Life is a highway and the cats are taking over the fast lane. Isn't it time we created a road map?
What to do with all these cats?! The hissy, spitty teenager? That healthy, friendly, stray adult? This box of neonates? "No matter how rational and high-minded you try to be, you can't make decision after decision without paying a biological price," states John Tierney, author of the New York Times' article "Do You Suffer from Decision Fatigue?". Being "the decider" day in and day out takes a toll on us; it frays our brain and chips away at our energy reserves. Worse, studies show that we make different decisions at the end of the day than we do at the beginning of the day when we're fresh and recharged.
So how can we protect our most valuable resource, our minds, from decision fatigue while ensuring #allthecats and #allthekittens get to the right outcome as quickly as possible? Most importantly, how can we empower our staff to make decisions they feel good about and know will be supported?
In this webinar, Dr. Kate Hurley will present a map for the general rules of the great Cat Superhighway (hint: there are two major rules), as well as "exits" from the norm. In recognition that even our understanding of the research and recommendations have changed in recent years, there will be time for discussion of the grey areas and how this applies in different communities.
We hope attendees will leave with the tools to create a roadmap that meets their shelter and community needs, trusting that when we put systems in place that remove question marks from predictable events, we protect the collective brainpower of our community, ensure our decisions are our very best, and move each cat along to the right outcome as quickly as possible.
This webcast has been approved for one hour of CAWA CE credit. Please visit https://bit.ly/RoadmapforCats to verify you have watched the webcast and to print your certificate of attendance.
A recording of the webcast is now available to view by registering below.
Kate began her career as an animal control officer in 1989. After graduation from the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine in 1999, she worked as a shelter veterinarian in California and Wisconsin. In 2001, she returned to UC Davis to become the first person in the world to undertake a residency in shelter medicine. Following completion of the residency, Kate remained at UC Davis to become the director of the Koret Shelter Medicine Program.
Two of her favorite achievements are co-authoring The Association of Shelter Veterinarians' Guidelines for Standards of Care in Animal Shelters and co-editing the textbook Infectious Disease Management in Animal Shelters. Learn more about Dr. Hurley