A groundbreaking effort to improve society's image of cats was launched last week in Denver with leaders from The Humane Society of the United States in attendance. While felines are the nation's most popular pets, they are less likely than dogs to receive basic veterinary care or be treated as family members. For the first time, leaders in animal welfare, veterinary medicine, the pet products industries and higher education sat down to look at ways to elevate the perceived value of cats in society.
- American Pet Product Manufacturers Association survey reveals that more than a third of the country's 90 million cats have not been to a veterinarian in the past 12 months.
- Cats are far less likely than dogs to wear identification tags, and The Humane Society of the United States estimates are that only 2 to 5 percent of lost cats brought to animal shelters are reclaimed by owners.
- In most areas of the country, cats enter shelters at greater rates than dogs, more cats are euthanized than dogs and resources for animal control in many communities are for dogs only.
"The Humane Society of the United States has increased our programs focused on helping cats over the last several years, both through our work for feral cats and increased education efforts directed to cat owners; however, we as a nation have a long way to go," says Stephanie Shain, HSUS Director of Outreach for Companion Animals. "We were thrilled to sponsor this hallmark event that joins so many diverse groups in working collectively toward a common goal to help cats."
Resulting from the symposium were the identification of target audiences, creating a message framework, creating specific and measurable objectives and establishing a team to move the effort forward. Six groups, representing the various professional areas, stepped up to establish the next meeting and build on the work started this week. The HSUS was one of those groups.
"It was very exciting to see everyone from across the country work together to look at ways to elevate the value of the cats," said Pam Burns, President and CEO of the Hawaiian Humane Society.
"Changing the public perception of cats has been on all of our minds and we have all done a great deal so far to elevate cats at the local level," said Bob Rohde, President of the Dumb Friends League, the organization hosting the symposium. "But the symposium is different because we asked representatives from across the animal health, care, control, and welfare spectrum to come together to create a strategy for nationwide change. This symposium, I am hopeful, will be the beginning of that change."
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