Interview! Christina Ha, Creator of Cat Camp
April 28, 2018
Interview! Part 1 – Dr. Sara Pizano, Veterinarian and Animal Welfare Consultant
May 5, 2018
I am a person who likes to do things efficiently, with the biggest possible bang for the buck! One thing that I am not sure we think about enough is how to strategically operate spay/neuter programs within an adoption agency. With these programs, it is often all about just getting the cats into the building, which is great — but I think we need to think about the “who” and not just the “how many.”
Many spay/neuter clinics are having a hard time surviving the changes in our economic times. Some clinics are seeing a decrease in clients and others see their clients get frustrated with long wait periods during seasons when the clinic is busy spaying/neutering animals for the adoption side of their program.
I totally understand the need for spay/neuter before adoption, of course, but what I am wondering about is what sort of specific campaigns the clinics are doing during the seasons when their shelter spay/neuter numbers aren’t high. This is where “cat cycling” comes in. I believe that we need to launch different types of marketing campaigns to different constituents during the course of the year. For instance, in the winter months when shelter intake numbers are lower, instead of just letting our spay/neuter numbers slow down, we should actually increase the numbers coming in from the pet owner community. Even if you devote just one month to a $5 neuter campaign (try February, like Mike Keiley talks about in Episode 9 ), you will see a noticeable impact in your numbers come spring time.
If we can target campaigns around owned cats first, TNR cats next, and then shelter cats, we will be able to bring more awareness into the community for the need to spay/neuter.
The cat cycling theory will also help your clinic’s bottom line. Ensuring that your volume is more consistent year ’round will help you better budget and manage your staff.
Check out the graphic I have put together and see what you think! I believe this is a way to keep our clinics running at their most efficient levels. What do you think?
