Turning Fear into Friendship: Building Trust with Shelter Cats

This course is part of Maddie's Monthly Behavior Connection, monthly webcasts about pet behavior - supporting pets in our community and animal shelters.

Despite our best efforts, the shelter can be a stressful place for cats. Some cats love humans but the separation from what is familiar coupled with exposure to a new and scary environment can cause them to shut down. Others may be poorly socialized and need assistance to form a positive association with humans. It is our duty to help them have the best possible well-being while in our care, and human-animal interaction as enrichment can play an important role in that. But how to bridge that gap from fear to friendship can be confusing/frustrating – some efforts can seem to do more harm than good. It can be difficult to know what approach to use, how to guide staff and volunteers on how to use it, and to know if your efforts are really helping. This webinar will guide attendees on a formal program for gaining the trust of the more fearful cats in your care, and a method for tracking their progress and welfare so that case managers can know when to implement additional interventions.

Presenter: Jacklyn Ellis, PhD, Director, Toronto Humane Society

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, access the resources, follow a discussion or ask questions: https://maddies.fund/BehaviorConnectionFebruary2025   

kewords Maddie's Monthly Behavior Connection, Ellis, cat behavior modification