Feline Low Stress Handling® in a Shelter Environment - Maddie's Community Conversations (On demand)
Recorded On: 09/23/2026
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This course is part of Maddie's Community Conversations, weekly webcasts for the animal welfare field supporting pets in our community and animal shelters.
Cats are not small dogs. They have a lower tolerance for frustration and a much shorter window before physical restraint stops helping and starts causing harm. Feline Low Stress Handling® meets cats where they are. This session offers practical, in-the-moment applications for shelter veterinary exams: reading the feline communication signaling, from fear to frustration, applying the 2-second rule and the least-restraint principle, adjusting the examination approach to the individual, and creating a low stress environment.
This webinar is for anyone working in or around animals in shelters including veterinary professionals (vets, techs, support staff), animal care staff, rescue/foster volunteers, and anyone who wants to learn more.
Webcast host: Sheila Segurson, DVM, DACVB, Director of Shelter Solutions, Maddie's Fund
Presenter:
Christine D. Calder DVM DACVB
Key takeaways:
• Understand species-specific feline behavior and communication signaling, from fear to frustration, and set up the environment to support a low-stress veterinary examination.
• Apply the 2-second rule and least-restraint principle for cats and use in-carrier exam techniques, towels, and blankets as alternatives to scruffing.
• Decide when to proceed with, adjust, or defer the veterinary examination based on the individual cat, incorporating food distraction and pharmacologic support where the shelter setting permits.
This webinar has been pre-approved for 1.0 Certified Animal Welfare Administrator continuing education credits by The Association for Animal Welfare Advancement (CAWA) and by the National Animal Care & Control Association (NACA). It has also been approval for 1 hour of continuing education credit in jurisdictions which recognize RACE approval until 7/21/28. Complete the quiz to earn a certificate of attendance to use for CAWA, NACA and RACE CE.
Visit Maddie's Pet Forum to comment, follow a discussion or ask questions: https://maddies.fund/communityconversations092326
keywords Maddie's Community Conversations, canine behavior, canine veterinary practice, Christine D. Calder
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LockedSheila Segurson, DACVB
Director of Outreach and Research
Maddie's Fund
As Director of Outreach and Research for Maddie's Fund®, Dr. Sheila Segurson's goal is to develop and support research that increases pet adoptions from rescue groups and shelters and improves pet well-being. She relies upon her background working in and with animal shelters, pet foster care programs, and veterinary medicine to lead Maddie's Fund research efforts.
After graduating from UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, Dr. Segurson worked as a general practice/emergency/shelter veterinarian at pet hospitals in California. Then, in 2005, Sheila graduated from Maddie's Shelter Medicine Program at UC Davis, becoming the first in the nation to complete a three-year, post-graduate behavior specialty training program with an emphasis on shelter animals and shelter behavior programs. She worked for several pet welfare organizations, including UC Davis Koret Shelter Medicine Program, The Sacramento SPCA, and the Animal Rescue League of Boston, where she developed and implemented enrichment/behavior modification programs.
Christine D. Calder, DVM, DACVB
Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Behaviorists; Director of Behavior Educational Content
Veterinary Information Network® (VIN®); Calder Veterinary Behavior Services
Dr. Calder has spent many years practicing veterinary medicine in both New Jersey and Maine. Over the course of her career, she has worked in general practice, served on the behavior service at the San Francisco SPCA, and taught in community practice settings at several veterinary schools. Her deep interest in animal behavior led her to pursue a residency with the American College of Veterinary Behaviorists, and she became a Diplomate with the American College of Veterinary Behaviorists in 2017.
Today, Dr. Calder runs her own veterinary behavior consultation practice and serves as the Director of Behavior Educational Content at the Veterinary Information Network®, Inc. She is the co-author and editor of Low Stress Handling® and Behavior Modification of Dogs and Cats (second edition) and Low Stress Handling®: A Practical Guide to Cooperative Care, Training, and Behavior Modification. Alongside her clinical and editorial work, Dr. Calder contributes to educational programs at VIN® and is especially passionate about helping veterinary students feel confident and prepared for that behavior case on their first day in practice and beyond.
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