Whole Cat Workshop – March 22, 2015

Massachusetts Animal Coalition and Alley Cat Allies Present The Whole Cat Workshop
Beyond the Basics of Trap/Neuter/Return

Sunday March 22, 8:30am-4:30pmshutterstock_131953865
Agnes Varis Campus Center & Elmes Café, Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University, 200 Westboro Road, North Grafton. Building “O” on Campus Map

We are excited to announce that our featured speaker will be Mike Phillips, the Director of Community Outreach for the Mayor’s Alliance for NYC’s Animals and Co-Founder of the Urban Cat League. Mike will be presenting on feral kitten socialization, advanced trapping techniques and neighborhood relations for feral cat caretakers. To learn more about Mike and read one of his blog entries, click here.

AGENDA:

8:30-9:00 Registration and Check In

9:00-9:15 Welcome

petcologo29:15-11:00 Taming Feral Kittens for Adoption
Using film footage of successful techniques, combined with insights into the biological development of kittens, we will provide attendees with information on how to tame …and socialize feral kittens quickly and efficiently so they can be adopted into indoor homes.
Speaker: Mike Phillips, LVT – Director of Community Outreach, Mayor’s Alliance for NYC’s Animals; Co-Founder, Urban Cat League

11:00-11:30 Coffee Break

11:30-1:00 Neighborhood Relations for Feral Cat Caretakerspetcologo2
Attendees will be provided with tips on how to improve communication with neighbors, including ways to help them understand the needs of community cats and benefits of Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR). Advice for turning around hostile situations will also be included.
Speaker: Mike Phillips, LVT – Director of Community Outreach, Mayor’s Alliance for NYC’s Animals; Co-Founder, Urban Cat League

1:00-2:30 Lunch and Social Hour

2:30-3:30 Advanced Trapping Techniques
Learn how to trap successfully in freezing weather, how to trap a mother cat and all of her kittens, and how to use a drop trap. Practice advanced techniques and share anecdotal tips based on your experiences too.
Speaker: Mike Phillips, LVT – Director of Community Outreach, Mayor’s Alliance for NYC’s Animals; Co-Founder, Urban Cat League

3:30-4:00 Studies relating to Release Times for TNR
When is the best time to release a feral cat after TNR?  What signs should you look for? Brief highlights and preliminary results from an ongoing study using a diary-style survey to gather data on existing recommendations, caretaker practices & experiences, and post-operative cat behavior will be presented.  We hope to understand which recovery practices and release times are best for improving the welfare of cats after surgery. Learn how this study could help you and your cats and how you could help us with the project.
Speakers:  Amanda Kowalski, Tufts Center for Animals and Public Policy Student

4:00-4:30 Making the best matches for working cats- what makes a good barn cat and what importantly- what makes a good barn? 
Highlights from a project examining factors which determine successful barn cat placements will be presented. Results suggest a systematic approach can be effective to assure everyone on your shelter team that a placement decision is appropriate with sensitivity to good welfare for cats.
Speakers: Megan Glasere, Tufts Center for Animals and Public Policy Student

Online Registration Has Closed

• For questions regarding registration, please contact [email protected].

• For more general information about MAC meetings (including directions), visit our meeting page.

• If your organization is a MAC member, there may be free meeting passes available to your organization as a membership benefit. Please email us at [email protected] for information on using organization passes.

• Thanks to our generous sponsors we do have a limited number of free passes to the meeting available to persons not able to pay the meeting fee. To request a free pass using a sponsor scholarship pass please email  [email protected].

MAC thanks our generous sponsors of the Whole Cat Workshop:

    • Alley Cat Allies
      Alley Cat Allies is the only national advocacy organization dedicated to the protection and the humane treatment of cats.
    • Petco Foundation
      The Petco Foundation’s mission is to raise the quality of life for pets and people who love and need them.
    • Especially for Pets
      Especially for Pets is a chain of stores in Massachusetts that sell pet food, supplies and offer services such as training and grooming.
    • Merrimack River Feline Rescue Society
      The MRFRS is a nationally recognized, nonprofit, volunteer-driven organization committed to ensuring the health and welfare of feral and domestic cats and kittens by promoting proactive, compassionate, no-kill programs.
    • TrapSmart
      TrapSmart provides an easy, humane and convenient way to remotely monitor wildlife traps using advanced GPS communication technology.
    • New England Federation of Humane Societies
      The New England Federation of Humane Societies (NEFHS) is a dynamic and active organization that provides information and education to animal welfare workers in our region and beyond.
    • Hopkinton Drug
      Hopkinton Drug is a full service pharmacy and compounding lab with products and services for veterinarians and their animal clients.
    • Animal Legal Defense Fund
      Animal Legal Defense Fund has been leading the fight to protect the lives and advance the interests of animals through the legal system with litigation, legislation and education.
    • The Cat Doctor of Bedford
      The Cat Doctor is a feline-only veterinary clinic with offices in Bedford, MA and Nashua, NH.