10 Tips for the Toughest Week of the Year

In my past experience, the end of July tends to be the hardest time for Community Cat rescuers and feeders. These 10 Tips for the Toughest Week of the Year will help you make it through these tough times!

So what makes this week so tough? For the colonies that we are involved with that haven’t been fully sterilized, we are inundated with requests for help with trapping kittens. Many times, these trappers have no place to bring the kittens because the shelters and foster homes are full. Trapping becomes a huge burden when trying to find adoption partners to handle these kittens that need placement. Often, trappers will become the ones who offer foster care and their holding areas quickly get full. Therefore they can’t trap the adult cats for TNR anymore. It becomes a vicious cycle…

Also, as we know, in the heat everyone gets a bit testy. We experience more calls where cats are hit by cars, along with more nuisance calls. And of course, if you have a hoarding house, it seems that Animal Control always has to deal with that house in July/August, due to the smells. I always wonder… why can’t we deal with those houses in February?! Anyways, Community Cat Trappers, volunteers and rescuers are simply hit with so much during the summer. By the end of July, we are all about at the end of our ropes and we know we have to figure out how to make it through August and September! So here are some tips on how to handle the stress. These tips are good to use all year long, too!

1. Find Your “Happy Place”

For you, this could be a walk on the beach, it could be a long shower or bath, or it could be quiet meditation or reading a book! You need to have a place that you can go to that is “Animal Free”, where you can go to and regroup.

2. Make a List (But Not a Long One)

Before you get into the adoption center or go out trapping, make a short list of your three top goals for the day. Make them ATTAINABLE goals. They shouldn’t take more than 30-60 minutes, per task. These are the things that you are going to make sure you do today. As you accomplish these tasks, make a big deal about checking them off the list!

3. Delegate

When you first get to the adoption center there may be messages on the cell phone, adoption center phone and people coming at you with questions. Triage to address only the most important items. If something can wait, let it wait! Better yet, if you can delegate some of the items, please do!

4. Wear a “Thinking Cap” or Headphones

I know this may sound funny, but in adoption centers we often share space with others. My father used to have a co-worker that had a special hat he would wear when he was in his “thinking” mode. They had an open-office concept, but for this fellow he needed to feel like he had his own space. He used it by wearing this hat. So if anyone came up to him and he had the hat on they would know to only bother him if it was an emergency. What a great idea! The other way to do this is by using headphones to block out background noise and conversation. How many times have we all heard, “I come in on Sundays so that I can get work done”! We should be able to get work done every day of the week.

5. Batch, Batch, Batch Your Work

I find that if I have something that I need to do over and over again, setting aside a large block of time to get all of the tasks done is the most efficient for me. If you have to vaccinate and test 10 cats in a day, trap all of the cats in the same colony first. Do them all at one time. The same is true for office work. Check emails once or twice a day. Do desk work in a focused manner. Multitasking is distracted tasking… you won’t be efficient!

6. Evaluate Meetings

We all have meetings to attend if you are part of a non-profit organization, but in the summer months we need to make them short and sweet, but still efficient. Only hold a meeting if there is actually something that needs to be decided. If it is a review, that can be done by email. With covering for vacations and the extra workload, we need to realize that our “meeting” work needs to happen Sept-May.

7. Clean

It isn’t good to sit all day long! Many of us are up and down tending to cats etc., but if you are working on a project at a desk, make sure you get up and walk around at least once an hour. I would actually get up and for 5-10 minutes focus on cleaning up a small area of the adoption center. Maybe a corner where things have gathered, which let’s be honest… this tends to happen a lot, at least in our center!

8. Find Support

Seek out help and support and remember you need to focus on self-care. Your life doesn’t have to be ALL about cats ALL of the time. Remember to take the time you need to take care of yourself. There are a lot of self-help sites out there, but here is one example,  http://www.cherylrichardson.com/about/. Take care of your physical and mental well-being!

9. Trust In Your Community

It is okay if you need to take a break away from things for a day, weekend, or even a week. You need to do what you have to for yourself and trust that your community is there to support you. If you don’t have a community to support you, make it your priority to create one over the next year! The saying “many hands make light work” is so very true when talking about taking care of community cats.

10. Remember the Good You Are Doing!

Lastly, celebrate the victories that you have accomplished! You are making a difference every day! Let that give you the energy to continue doing what you are doing through the summer. The vision that you have for community cats is the right one. Keep at it!

Have you tried any of these tips in the past? Do you have other tips that you’d suggest for making it through the summer? I’d love to hear your comments, tips and suggestions!

In addition, The Community Cats Podcast is pleased to announce the launch of Community Cat Grants!  These grants can help you be able to help more cats in your community and you can learn how to raise the necessary funds to support your work.  To fill out an online application go to: https://www.communitycatspodcast.com/community-cats-grants/