UNDERSTANDING LOST CAT BEHAVIOR

Transcription

UNDERSTANDING LOST CAT BEHAVIOR
TO SAVE MORE LIVES!
Kathy “Kat” Albrecht
Founder
Missing Pet Partnership
www.missingpetpartnership.org and www.katalbrecht.com
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animalsheltering.org/expo
#AnimalCareExpo
OUR MISSION
Missing Pet Partnership’s mission is to
use the highest ethical standards and
innovative techniques to reunite lost
companion animals with their
owners/guardians through training,
education, and partnerships.
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#AnimalCareExpo
MY BACKGROUND: SAR (1989)
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#AnimalCareExpo
POLICE BLOODHOUNDS (1991)
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#AnimalCareExpo
THE GREAT ESCAPE! (1996)
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#AnimalCareExpo
JEANNE & KEA TO THE RESCUE!
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#AnimalCareExpo
WHY AREN’T WE TRAINING DOGS
TO FIND LOST PETS?
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#AnimalCareExpo
FIRST 4 SEARCHES, SHE FOUND 2
LOST CATS & 1 LOST DOG!
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#AnimalCareExpo
IN 2008, I MOVED TO SEATTLE –
LAUNCHED FIRST-EVER MAR TEAM
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#AnimalCareExpo
OUR PLAN WAS TO DEVELOP MAR
TEAMS NATIONWIDE…INSTEAD, THE
INTERNET / FACEBOOK DID THAT FOR US!
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#AnimalCareExpo
IS WHAT WE’RE DOING FOR
LOST CATS WORKING?
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National RTO for shelter cats is only 2 to 5%
Lost Cats That Are Not Found Are a MAJOR
Contributing Factor to Stray / Feral / Shelter /
Community / Cat Populations!
ASPCA study (2012) – 5 year period 12 million
cats become lost but 25% of them are never
found (over 3 million cats!)
ASPCA – “Since 25% of lost cats are never
found, other methods of reuniting cats and
their owners are needed.”
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#AnimalCareExpo
SO, WHAT CAN SHELTERS DO
DIFFERENTLY?
LEARN & EDUCATE (THE PUBLIC)
ABOUT LOST CAT BEHAVIOR!
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#AnimalCareExpo
MISSING ANIMAL RESPONSE (MAR)
FOUNDATION BUILT FROM THE SCIENCE
OF FINDING LOST PEOPLE
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#AnimalCareExpo
CATS & DOGS / APPLES & ORANGES!
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#AnimalCareExpo
BEHAVIOR IS KEY!
WHAT PEOPLE THINK AND BELIEVE
INFLUENCES HOW THEY BEHAVE!
The BEHAVIOR and THOUGHT PROCESSES of
both rescuers and cat owners who LOSE or who
FIND (or who FEED or TNR) a cat is responsible
for the permanent separation of lost / displaced
cats from their homes and the increased
populations of shelter cats, community cats, and
feral cat colonies.
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#AnimalCareExpo
WRONG THOUGHT
“MY (OUTDOOR-ACCESS) CAT RAN AWAY”
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Cats don’t “run away” (like dogs do)
Cats are territorial in nature
Cats become displaced from their territory
(when chased) – some return, many don’t (Los
Angeles pet detective)
Eight Probability Categories (for outdooraccess cats)
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#AnimalCareExpo
LOST OUTDOOR-ACCESS CATS
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
#7
#8
They Became Trapped
They Became Sick, Injured, or Killed
They Were Killed by Wildlife
They Were Unintentionally Transported
They Were Intentionally Transported
They Were Rescued / Self Adopted
They Were Stolen (rarely)
They Were Displaced (chased from territory)
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#AnimalCareExpo
WRONG THOUGHT
WHY THIS THOUGHT KILLS:
Cat owners search far and wide (instead of within
the cat’s territory) and they fail to focus their
search within the areas where their cat IS MOST
LIKELY TO BE (trapped, injured, hiding in fear, or
deceased) – within a 3 to 5 house radius of
their home.
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#AnimalCareExpo
WRONG THOUGHT
STATS:
In 128 MPP cases of lost outdoor-access cats that
were found, 84% were recovered within a 5-house
radius of their home.
It is easier (and more comfortable) to drive 20 miles
to check shelter cages than it is to ask your
neighbor permission to crawl under their house or
deck…
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#AnimalCareExpo
WRONG THOUGHT
BESS
(Bainbridge Island, WA - 8-weeks / 2 months!)
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#AnimalCareExpo
WRONG THOUGHT
“MY INDOOR-ONLY CAT RAN AWAY”
1.
2.
3.
4.
Indoor-only cats are territorial – the inside of
their house is their territory
Displaced cats will hide in silence – they
bolt, hide, and remain hidden
“Threshold Factor” – many cats won’t respond
initially, but will eventually
Temperament influences Behavior – a
“Catatonic” cat will need a humane trap!
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#AnimalCareExpo
NOT ALL CATS ARE ALIKE!
The temperament of an individual cat (how it acts
within it’s normal territory) will also dictate your
recovery strategy!
CATATONIC
(cameras / humane trap)
vs.
CURIOUS CLOWN
(area search / posters)
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#AnimalCareExpo
WRONG THOUGHT
STATS:
In 158 MPP cases of displaced indoor-only cats that
were found 92% were recoverd within a 5house radius of their home.
Digital Wildlife Cameras, Baited Humane Traps,
Driveway Alarms, and “House As Trap” are the
BEST TOOLS to use to recover displaced cats!
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#AnimalCareExpo
WRONG THOUGHT
Burley Case (33 days)
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#AnimalCareExpo
WRONG THOUGHT
Threshold Factor (Ginger, 17 days)
Cat in Vet’s Ceiling (22 days)
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#AnimalCareExpo
THRESHOLD FACTOR
Cauliflower / Skippyjon (5 weeks!)
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#AnimalCareExpo
THRESHOLD FACTOR
MAX (6 WEEKS!)
“Help Us Find Max the Cat Las Vegas, NV”
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#AnimalCareExpo
WRONG THOUGHT
WHY THIS THOUGHT KILLS:
Owners of displaced cats check shelters, post flyers,
market on social media to a mass audience, but
give up all search efforts after a few days or
weeks…but their cat is hidden, silent, not seen by
neighbors, and doesn’t surface or end up in a
shelter for weeks or MONTHS, long after the
owner has given up hope and moved on…
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#AnimalCareExpo
WRONG THOUGHT
“MY CAT WAS PROBABLY KILLED BY A COYOTE”
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#AnimalCareExpo
WRONG THOUGHT
“MY CAT WAS PROBABLY KILLED BY A COYOTE”
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Yes, coyotes occasionally DO kill cats
NO, they do not kill them as often as people
think or believe!
Cat killing may be a learned behavior
Opportunistic scavengers
Urban coyote scat study (1% cat found in
14,000 piles of coyote poop)
www.lostpetresearch.com (blog)
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#AnimalCareExpo
COYOTE ATTACK CHART
NORTH AMERICA
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#AnimalCareExpo
WRONG THOUGHT
IF COYOTES WERE KILLING AS MANY CATS AS
PEOPLE BELIEVE…
1.
2.
3.
You would not have feral cats in AZ (Yet
Maricopa County is 2nd in the nation with
estimated 250,000 feral cats!)
You’d have OBESE coyotes with bellies
dragging on the ground, full of dead cats!
You would not have stray (found) cats
ending up in shelters. Yet last year, over
40,000 stray cats entered Maricopa shelters
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– that is 109 “stray” cats per day!
#AnimalCareExpo
LOOK AT THE STATS…
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
In Tucson, it is estimated there are 150,220 free
roaming cats.
In a 2006 Tucson Coyote Study, biologists radio
collared 8 coyotes for 4 months (120 days).
They observed 36 coyote / cat interactions yet
only 19 cats were killed.
One cat was killed every 6.3 days (roughly one
cat per week) – in a city the size of Tucson, that is
located in coyote country!
On average, how many stray / found cats do
Tucson shelters take in every week (that are
unclaimed)? 7? 14? 21? More?
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#AnimalCareExpo
IF YOUR CAT VANISHED…
…and YOU BELIEVED he was
Likely Killed By A Coyote…
WHY WOULD YOU EVEN
BOTHER DRIVING TO
THE ANIMAL SHELTER?
“COYOTE FEAR” KILLS MORE CATS
THAN COYOTES ACTUALLY DO!
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#AnimalCareExpo
“MY CAT WAS LIKELY KILLED BY A COYOTE”
WHY THIS THOUGHT / BEHAVIOR KILLS
CATS:
Owners, affected by “grief avoidance” and FEAR,
assume their cat is dead therefore they don’t
even physically search for their cat (no
neighborhood search and no shelter search)!
Those cats (and there are MANY) not found by
owners end up stray, in feral cat colonies, or
animal shelters where staff wonder WHY the
owners are so uncaring or naïve that they won’t
even look for their cat.
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#AnimalCareExpo
WRONG THOUGHT
“MY SICK / OLD CAT WENT OFF TO DIE”
1.
2.
3.
Cats are territorial – they won’t
(willingly) leave what is familiar
A cat that is sick or injured (or
panicked) will HIDE IN SILENCE
within it’s own territory
Dead Cat Study (90% 1-house radius;
80% concealed; 85% neighbor’s
property)
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#AnimalCareExpo
WRONG THOUGHT
MYRON AT THE VET STORY
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#AnimalCareExpo
WRONG THOUGHT
WHY THIS THOUGHT KILLS CATS:
Owners assume they won’t be able to FIND
their cat (OR THEY DON’T WANT TO FIND
THEM DEAD) and they believe searching is
pointless or will be heartbreaking. They don’t
realize that their cat is MOST LIKELY very
CLOSE, CONCEALED, and that a vet might be
able to save its life!
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#AnimalCareExpo
WRONG THOUGHT
“THIS SPITTING, HISSING CAT IS A FERAL”
1.
2.
3.
4.
Cats that are panicked and afraid will hiss,
spit, growl, swat, twirl, and lunge if caged /
crated
This behavior means the cat is scared to death,
not necessarily that it is feral!
This behavior can be due to genetics and DNA
– some domestic cats are hardwired to be
skittish!
Same behavior, different species, different
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perception by rescuer(s) (i.e. skittish
cat =
#AnimalCareExpo
“feral” / skittish dog = “abused”) VIDEO
WRONG THOUGHT
“MY CAT WILL COME BACK—HE ALWAYS DOES”
BUT WHAT IF HE CAN’T?
TRAPPED!
PHYSICAL SEARCHES ARE A MUST FOR
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MISSING CATS!
#AnimalCareExpo
WRONG THOUGHT
“MY CAT WILL COME BACK—HE ALWAYS DOES”
Owners assume that because their cat was
missing once before for a few days and came
back home on his own that the same thing will
happen again. By NOT SEARCHING (their
neighbor’s properties, the shelter, their own
property) their cat is at risk of dying due to
various causes (injured / silence factor, trapped,
shelter euthanasia, etc.).
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#AnimalCareExpo
WRONG THOUGHT
“I SEARCHED FOR MY CAT BY HANDING OUT FLYERS”
HANDING OUT FLYERS IS NOT A SEARCH!
Neighbors ARE NOT going to get on their belly to
look under their deck or house for YOUR LOST
CAT, and yet that is where displaced, injured, and
trapped cats ARE MOST LIKELY TO BE!
(ROCKY)
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#AnimalCareExpo
BEBE: CASE 11-593
SMARTER THAN YOUR AVERAGE CAT!
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#AnimalCareExpo
THE ESCAPE POINT
ESCAPED NOVEMBER 4, 2011
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#AnimalCareExpo
THE BEBE EFFORT…
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Intersection Alert (in the snow)
Tagging of Cars
Poster Placement
Door-to-door canvassing
Feeding station w/ wildlife cameras
Humane Trapping
Follow up on Leads
Keeping Hope Alive
Building Friendships with Neighbors
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#AnimalCareExpo
MANY FALSE LEADS…
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#AnimalCareExpo
CAPTURED ON CAMERA!
(MARCH 2, 2012 – 4 MONTHS AFTER ESCAPE!)
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#AnimalCareExpo
CAPTURED ON CAMERA!
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#AnimalCareExpo
CAPTURED ON CAMERA!
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#AnimalCareExpo
ESCAPE POINT (PURPLE), FEEDING STATION
(YELLOW), HOUSE LIVING UNDER (GREEN)
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#AnimalCareExpo
BEBE REUNITED WITH CORI
(APRIL 5, 2012)
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#AnimalCareExpo
SO WHAT IS BEING DONE TO RECOVER LOST CATS?
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“Boots-On-The-Ground” Teams - Primarily
For Lost Dogs
FB Pages Posting Lost Cats (far and wide)
This Technique (Facebook) Seldom Successful
Due to Lost Cat Behaviors
ASPCA – “Since 25% of lost cats are never
found, other methods of reuniting cats
and their owners are needed.”
MPP offers TWO Solutions…
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#AnimalCareExpo
FIRST, MISSION REUNITE TRAINING
Shelter Lost Pet Recovery Booths (5th of July)
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#AnimalCareExpo
L
SECOND…LOST CAT SEARCH TEAMS!
(E.M. Video)
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#AnimalCareExpo
MISSING PET PARTNERSHIP
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Junior Pet Detective (pilot program in B.C.)
Rescue Shelter Dogs, train as Cat
Detection Dogs, Issue to Cat Search Teams
Rescue Shelter Cats, train as Target Cats,
Issue to Cat Search Teams
Cat Recovery Team On-line Training - 7week course, minimum 8 people, $175.00
per person www.katalbrecht.com click on
“TRAINING”
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#AnimalCareExpo
LOST CAT SEARCH TEAMS!
FREE WEBINAR: “STRAY TO HERO:
How to Give Shelter Dogs & Cats
JOBS” www.katalbrecht.com (click on
“TRAINING”)
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#AnimalCareExpo
RECOMMENDED READING
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#AnimalCareExpo
Q&A
Kat Albrecht
www.katalbrecht.com
www.missingpetpartnership.org
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#AnimalCareExpo

UNDERSTANDING LOST CAT BEHAVIOR

Transcription

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