Project Dates: May 2014 - Present
Total Funding: $11,758,887
On January 25, 2022, Million Cat Challenge became Maddie’s® Million Pet Challenge.
Awarded with an additional five-year $7.4 million grant from Maddie’s Fund, the Million Cat Challenge has now become Maddie’s® Million Pet Challenge. The Million Cat Challenge was a joint project of the University of California Davis Koret Shelter Medicine Program and the Maddie's® Shelter Medicine Program at the University of Florida led by Drs. Kate Hurley and Julie Levy. This campaign for shelters in North America launched in 2014 with the goal of saving one million cats in five years, addressing the "before, during, and after” for any cat at risk of shelter entry. The Million Cat Challenge tripled its goal of saving the lives of one million shelter cats and supporting the adoption of proven cat-friendly methods. Now with over 1,500 shelters involved, this campaign saved 3,323,649 million cats as of January 2021.
Building on the success of Million Cat Challenge, Maddie’s® Million Pet Challenge now brings together animal welfare and veterinary experts focused on improving outcomes for all shelter pets and ensuring that pets who already have families will receive the care they need. This program is available at no cost to participants, thanks to Maddie.
This collaboration is powered by the University of California (UC) Davis Koret Shelter Medicine Program, the Maddie’s® Shelter Medicine Program at University of Florida (UF), Open Door Veterinary Collective, and Team Shelter USA. Their experts will deploy to communities across the country to offer free consultations to shelters and veterinary clinics on how to keep pets with their families and out of shelters, as well as teaching veterinary clinics a financially sustainable model that removes cost as a barrier to providing pets with needed veterinary care.
The goal is to create a new normal in providing every animal with the Right Care in the Right Place, at the Right Time, and with the Right Outcome.
Visit maddiesmillionpetchallenge.org to learn more and apply.