Cat Pawsitive Pro Program Helps Cats Get Adopted - #RememberMeThursday 2021

One of the things I enjoy about being a writer is having the opportunity to promote pet adoption and encouraging people to support their local shelters and rescues. Although I’m currently not able to physically volunteer at a shelter, be a foster, or do TNR, I can help by volunteering my time writing. 

I have been volunteering for the Jackson Galaxy Project’s Cat Pawsitive Pro (CPP) Program for about three years now. For those of you not familiar with CPP, it is a groundbreaking program developed by Jackson Galaxy and a team of animal behavior experts that helps cats in shelters to find their “mojo” and their forever homes. Cat Pawsitive training applies positive, reward-based clicker training that positively reinforces good behaviors which helps cats in many ways. A shy cat can learn to feel comfortable coming to the front of its cage to meet a potential adopter, a feisty cat can learn to play nice, and an outgoing kitty can even learn to give an endearing "high five" to his visitors. The training also reduces the stressors that might keep a cat from connecting with a potential adopter and can help seal the adoption deal.

This past semester I was paired up with three amazing shelters that excelled in the program - Animal Friends Humane Society in Hamilton OH, PAWS Chicago in Chicago IL, and Animal Rescue League in Birdsboro, PA. Today, on Remember Me Thursday, I want to recognize some of the amazing work these shelters did to shine a light on cats who previously may have been considered unadoptable.  Each shelter produced shining stars; cats who made remarkable transformations. 

Cat Pawsitive Pro Program Helps Cats Get Adopted

Animal Rescue League

Torque

Torque, a two-year-old super sweet girl, flourished because of CPP. Torque was surrendered when her guardians could no longer care for her and her four siblings. The family was living in a hotel room under not-so-great conditions when they decided it was time their cats had better care. (A difficult decision, I'm sure.) An outdoor cat who was taken inside, Torque was never able to be properly socialized. When she arrived at ARL she was terrified, and the team was pretty sure she would end up being a barn cat. Torque lived under her blankets, and staff would have to watch where they stepped so they wouldn’t walk on her. If anyone would attempt to lift the blankets, Torque would scream, scatter, and try to climb the walls. She was incredibly unhappy, and the team wasn’t quite sure what her best options were.

Torque’s progress in CPP was slow at first. She would run to the back of her hiding spaces in her colony to keep her distance from staff. Staff would literally have to get down on the floor and throw her treats to her. She was still very scared, mostly living under her bed or in the cubby of her cat tree. After a week or two of training, Torque was starting to venture out and approach people. Meg Yohn, Feline Enrichment and Behavior Coordinator said it was really beautiful. Torque became so confident and outgoing and enjoyed going up to the top levels of her colony asking for attention.

She started making biscuits when staff approached her and loved rubbing all over them. She was a completely new cat. As a result of her training, Torque was adopted!

PAWS Chicago

Sweater

The PAWS team saw striking results with Sweater. When Sweater was returned to PAWS after a life in Connecticut, she was not a happy cat. When working with Sweater, volunteers were asked to wear large gloves to protect against bites and scratches from the unhappy, unpredictable cat. Sweater liked attention, but volunteers were often hesitant to give it to her.

When PAWS added her to the CPP program staff worked with her consistently, and according to Gregg Gilman, CPP Volunteer trainer, the “evolution of Sweater has been beautiful to see.” She started welcoming visitors and sitting in laps, showing the world her personality and potential to be a wonderful pet. Through CPP Sweater has learned to be more trusting and has shown the team that she is really a sweet girl who loves getting attention on her terms.

Animal Friends Humane Society

Raven

Raven was two years old when she was admitted to the shelter on February 2, 2021, after her owner passed away. She was not very responsive to staff, always hiding in the back of her cage, hissing, and running away from everyone. That is until her training started. 

Raven responded very well and started doing tricks right away. She immediately started coming to the front of her cage with much more relaxed body language. She also started meowing and allowing people to pet her. Kim Sunberg, Cat Care Coordinator, said she loved working with Raven. “I cried the first time she let me touch her,” she said, and she was so proud of every milestone Raven hit. Everyone was so surprised how quickly Raven came around by participating in the program. She is so much less stressed and is comfortable coming up to most people who enter the room she is in now.

I really enjoyed working with these shelters last semester, and these are only a few examples of their successes. Cat Pawsitive Pro is an incredible program that has trained 100 shelters and has helped over 1,800 cats get adopted. You can learn more about the program here. 

I give my heartfelt thanks to all of the staff and volunteers who refused to give up on these, and many other, cats when it would have been so easy to do so. They were able to look past the fear, anger, and confusion and see the beautiful souls that were right under the surface. I honor all of you on Remember Me Thursday. 

Blog Hop

Now it's time to start hopping! Help us shine a light on pet adoption for #RememberMeThursday and join our Blog Hop. Here’s how:

1. Grab the badge below and insert it into your post.

2. Publish your post on or before Thursday, September 2, 2021. 

3. Submit your post link to the blog hop list. (The entry link will remain open until 10/7/21.)

Then start hopping! Be sure to visit the other blogs participating in the hop to read about how they are shining a light on orphaned pets and adoption!

Have you adopted a rescued pet? Don't forget to share your rescued pet on social media with the hashtag #RememberMeThursday and tag @HWAC.

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I hope you enjoyed reading about these amazing cats and their incredible transformations. I’m looking forward to the next semester and connecting with new shelters. Do you have any transformation stories? I’d love to hear about them in the comments. 

Dawn


Photos courtesy of Animal Friends Humane Society, The Animal Rescue League of Berks County, and PAWS Chicago. 

About the Author:

Dawn White is an award-winning writer/blogger and the author of Lola: Diary of a Rescued Cat.  Dawn has been writing in the pet industry for over seven years and has been a contributing writer for the Jackson Galaxy Project’s Cat Pawsitive Pro Program, BlogPaws, and Chewy.com.

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