Shelter Cat Behavior Mentorship

This 13-week deep dive into all things shelter cat behavior helps you create behavior SOP's for every part of the sheltering process. Weekly live zoom meetings and a discussion board for homework will help you make changes and save cats!

Interested in this course? Email us at [email protected]

What's in this course?

13 lessons, opens October 11

This is an on-demand course, with your choice of weekly Zoom meetings Tuesdays at 7 PM or Wednesday at 10 AM, with discussion group in between. You have a year to complete the course, and are welcome to use the webinars for staff training. We will cover all aspects of shelter cat behavior, from intake to assessment, to post-adoption support. With the help of your peers from all over the world, we will explore the latest science and best practices in building your shelter behavior programming to meet and exceed industry standards, and to give every cat in your care the best chance at a great life.

Click to Enroll for $595 USD

FAQ

Who Should Take This Course?

Anyone wanting to learn more about Shelter Cat Behavior. ESPECIALLY those involved in sheltering: volunteers, staff, rescues, veterinarians and vet techs, and anyone interested in a career with sheltering.
What Topics Are Covered?

Module 1: ASV Guidelines, The Five Domains and Capacity for Care Module 2: The Biology, Reproduction, and Genetics of Cats Module 3: Intake and Assessment Module 4: Cat Body Language and Handling Module 5: The 3 Ps! Policy, Procedure, and Protocol Module 6: Enrichment and Co-Housing Module 7: Working With Volunteers, Fosters - also, Kittens! Module 8: Daily Rounds and Working and Medical Staff Module 9: Most Common Behavior Issues In Cats Module 10: More Behavior Problems and Treatment Module 11: Community Cats, Working Cats, and TNR Module 12: Criteria Setting, Euthanasia, Compassion Fatigue Module 13: Adoption and Post-Adoption Support
Is This A Live Course?

The answer is yes & no! You have your choice of one of two meeting times weekly via zoom (Tuesdays at 7pm EST and Wednesday at 10am EST). For those who cannot make those live meetings, they will be recorded for viewing later. New modules are released on Mondays.
What If I Cannot Complete The Course in Thirteen Weeks?

No need to worry! You have up to a year to complete the course!

Course curriculum

1. How do I use Thinkific?
  FREE PREVIEW
2. Meet your instructor, Trish McMillan
  FREE PREVIEW
3. Welcome to the Shelter Cat Behavior Mentorship
  FREE PREVIEW
4. Why do Shelter Cats Need Your Help?
  FREE PREVIEW
5. Why do shelter cats need your help?
6. Zoom links and meeting information
7. Your Turn!
8. Shelter Cat Behavior Alumni Facebook group
1. Introduction
  FREE PREVIEW
2. Learning Objectives
3. What are Standard Operating Procedures, and why do I need them?
4. Read and handle cats well
5. What behaviors can we help in a shelter setting?
6. Placement options: pathway planning for cats
1. Learning Objectives Module 1
2. The Five Domains
3. The Five Domains webinar
  FREE PREVIEW
4. Understanding Capacity for Care
5. Capacity for Care webinar by Dr. Karsten
6. ASV guidelines: how do you measure up?
7. Your turn!
8. Resources and further reading
9. Module 1 Quiz
10. Oct 11 intro zoom
11. Oct 12 intro zoom
12. Webinar: ASV guidelines for cats!
13. Goal setting Zoom Oct 18
14. Goal setting zoom Oct 19
1. Learning objectives Module 2
2. Feline senses
3. Color and Coat Genetics
4. Domestication of Cats
5. The Basics of Cat Reproduction
6. Spay/Abort
7. Gestation and Birth
8. Feline Life Stages
9. Module 2 quiz
10. Your turn!
11. Oct 25 zoom
1. Learning objectives module 3
2. Behavior and Intake Best Practices
3. Sample Intake Forms
4. Stray cat intake
5. Intro to TNR
6. Owned Animal Surrender
7. Seized/impounded cat intake
8. Transfers from other facilities
9. Assessing behavior in shelter cats
10. Underage kittens
11. Fast-tracking from intake
12. Pathway planning after assessment
13. Your turn!
14. Intake quiz
15. Resources and further reading
16. Tuesday, Nov 1 zoom meeting
17. Wednesday, Nov 2 zoom meeting
1. Learning objectives
2. Feline body language webinar
3. Feline body language
4. Reducing stress in shelter cats
5. Handling shelter cats
6. Handling shelter cats webinar
7. Your turn!
8. Quiz: body language and low-stress handling
9. Resources and further reading
10. Tues, Nov 8 zoom recording
11. Wed, Nov 9 zoom recording
1. Intro to Module 5, from Trish
2. Learning objectives
3. Policy Procedure and Protocol
4. More about Protocol
5. Your turn!
6. Module 5 Quiz
7. Making a Table of Contents in Microsoft Word
8. Extra! Making a Template for Policy and Procedure
9. Extra! Policy and Procedure on making Policy
10. Cat 3 P's and Protocol Webinar Extras
11. There is an app for that.
1. Learning Objectives
2. Shelter Housing: the Importance of Portals
3. In-Cage Enrichment
4. Out-of-cage enrichment
5. Enrichment webinar
6. Group housing shelter cats
7. Your turn!
8. Module 6 quiz - enrichment and group housing
9. Tues Nov 15 zoom recording
10. Nov 16 zoom recording
11. Wed Nov 16 zoom
1. Learning objectives
2. Training volunteers
3. The importance of fostering
4. Templates for volunteer training
5. When your foster or volunteer program has gone belly up.
6. Recruiting Volunteers and Fosters
7. Foster Mentors
8. Your turn!
9. Quiz
10. Tues Nov 29 zoom
11. Wed nov 30 zoom
1. Learning objectives
2. Daily rounds webinar
3. What are rounds, and why should I do them?
4. Working with medical staff
5. Webinar: Medical/Behavior Collaboration with Ali Waszmer and Dr. Solacito
6. Module 8 quiz
7. Your turn!
8. Resources and further reading
9. Dec 6 zoom meeting
10. Dec 7 zoom meeting
1. Learning objectives
2. Behavior modification in shelter cats
3. Inappropriate elimination - litter box avoidance
4. Inappropriate elimination - urine marking
5. Litter box problems webinar
6. Declawing
7. Working with cats with handling issues
8. Working with inter-cat issues
9. Your turn!
10. Bmod quiz I
11. Resources and further reading
12. Dec 13 zoom
13. Dec 14 zoom
14. Dec 20 zoom
15. Dec 21 zoom
1. Learning objectives
2. Changing fearful behavior
3. Socializing Kittens
4. Older kitten behavior
5. Feline hyperesthesia syndrome
6. Clicker training cats
7. Aggression toward Humans
8. Behavioral modification and shelter work
9. Behavior modification quiz II
10. Your turn!
11. Jan 10 Zoom meeting
12. Jan 11 zoom meeting
13. Jan 19 zoom
14. Jan 24 zoom
15. Jan 24 zoom
16. Jan 25 zoom
1. Learning objectives
2. Care of colonies
3. Colony Kittens
4. Assessing feline socialization levels, with Dr. Kat Miller
5. Trapping Cats
6. Working Cats
7. When releasing cats is not ethical
8. Module 11 quiz
9. Your turn!
10. Resources and further reading
11. Feb 14 zoom
12. Feb 15 zoom
1. Learning objectives
2. Euthanizing for Space
3. Behavioral euthanasia in cats
4. Setting adoptability criteria for cats
5. Sample adoptability criteria
6. Compassion Fatigue/ Empathetic Distress
7. Webinar: when the cat can't stay
8. Practice Compassionate Badassery: A Manifesto for Helpers,
9. Low-Impact Debriefing - Jessica Dolce
10. Compassion Fatigue Webinar Workbook
11. Compassion Fatigue Webinar by Jessica Dolce
12. Module 12 quiz
13. Your turn!
14. Resources and further reading
15. Feb 21 zoom
16. Feb 22 zoom
1. Learning objectives: Module 13
2. Adopting shelter cats: starting with"yes!
3. Adoption webinar
4. Post-adoption support
5. Cat-To-Cat Introductions
6. Introducing cats to dogs
7. Katenna Jones - introducing cats and dogs
8. Introducing cats to kids
9. Adoption quiz
10. Resources and further reading
1. Week 14 and beyond... Where do we go from here?
1. HOW TO GET CONTINUING EDUCATION CREDITS FOR THIS COURSE

About this course

$595.00
181 lessons
39 hours of video content

Enrollment is Limited!

We have a long wait list for this first of its kind course. We do hope you will join you and start helping the cats in your rescue or shelter right away!

Enroll Now for $595