Do cats pulled off the euthanasia list have a harder time getting adopted? Are they returned more often? Absolutely no to both, said Monica Frenden, cat program manager for Austin Pets Alive!
At the 2015 American Pets Alive! No Kill Conference, Frenden gave a presentation on the organization’s success with cats pulled off the euthanasia list at the city shelter, sharing that their return rate out of 3,090 adoptions is about 6 percent. That clocks in well below the average of 10 percent.
How do they do it? While she wishes there was one magic bullet point to share, Frenden said it’s about “working all the steps, day in and day out that gets you from 100 cat adoptions to 1,000.”
Some of these steps include more traditional tips, like making sure to hire good people and giving them the scope to do great work. “Whether it’s paid staff or volunteers, empower them to make their own decisions and save lives.”
When it comes to marketing, APA! runs cat adoption promotions almost every week out of the year. These include “Black Magic,” promoting black cats around Halloween, “Fat Cat” sales that involve paying what the cat weighs, and “Lord of the Ringworm” or “Ring(worm) in the New Year.”
“The more silly or obnoxious you can be, in a fun way, the better,” she said. “You’ll get more attention that way. Don’t be afraid to push boundaries.”
One more tip: When you start attracting more people with your silly marketing promotions, make sure your adoption policies welcome people – not turn them away. “Progressive adoption policies save lives,” she said. “We have to make it convenient for people and stop demonizing the public. The vast majority want to do the right thing.”
Other recommendations on increasing adoptions include:
- Saying yes to same-day adoptions (reminder: they had a 6 percent return rate!)
- Have good customer service
- Make the potential adopter feel like a hero
- Be open in evenings and on weekends
- Be accessible – be where people live, work and play
- Let potential adopters touch and play with the cats, even if they don’t plan to adopt right at that moment (how else are they supposed to fall in love?)
- Have shorter adoption applications
- Re-route instead of deny, if possible
- Treat everyone as a potential adopter, donor or volunteer
The bottom line when it comes to saving more lives? “You need the support of your community, so you have to treat them well,” she said. “This includes being open and honest, and coming from a place of ‘yes.'”
Watch the full presentation of High Volume Cat Adoptions, then start pushing boundaries – and saving more lives – in your own community!