short staffed and I find communication is suffering.

How do you make sure that important information is related to the potential adopter before they "sign on the line"?  We don't like sharing too much medical info in social media promotions, because it can discourage people from coming in. But once they are in our facility, we need a better way to make sure that people understand the specific care needs of pets.

QR code? Long list of instructions on the cage door?  Handout given to them with the printed adoption application?  What works for you?

#AdoptionsandAdoptionPrograms

------------------------------
Johanna Humbert
Michiana Humane Society
Michigan City IN
------------------------------

We put it in three places:

1) Their online bio. We don't make a huge deal out of it, but we definitely mention it. We don't want people to come in for a specific pet only to find out they don't have the ability to care for them. It's disappointing for them and a lot of times if it gets left out they feel like we're misleading them, which is not the perception or reputation we want.

2) A pop-up alert in our shelter software. This is intended to alert the adoption counselors that they not only need to go over this extra medical care but also that they likely need to be sent home with meds as well.

3) A sticky note on their paper med sheet. Part of our adoption process is taking out the med sheet and going over everything. Having the sticky note here makes sure the meds aren't missed if they happen to breeze by the pop-up alert.

We're also considering putting some kind of symbol on the cage card so the care staff, who introduces the cats to potential adopters, are reminded that the cats have extra medical needs.

------------------------------
Sam Maurice
Humane Society of Jefferson County
Jefferson WI
https://hsjc-wis.com
------------------------------

Thanks, Sam, that's exactly the kind of information I was looking for!

------------------------------
Johanna Humbert
Michiana Humane Society
Michigan City IN
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 06-17-2026 11:29 AM
From: Samantha Maurice
Subject: Sharing medical information to adopters

We put it in three places:

1) Their online bio. We don't make a huge deal out of it, but we definitely mention it. We don't want people to come in for a specific pet only to find out they don't have the ability to care for them. It's disappointing for them and a lot of times if it gets left out they feel like we're misleading them, which is not the perception or reputation we want.

2) A pop-up alert in our shelter software. This is intended to alert the adoption counselors that they not only need to go over this extra medical care but also that they likely need to be sent home with meds as well.

3) A sticky note on their paper med sheet. Part of our adoption process is taking out the med sheet and going over everything. Having the sticky note here makes sure the meds aren't missed if they happen to breeze by the pop-up alert.

We're also considering putting some kind of symbol on the cage card so the care staff, who introduces the cats to potential adopters, are reminded that the cats have extra medical needs.

------------------------------
Sam Maurice
Humane Society of Jefferson County
Jefferson WI
https://hsjc-wis.com
------------------------------