Maddie's® Insights are monthly webcasts with practical tips based on current research to help pets and people.  

Cats entering shelters often experience fear, anxiety, and stress while in care. Mitigating negative states in cats is critical to their health and well-being, especially in populations of fearful cats that are already at risk for poor outcomes. One particularly at-risk population are fearful cats rescued from animal hoarding environments. In this presentation, learn about the results from a study using a standardized behavior modification program and daily gabapentin administration to treat fearful cats from hoarding environments. Further, instructions and resources for conducting behavior modification in shelters will be shared, along with a summary of a growing body of research and in-shelter experience demonstrating that many fearful cats from hoarding environments are treatable in shelters and can have positive outcomes in homes.

Presenter: Bailey Eagan, MSc, PhD Student, University of British ColumbiaBailey Eagan is a PhD student specializing in animal behavior and welfare in animal shelters. Bailey has a particular interest in conducting applied animal behavior and welfare research and incorporating research findings into animal shelter practice. Bailey’s current work focuses on anxiety-medication use in behavioral treatment plans of shelter animals.

This webinar has been pre-approved for 1.0 Certified Animal Welfare Administrator continuing education credits by The Association for Animal Welfare Advancement and by the National Animal Care & Control Association.

Visit Maddie's Pet Forum to comment, follow a discussion or ask questions: https://maddies.fund/MIwebcastGabapentin

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Maddie's Insights, gabapentin, behavior modification for shelter cats, shelter cats, fearful cats, shelter medicine,

Dr. Susan Krebsbach, veterinary behavior specialist, presents "Curing the Litter Box Blues: Feline Elimination Disorders" at the Purdue/Maddie's® Shelter Medicine Symposium 2011.

Presenter: Susan Krebsbach, DVM

In this course, you'll learn how Cat Town works with the cats who are least likely to find positive outcomes in the shelter setting. Through Cat Town's proven programs, older unsocialized kittens, senior cats, cats with medical issues and cats in hospice are matched with loving homes and supported after adoption. The team at Cat Town also shares how they market hard-to-place cats and fundraise for these programs. Watch hissy, snarling, fearful cats turn into lap cats during their time with Cat Town.

Banner photo by Scott Russell

Getting a leopard to change his spots sometimes seems easier than getting a domestic cat to change her behavior. Fortunately, the science of feline behavior modification has come a long way in recent years, leaving animal shelters, rescue groups, fosters and adopters with plenty of new tools to help cats become happier and well-adjusted companions.

Dr. Sara L. Bennett, a board certified veterinary behavior specialist who enjoys working with problem behaviors in shelter animals, presents a review of the behavior modification techniques that have been demonstrated to change feline behavior, with specific examples and recommendations for appropriate situations for the use of each approach.

Students will learn:

Definitions of different types of learning, such as habituation, classical conditioning and operant conditioning.

Definitions and examples of the four quadrants of operant conditioning

Definitions and applications of counter-conditioning, response substitution and systematic desensitization.

How to put together a basic behavior modification plan, including important management steps needed to ensure success

Welfare implications of different behavior modification techniques are also discussed.

Presenter: Sara L. Bennett, DVM, MS, DACVB

cat behavior, feline behavior, behavior modification, conditioning, desensitization, habituation, enrichment, stress, play, training, Adjusting to a New Home, foster programs, in-shelter welfare, Maximize physical and behavioral health, webcast

This lecture features a variety of enrichment options to increase quality of life for the cats in your facility. It covers low cost enrichment options, and also busts the common myth that cats are challenging to train. Viewers learn how using simple, positive training techniques can let your cats' inner brilliance shine through and make them more appealing to potential adopters.

Presenter: Rebecca Lohnes, MS

Maximize In-Shelter Welfare, Increase Live Outcomes, Animal Behavior, Training & Enrichment, cat behavior, behavior problems

Behavior modification isn't just for the dogs! In this presentation, learn about how to work with cats with different personalities and behavioral challenges. Shown and discussed are training techniques, housing hacks, and adoption strategies. Help keep your difficult to shelter felines happier and get them into homes faster!

Presenter: Rebecca Lohnes, MS

Maximize In-Shelter Welfare, Increase Live Outcomes, Animal Behavior, Training & Enrichment, dog behavior, behavior problems,feline behavior,fractious felines,fractious cats,feroious felines,hard to handle cats,cat behavior problems,fearful cats

Can cats who are shy and fearful in the shelter still get adopted?

Yes, says board certified veterinary behavior specialist Dr. Sheila Segurson. Feline behavior while in a shelter is not always a good representation of that same cat's behavior in less stressful surroundings. Proper housing, handling, and, if needed, behavior modification can turn that hissing and hiding cat into a beloved family pet.

Cats who remain scared and fearful can have a happy outcome, too. Attendees will learn how to use the information gained in assessments and by observation to place them into either a home adoption program or barn and community cat programs.

In this presentation, you will learn:

What types of cats might show fear and fearful aggression

How to handle intake of shy and fearful cats

How to house and handle shy, fearful cats to reduce stress

How to treat shy and fearful cats with behavior modification, enrichment, medication and more

Options for rehoming shy, fearful cats

How to provide post-adoption support for these cats

Presenter: Sheila Segurson, DVM, DACVB

shy cats, fearful cats, behavior modification, cat behavior, rehoming cats, feline stress, feline assessment, feline behavior modification, re-Homing strategies, feline behavior, cat behavior, in-shelter welfare, maximize physical and behavioral health, Animal & Population Management, Animal Behavior, feline training, feline enrichment, cat behavior, webcast

This class takes you through the three forms of feline communication: vocalization, body language and scent. Each section provides descriptions of the various forms, along with photos and videos that help you translate what the cat is conveying.

NOTE: All Maddie's® University courses operate best on the Google Chrome browser. 

This course has been pre-approved for 2.0 hours of continuing education credits by the Association for Animal Welfare Advancement and National Animal Care & Control.

Kelley Bollen, MS, CABC and Behavioral Consultant for the Maddie's® Shelter Medicine Program at Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine, gives a fantastic presentation at the 2012 ASPCA/Maddie's® Shelter Medicine Conference on Stress Reduction for Shelter Cats. She shares various strategies for reducing the stress experienced by cats in a shelter environment.

Maximize In-Shelter Welfare, Increase Live Outcomes, Animal Behavior, Training & Enrichment, cat behavior, behavior problems, stress reduction

The adoption process is the final step in finding new homes for shelter pets. It begins with getting to know the pet, writing a narrative and posting photos/video, continues to making a match with a potential adopter, and ends with sending the pet home with an adopter and providing support.

This course provides guidance for navigating the adoption process, with an emphasis on adoption counseling. The course demonstrates the general adoption counseling process and then dives into adoption counseling for pets with behavior or medical conditions. Text content is supported by videos, infographics and exercises. All videos are shareable and all infographics are available for download so you can use them in training. 

This course is eligible for 2.0 hours of credit from the Association for Animal Welfare Advancement (AAWA) and the National Animal Care & Control Association (NACA).