How to Help and Ultimately Adopt Out Undersocialized Kittens
About this Webinar
As a result of COVID-19, your shelter or rescue may be expecting to receive an influx of undersocialized kittens in the coming months. Want to know how to help these undersocialized kittens get adopted? Join us as we cover how the ASPCA Adoption Center and Kitten Nursery have leveraged their foster volunteer pool and trained them to work with fearful kittens. This webinar will take a deep dive into the “Lion Tamers” program with a spotlight on reward-based methods for shaping social behavior. We will also provide tools and resources for how to provide training, support and guidance to foster volunteers.
Takeaways
- Foster network management strategies and protocols to mitigate disease risks
- Using reward-based methods to socialize kittens
- How to effectively train foster volunteers to care for fearful kittens while providing tools, resources and support
- Adoption tips for matching kittens with loving homes
Suited For
Animal shelter staff, behavior staff, foster volunteers
Downloads
Adi Hovav
Behavior Manager, ASPCA Adoption Center
Adi Hovav is a behavior manager at the ASPCA Adoption Center, where she helps oversee the behavioral welfare of the dogs and cats in the shelter. She has worked at the ASPCA since 2013. She conducts behavior evaluations, designs behavior modification plans, oversees the enrichment programs, and provides support to adopters who are encountering behavioral challenges with their adopted pets. One of the programs Adi helped to create is the Lion Tamers program, which engages the foster volunteer community to help socialize fearful kittens and prepare them for adoption.
Gemma Smith
Administrative Manager, ASPCA Kitten Nursery New York City
Gemma Smith is the Administrative Manager of the ASPCA Kitten Nursery in New York City, where she oversees the daily administrative operations and leads a team of foster coordinators. A former high school theater teacher, Gemma is passionate about engaging the community in the Nursery's life-saving work while providing valuable training, tools and resources. In addition, Gemma regularly produces and hosts a cat-themed cabaret to benefit local rescues.
